Is God Really Dead?

This was written after reading a bit of Nietzsche for a philosophy class I'm taking. First half is summary, second is a bit of commentary. I do hope you enjoy it and he's actually a really interesting thinker. You can decide whether or not you think I agree with what he says... or even if I fully agree with what I'm saying in the commentary.

In this particular section, Nietzsche attempts to provide a critique for Christianity. He begins by talking about how power is what motivates humans to act and should be the standard for happiness (and therefore, the standard for what is good, also). He then moves to say that pity is the greatest evil and that the Christian religion is the result of the greatest culmination of pity for other people and their failures. Weakness is bad, he argues and there is a vicious cycle between pity, suffering and weakness, which causes humanity to spiral downward. This vicious cycle, which keeps humanity from power and happiness, is one of the greatest problems of mankind. Since “Christianity is called the religion of pity” (1036), and pity completes the cycle, Christianity is responsible for the downward spiral that mankind finds itself in.

He then moves on to talk about nihilism and how pity is the practice of such. If pity is the practice of nihilism and Christianity is the religion of pity, would it not follow that Christianity is nihilistic in its nature? At the end of this piece, Nietzsche talks about condemning Christianity and the church. The church has corrupted everything, he claims, and that the only way to remedy this is to completely annihilate the church and all organised forms of religion. It’s worth paying attention to the language Nietzsche uses. He calls the church a parasite and claims that parasitism is the only thing that the church knows and he is very, very intent on assuring that everyone knows the evils of religion.

To get a better feel for what Nietzsche was actually saying, one must look at the overarching ideas of what he wrote, not at the specifics and nor at him saying “God is dead”. I took a bit of time to re-read through the rest of the section and I actually found myself enjoying– and agreeing with– a lot of what he had to say. One of his main overarching themes is talking about how most people don’t think for themselves. They blindly follow along with whatever the outside forces say to do, like lemmings all falling into the water and drowning because their leader chose to do so. In Nietzsche’s case, the outside force is religion, specifically Christianity, but really, he seems to hold disdain for all sorts of organised religion, but the culprit does not have to be religion. One can apply part of Nietzsche’s ideas into the context of modern society and find that this is very prevalent, particularly in middle school and high school. Teenagers blindly do whatever the popular kids do just so they won’t get ridiculed, without even a thought to the potential consequences. Although I think that Nietzsche took his ideas a bit further than is necessary, he does have some good points. What is really sad is that his assertion of the role of the church in corrupting people is not far from the truth. At a lot of the churches that I have tried out, people go to service, listen to the band sing (occasionally they will sing along) and hear what the preacher has to say. I must admit that few things disgust me more than people following along blindly.

In response to Nietzche’s most famous statement of “God is dead and we have killed him” (1022), it is interesting to note that he is attempting to take God out of morality. Take the command of “thou shall not murder”, for example. Ann, a Christian, can follow this commandment because God told her not to murder and she’s afraid of going to Hell, while Bob, who is an atheist, can follow it because he simply wants to and Carl, who follows it because the government tells him that murder is bad. Ultimately, the outcome (none of these three will commit murder) is the same, regardless of their motivations. If other influences (whether internal or external) can produce the same outcome (there will be no murder), then is God really necessary for morality? Nietzsche’s answer is an obvious no and really, I can’t argue with that, especially since it’s nearly impossible to tell what another person’s motivations are for their actions and I’ve seen situations where one cannot tell the difference between Christian and Atheist. Strictly speaking, this is a question of ethics, not of metaphysics or epistemology. What we think doesn’t matter; it’s our actions that make a difference.

Problem of Pain and the Great Divorce

Wrote a bit on The Problem of Pain, part two and The Great Divorce. Of course, I haven't actually re-read the latter yet, but I will...

The more I read of this book, the more interesting it is, though chapters six and seven held my interest particularly strongly. In chapter six, Lewis goes through and talks about why people have to suffer and in chapter seven, he outlines this even more. One thing that struck me really hard and really fast was how Lewis comments that “when souls become wicked they will certainly use this possibility to hurt one another” (601 ), which is something that I have seen over and over again in life. People, whether this is a conscious desire or not, will often use their talents and abilities to hurt others because we are subbourn, rebellious creatures who refuse to go down without a fight. It is in human nature, I believe, to take something that we’ve been given, pervert it into something atrocious and then hurt as many people as possible (including ourselves often enough) in the process.

However, Lewis also talks of justice and how one might get what he deserves. Pain from justice, Lewis argues, is a good thing because at some level, everyone agrees that the good guys should get rewarded and the bad guys should get punished. But when does this idea of giving the bad guy what he deserves cross the fine line into becoming what Lewis terms as “vindictive passion”? Who are we, as humans, to decide what a fair and just punishment for another human would be? Who makes sure that the punishments that we give out are fair and just?

By far, one of my favourite things that Lewis talks about in the reading for this week is his idea of the necessity of pain in the role of knowing God and responding to him. In order to make a choice, we must be educated about the different options, Lewis argues. Before we experience pain, we live in the dangerous illusion that all of life is good. In this sense, what pain is able to do is provide a wake-up call and alerts us to the fact that there is a greater reality outside of our own little world. He comments that even atheists, who claim not to believe in God’s existence, become upset at him when they experience pain. This is rather interesting and quite true. You cannot deny that something exists and simultaneously be angry at it. Take gravity, for instance. If you jump off a cliff because you do not believe in the existence of gravity, you cannot logically blame gravity and become upset at it when you fall to the ground and hurt yourself. It is the same way with God. You can either deny his existence (and therefore, he cannot be blamed for anything, nor thanked... he’s like the tooth faerie or Santa Claus) or you can accept that he exists and get angry at him. You cannot logically have it both ways.

A couple last points of interest... I thought it noteworthy to mention that Lewis alludes to the idea of Pascal’s wager, particularly when he comments that “it is hardly complimentary to God that we should choose Him as an alternative to Hell” (606). It is also interesting to note that Lewis acknowledges that his explanation of suffering is theological in nature.

Even though Lewis primarily argues from an intellectual standpoint, he is very aware of the personal issues that may arise and at least in my eyes, this improves his credibility. I think that for everyone, the problem of pain is a very personal issue and it is something that has the potential to break a person’s faith. In all truth, I don’t think that the problem of pain can be argued from a purely logical and theoretical standpoint, as it is something that we all have to deal with on a very personal level and if you’ve ever dealt with someone who has faced those questions (or perhaps these are questions you’ve faced yourself), you will find that it is utterly absurd to expect that a philosophical argument will provide any comfort.

On a completely separate note, I thought that The Great Divorce was brilliantly written. It is one of my favourite Lewis books and it is interesting to see how he was so heavily influenced by the ideas of Plato, specifically the idea of Plato's cave and the world of the forms. In The Great Divorce, the narrator is no stranger of pain. In fact, he experiences a great amount of pain when he first arrives in Heaven (the sun is too bright and the grass is as sharp as razor-blades). This ties in very nicely with the idea in The Problem of Pain that one must be able to experience pain in order to know God.

Quick Update + Narnia

I'm kind of really sorry that I haven't been updating here (I'm still not sure how many people read this, other than my mom and maybe my sister), but I've been swamped with stuff going on IRL. We've had the first wave of exams this week and last week, so I've had tests in four of my five classes. I've been trying to make an effort to work out some personal issues that I've been having. I'm not going to go into that here, but suffice to say, I've been learning a lot and it hasn't necessarily been easy.

Anyhow, I thought I'd leave you with a quotation that I found while reading yesterday. I've been re-reading through CS Lewis' Narnia books, specifically this time, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. First of all, two of the more "fun" quotes, then a serious one.

"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." (CS Lewis' narration, when he's talking about Eustace. This is the first sentence in the book...)

"Between ourselves, you haven't been as bad as I was on my first trip to Narnia. You were only an ass, but I was a traitor." (Edmund to Eustace after the dragon incident. You'll have to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or at least be familiar with the storyline of that book to understand the full scope of this.)

"Dearest," said Aslan very gently, "you and your brother will never come back to Narnia."
[...]
"It isn't Narnia you know," sobbed Lucy. "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are--are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. That is the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

I don't think I really need to say anything about that last quote, other than it's at the very end of the book. And it's become one of my favourite CS Lewis quotes in a very short amount of time. Anyhow, take care, everyone!~

Plato's Cave: A Brief Reflection

These are just some reflections on Plato's story about the man in a cave... first half is summary of what happened and the second half is just some thoughts. I hope you enjoy~

This section of the book starts out with a telling of a story of a man who has been kept in a dark cave for his entire life. The only available view he has of anything that is going on around him is a shadow, not unlike the ones created by children standing behind a sheet and using a light to make shadows and tell a story though that. Plato makes the point that if all the man knows are these shadows, then how is he to know that these shadows are not real and that they are made by other objects? To the man, these shadows would appear to be the ultimate reality, as this is all he knows.

As time passes, the man is allowed to see the objects that create the shadows, but is still kept in the cave. Now, he might believe that the shadows created are not the ultimate reality, but rather these objects that created these shadows. Although this is a slightly more accurate view of the world, he has still not seen any real objects; that is, to say that the items he is seeing are merely an imitation of their counterparts in the real world. Instead of seeing a live dog, he might be seeing a paper cut-out of a canine and before, he would have seen the shadow of this paper cut-out. In order to experience the real object, the man must be allowed to leave the cave.

Plato then continues to explain that the man is allowed to leave the cave and sees his own reflection in a lake and is able to view such objects as the trees, the sun and everything else that a regular person would be used to seeing. He makes the case that since the person has been living in a cave and watching shadows for his entire life, it will take a fair amount of adjustment to seeing real objects. He must get used to one object (ie, the sun) before he can get accustomed to the world at large and before he can learn to function in such a place.

This analogy is a familiar one, as it can be likened to a Christian living in this world. To a Christian, the ultimate reality is what is to come when the new Heaven and new Earth are created. What a Christian sees in this world is merely a shadow or a faulty imitation of this ultimate reality. The edges are blurred and people have no definite way of knowing whether or not what they see is real.

The idea of having to spend time to grow accustomed to physical stimuli draws a strong comparison to what happens in CS Lewis’ The Great Divorce. In this story, the narrator takes a journey from a town where the ultimate reality is thoughts and where people construct their houses simply by wishing for a house, but these houses are little more than shadows and do not protect them from the weather. As he journeys into Heaven, he notes that the sun is much too bright for many of the passengers and how the grass is sharp enough to cut his feet. He must spend time in this new place to get accustomed to the reality.

If a person believes in the Christian philosophy that what he sees here on Earth is not the ultimate reality and is merely a shadow of things to come, he must prepare himself or, like the man in the cave or the narrator in The Great Divorce, this reality (that is, Heaven) will come as a shock.

What is so fascinating about this story that Plato relates to the listener is how many different ways it can be interpreted. Here was a man who lived in the time of the ancient Greek empire and obviously had no knowledge of the Judeo-Christian themes and heritage, yet Christians have used this point to argue that what happens on Earth is not the ultimate reality. Even CS Lewis, arguably one of the greatest Christian apologists of all time and most certainly in the twentieth century, draws inspiration from this piece that was written over two thousand years prior.

Another interesting thing to note is that, while Christian arguments have probably used this illustration by Plato more often than arguments for other religions, Plato’s analogy does not necessarily point to the higher reality that is described by Christianity; it merely makes the case that a higher reality is possible and that in order to fully experience it, one must take the time to prepare himself for all possibilities.

Ways of Knowing

While I'm waiting for my lunch to finish cooking, I'll spend a few minutes and talk about how we can come to know what we know. [As a side note, this is more exciting than doing physics problems, but less exciting than opening up my copy of The Screwtape Letters and reading a bit, but will probably take about the same amount of thought as either.] We all know things, right? Well, let's just assume that everyone does know at least something, but how do we, as people, come across that knowledge?

There are actually at least four ways (categories, actually), but I'm really only going to cover two of them because in my opinion, they're the two most interesting. Just because they're worth mentioning, the other two are authoritarianism (ie, learning from textbooks or what people say) and innatism (something that all humans know).

The first way I'm going to talk about is empiricism, which is through observation of ones own senses. This seems to be the favoured way in the modern world. People are comfortable with what they see, hear, touch, taste and smell and they rely on their senses to relay accurate information to their brains and then they can logically form conclusions based on those perceptions. Empiricism is especially common in science, where measurements must be made.

The second way I find noteworthy enough to talk about a bit is intuitionism. This one is a bit trickier because it can't apply to every situation. Commonly called a "gut reaction" or "sixth sense" or (as I often put it) a "hunch", this way of knowing things can't usually be rationalised and it varies from person to person, though I have witnessed at least one situation where two people had the same intuition, though in very different ways. For one person, it came all of a sudden and hit like the force of a soccer ball to the stomach and to the other person, it was that sneaking suspicion that something wasn't right, but without knowledge as to what was the problem or why (or how) he knew. [Yes, by default, I use masculine pronouns when I refer to people. The people I'm talking about when I do this aren't always male. Sorry if that bothers you. Deal with it.]

From personal experience (empiricism!), I've found that most people rely more on empiricism than on intuition. Why? It's able to be verified by other sources and it gets things done. Which is important in modern day America (and Canada and Europe, etc.). However, I've actually found that I prefer intuition (when it is available). This is because it has helped me immensely in a lot of ways, namely solving scientific problems and dealing with people.

But as many things in life go, one aspect relies on another. If you just had empricism, this would be slow and you'd probably never get much of anything done! If you relied solely on intuition, you wouldn't have a way to back up your claims; people wouldn't believe what you have to say. [If you don't believe me on that, go try explaining to your science teacher that the reason why you think feeding salt water to pea plants is because "it feels right"!] No, how I believe that it should work is that you observe something (ie, people who eat apples are healthier than those who don't). Your intuition provides what some scientific types may call a "leap in logic" (ie, that apples reduce the risk of heart disease). But not many people would believe you if you just went on the news and said that. [At least, I hope they wouldn't, even if it is true!] You need to rely on empiricism to come up with evidence (ie, study patients at risk for heart disease and feed some of them apples and some of them oranges and then see if there are any differences in prevalence of heart attacks).

Does that make sense? That's how intuition can be applied in a scientific manner, where science is a field that is littered with empiricism. The field of interpersonal dynamics (ie, how people interact with others) is an area much better suited for intuition, but unfortunately not everyone has that. Yet another failure of my favourite epistemology... for all its failures and possible shortcomings, intuition has provided me with the valuable insight that I wouldn't be able to get otherwise.

Ironically, many things in the universe exist in dichotemies, like Faith and Science, Pathos and Logos (this one is fun because Ethos creates a third player), Truth and Love... the list goes on and on. I'll have to make this a separate blog entry (at another time!) and talk about ways these pairs (and pairs like them) can interact.

Well, I'm off to finish eating and do a few more things before I head back to class. Anyhow, if you have any ideas that you'd like me to cover on blog topics, please leave a comment and let me know! Since the majority of my classes this term are philosophy-related, I'll probably be drawing inspiration from class discussions and the like, but I'm always open to new ideas. <3

This Past Month...

It seems that I have made myself scarce over the past month and I do apologise for that. I had the full intention of making an entry about the use of fantasy in literature and how a Christian ought to respond to that. I still do have every intention of making that entry, but not right now.

This past month has actually been pretty busy for me. I've been writing a bit and practicing calligraphy some. I've also gotten a head-start on Christmas presents this year and I've found a job. There have also been quite a few personal things that have been going on in my life, none of which I feel comfortable sharing here.

But that is what I have been up to and this entry is mostly for the purpose of letting people know that I have not dropped off the face of this spinning planet...

A Dozen Lessons

I do apologise for making myself scarce over the past week or so, but life, it seems, has finally caught up to me. Not only did I start work on Friday (it'll still be another week or two before I work every day- le sigh), but I've also taken the time to write a little more than I normally do.

I guess I'll summarise a few very important things I've learned this week. They're really not in much of an order.

1. There are no such things as coincidences. I suppose this should be obvious, but I'm not sure it is. Everything happens for some reason, no matter how unlikely that reason may be. Even if the reason isn't known at the time.

2. That intuitive sense is downright scary at times. Especially when it's right. Which it is nearly all the time, especially in regards to certain people.

3. Sometimes, giving someone a taste of their own medicine is necessary, even if it's not fun. Actually, it's almost never a fun thing to do. Role-reversal in a situation, although interesting, is quite taxing on one's reserves.

4. It's not a good idea to take on the personality of one of your fictional characters full-force when dealing with a stressful situation. It's far more exhausting than doing this simply for the sake of writing.

5. The best (and most difficult!) way to learn things is be shoved into an experience where it's necessary to teach someone else.

6. Emotions are a tricky thing to deal with. One person may have a completely different emotional reaction than another person when exposed to the exact stimulus (or stimuli... doesn't really matter how many). Dealing with emotions is also quite taxing...

7. Sometimes, you can't just do things alone. It really helps to have someone else around to make sure you don't do anything really stupid.

8. When you're helping someone else with their problems, you tend to forget about your own. This is usually a good thing. Or you realise your own problems aren't as bad as you thought they were.

9. There are occasions where it is necessary to shake someone else by the shoulders and yell at them because what they are doing is downright foolish. There is also a time for diplomacy, being reasonable and talking things out like civilised adults. It takes wisdom to know which is called for in a particular situation.

10. Good friends are few and far between. But they're the kind of people with whom you can be blunt without asking permission if necessary and they're the kinds of people who can be equally as blunt with you. They're such a blessing to have.

11. Sometimes, being an enabler is perfectly called for.

12. When in doubt, pray. Pray for the courage and strength to confront people when necessary, the patience and serenity to leave them alone if it's needed and the wisdom to know the difference.

Those are just a dozen of the things I learned this past week. Again, in no particular order, other than how I felt like writing them. I'm sure I've learned a lot more, but these are just a few that I thought were most important.

Before I go, I will leave you with a quote. You'll probably recognise it...

"Two are better than one, because they have good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up... Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NIV

Favourite Quotes

Here are some of my favourite quotations, many of which I've put into calligraphy. Sources will be included if I know them...

• "All memories live on within your heart." I think I got this from a signature on DA, so I don't know where it is originally from.
• "Even the smallest person may change the course of the future." Galadriel says this to Frodo in Fellowship of the Ring.
• "All you have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you." Another LotR quote and this one is by Gandalf. Though it appears in both the movies and in the books, the wording is slightly different, changing from second person singular (you) to first person plural (we, us).
• "Reputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft without merit and lost without deserving." This one is from Othello and was spoken by Iago. I don't necessarily agree with what he says, but it's interesting to think about how often someone's reputation is tarnished (or lost) by foolish actions of another person.
• "They may have been lying, but they cannot keep you from knowing the truth." Spoken by Archibald Asparagus in one of the VeggieTales episodes.
• "If a person has a contribution to make, he must make it in public. If learning is not made public, it is a waste." This is from The Chosen by Chaim Potok, one of my all-time favourite books. I honestly don't remember who is talking, though.
• "The things that happen to you which are most awful are often the things you learn most from." This quote is by Hugo Weaving (he played Elrond in the LotR movies). I don't remember the exact source, nor the context of the quote, but I read it somewhere and it is quite true.
• "You'll never have a second chance to make a first impression." Not sure if this is the original source, but it was in one of the deleted scenes in Yours, Mine and Ours. It sounds like something Scott would say to Michael (or anyone else, really), though! I think that's why it caught my attention.
• "A friend is someone who comes in when the world has gone out." I have no idea where I read this quote, but it is probably one of the truest things there is.
• "Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality." This was actually from a facebook application, where they put quotes on your profile. The old facebook, not the new one.
• "My grace is sufficent for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." From 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV). This is a verse that just kept coming up over and over again; I ended up putting it into calligraphy. Unfortunately, it's not quite done yet.
• "It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." From LotR. Bilbo says it to Frodo. I think the quote is in the book, but this is the movie version. Eventually I may have to put it into calligraphy.
• "Love may kill people, but Hate can never save them." Unfortunately, I have no idea where this quote is orignally from. I saw it in a friend's AIM status yesterday and I decided to make a comment about it being a good quote. After that, we ended up having an almost three-hour long conversation about something completely different.
• "One must choose his words as carefully as he chooses his friends." This quote is probably one of the best parts of the Prince Caspian movie. This one is definitely going into calligraphy, if not just to remind myself to choose my own words more carefully when talking to certain people.

I love quotes. I've recently started keeping a list of random quotes that come up in conversations with friends. The best ones happen late at night when everyone's already tired, so most of us get pretty silly then. Including me. Heh, especially me sometimes! But there is a reason why I am the keeper of the quotes list when my friends and I hang out...

I will also have to go through and figure out which CS Lewis quotes I like, as well as which quotes from Star Trek I like the best. Maybe I'll make a separate entry for those, as there are a multitude of memorable and good quotes from those two sources!

Objects Remind Me of People

I am writing this as I am eating breakfast and preparing for a job interview today, so please bear with me if this is slightly incoherent.

As I was falling asleep last night, I was thinking about the multitude of objects I have lying around my room. Funny thing is that a lot of these objects remind me of various people, whether they're connected or not! So I think I'm going to make a list of a few of these objects here...

• Tiger was actually the first thing that came to mind. He is my sister's stuffed clownfish and whenever he is around, he always reminds me of her.
• Not only do I have a teal shirt that reminds me of my dad, but my calligraphy stuff also reminds me of him. He was the one who originally introduced me to calligraphy, though it took a much more intensive study as a fine arts class in school to actually get me to really enjoy it.
• Wedge, my albino penguin, reminds me of Toni, as Wedge was a gift from her. Yes, Wedge is named after the Star Wars character of the same name.
• Samu, the little stuffed orca, always reminds me of my brother. I'm not sure why. Maybe that's because Samu is smaller than a lot of the other animals and right now, my brother is smaller than everyone else in the family. I doubt that'll last for much longer, though!
• My pink sheet (the original one I received!) and a stuffed giant microbe remind me of my chemistry teacher from high school.
• I have a yellow scarf that reminds me of one of my friends. She has a scarf that uses the same yellow yarn and both were gifts from different people.
• My notebook reminds me of a friend from high school. She was the one who actually gave me the notebook, but there's a long story there that I don't want to go into right now.
• The beaker I have in my room reminds me of my roommate. And of one of my other friends from school. He's also a science major. We always spend a lot of time in the lab and are in the science center until unearthly hours at night.
• The bag that I carry around with me all the time reminds me of one of my other friends, except that we don't actually talk very much anymore. When she invited a bunch of people to Thanksgiving dinner, I was crocheting the strap and finishing it up after dinner that night.
• This isn't exactly in my room, but The Count of Monte Cristo reminds me of one of my other really close friends. It was the first movie we saw together. And one of the objects I fiddle with reminds me of him too.
• I'm not going to go into details, but quite a few objects remind me of my mom. <3
  

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it was just a few of the things I was thinking about last night as I was falling asleep. I didn't end up going to bed until about 11:30, but I was asleep less than half an hour later and I slept for 5+ hours solid. In other words, it was a good night~

Power and Responsibility

"Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power comes great responsibility.' This is my gift, my curse." -Spiderman

I guess I should preface this by saying that I haven't seen Spiderman, but this quote came to mind as I was thinking about a conversation I had awhile back with a close friend of mine.

If I may digress for a moment, I am a firm believer that people have different gifts, different strengths and weaknesses. This much is evident because I have witnessed its effects, not unlike how an earth-bound person is a daily witness to the effects of gravity. Since "what goes up must come down" (as the saying goes), a person is bounded by the effects of gravity on a daily basis. Say Steve jumps into the air, gravity takes over and pulls him back to the ground before he can float away. Steve is in no position to deny the existence of gravity (or at least something that is holding him to the ground!). Likewise, I am in no position to deny that various people have different gifts.

Back to what I was originally talking about. Each person has gifts and it's up to them how they are used. There is a story from Matthew 25 that illustrates the proper use of gifts. I'll use some of my storytelling skills to tell it to you in a modern setting.

One day, Mr. White, the CEO of a major company decided to go on vacation for awhile and he needed someone who would be able to look after the company while he was gone. So, he decided to call three of his workers together. Being the clever CEO that he was, Mr. White decided to devise a little test. He gave $1000 to Peter, $500 to Daniel and $10 to Mark.
Peter took the $1000 that Mr. White gave him and invested in the stock market. By the end of the week, he was able to bring $2000 back to Mr. White, who was very pleased. Daniel took the $500 and decided to purchase from a wholesale company, then sell the products he bought at retail price. He returned with $1000 for Mr. White. Again, Mr. White was pleased. However, Mark saw how little he had and decided to bury it in a hole.
Mr. White was not pleased. He immediately called Mark into his office and told him to dig the money back up and give it back to him. He then fired Mark.

Okay, this isn't exactly how the story in the Bible goes, but I think you get the point. These three guys were each given a gift by their boss and Mr. White trusted each to use their gifts to make more. Peter was entrusted with the most money, so Mr. White expected the most back from him.

Does this seem fair? I think so. Why? People all have gifts and can use them for a number of purposes, whether selflessly helping others or selfishly helping themselves... or furthuring the cause of Good or aligning themselves with Evil. I've seen people with very strong gifts and those people have used them for a variety of purposes. If someone has a gift (whatever it may be), it is their responsibility to use that gift to help other people. The greater a person's gift, the more responsibility they have to exercise. This is especially true because some gifts and talents can be abused and can really hurt other people. Those are the kinds of people who must exercise the most self-control and discipline.

I think I have said enough on this subject for now. Let me know what you think~

Human Ingenuity and Diversity

The topic for today's blog came to me while I was fixing my computer chair. I finally found the box with the rest of the pieces, so I was able to finish putting it together. After I'd given up searching for a screwdriver (there isn't one around!), I realised that I had several other items around my room that could function in the same capacity as a screwdriver. I ended up using a hair clip!

Because of that, I started thinking about how creative the human mind really is. Not only do humans find unique solutions to problems in real life, but this is also prevalent in the realms of fantasy and science fiction, where humans are not the only sentient species. For example, in Star Trek, humans are far more diverse than other species. They can do just about anything and are highly adaptable. Now I must be forced to ask myself why I don't write more human characters in my fantasy stories...

Back on-topic here. If you read my blog, I challenge you to pay attention to how different people react to various situations they're put in. How one person reacts might vary a lot more drastically from how another person acts than what you would've guessed!

This whole idea of people behaving differently and thinking up creative solutions to problems is especially important to writers. As you write, pay attention to reactions you observe. This will help round your characters out and make them more realistic.

New Mission~

I've thought a lot about this over the past few weeks and I've decided that I'm going to stop posting useless quizzes and memes here. This blog will be used for things that are actually of consequence and will only occasionally be updated with personal stuff.

Actually, this blog will then be holding up to what I originally intended it as... and what it is named for. Through the Wardrobe is a reference to none other than CS Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, probably his most well-known piece. Keeping in that tone, I will use this place to talk mostly about philosophy and religion with various insights from life and literature.

If you really want to see all those useless memes, they will still be on dA and Facebook. Or I might stop doing them altogether. We'll see.

Now, to boldly go where no one has gone before!

Overview of Lewis' Works

I should let all of you know that I'm still alive. As I was unpacking my boxes, I came across a treasure: CS Lewis' The Great Divorce, as well as my copy of Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters. And as a tribute to this journal (and what it's named after!), I'll talk a little about the CS Lewis books I've read and what I've thought of them.

Books I've Read: The Chronicles of Narnia (all seven), Miracles, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters

Favourite Piece: The Great Divorce. I love the first person narration style that Lewis uses and this book is much deeper than his Narnia series (as it's for older teenagers or adults and not children!), but it's not as difficult to read as Miracles.

Favourite Narnia Book: Tie between The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Silver Chair. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first book that I actually remember reading (though I was reading before that) and it remains one of my favourites to this very day. The Silver Chair is another one that is dear to my heart. It's probably not the best thing for a young child to read right before bed; the first time I read it (and even now!) it creeped the daylights out of me. 0_0

Least Favourite Piece: The Horse and His Boy, hands down. And no comment to go with that other than the fact that I've noticed that people either tend to really like it or really not like it. <_<

And I guess that's enough to let you know that I'm still alive and probably give you a taste of what's to come in the future. Especially since I'm planning to get a bit more serious about this blog and since I'll be reading a lot more CS Lewis come this fall!

Star Trek Movie: A Review

Star Trek was nothing shy of amazing yesterday! Even though I'm not sure I liked what they did with Uhura, it was good and it made sense, based on what I know about TOS (the original series). Here's my honest take on the movie. I'll try not to include spoilers as far as the plot goes for those of you who haven't seen it yet, but no promises, alright?

Casting: They did such an amazing job of that! Being a fan of the old stuff and having seen every movie with the TOS crew and all the episodes (except for two or three), I was a little skeptical about how well they were going to match up the actors and actresses with their original counterparts. Seeing Karl Urban in the LotR movies and then seeing him as McCoy didn't really bother me; he looked and sounded almost completely different! That was a pleasant surprise. I'll have to admit that the only character I was slightly disappointed in was Uhura.

Antagonists: The Romulans are probably my favorite ST race (except for maybe the Vulcans), so I have to say I was pleased to see them. The one thing that is very different from anything I've seen before is these Romulans were not part of the Romulan Star Empire. In other words, they were not nearly as disciplined and deliberately malevolent as the Romulans in "Balance of Terror" or "The Enterprise Incident" were. Nero, the main villain, seemed to have a bit of Khan-feel to him, as well as his Romulan heritage and even a bit of what I'd call stereotypical Klingon personality. Nice namesake, by the way.

Characters and Series References: I'd have to admit that I was fairly pleased to see many of the characters return from TOS. Some of the exchanges that I've grown to love between the trio (Kirk, Spock and McCoy) were present in this movie, as well as several references from various episodes and different movies ("Wrath of Khan" comes to mind here!).

Special Effects and Sound: Excellent. I normally don't like too much special effects (one of the reasons why I love TOS so much!), but they were very good. I've found that in some movies (the first ST movie!), an extreme amount of special effects can compromise the overall level of quality of the movie. The effects were good and I was very pleased to hear some of the original music from TOS getting incorporated into the soundtrack for this movie. Intense graphics, though.

Best Part? Some of the arguments between Kirk and Spock... and seeing how McCoy treats other people exactly the same as he does in TOS. Manipulative jerk.

Worst Part? That one scene with the Orion girl. It didn't really need to be in there, even if it did stay true to character.

General Feel: A bit of TOS, a bit of "Wrath of Khan" combined with some of the time-travel stuff you'd see in "First Contact" or "Generations" and you've pretty much summed it up.

The Verdict: Not a movie I'd take kids to see, but definitely enjoyable for teenagers or adults and for just about anyone that's a fan of the Star Trek series. Or for people who aren't. For those of you who are already fans, take it in stride and don't complain if you see any discrepancies. It's an excellent movie overall.

Grade: I'd give it an A- for a fun storyline, good characters and a decent plot. (By comparison, I would've given "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" an A- and "Prince Caspian" a C+.)

Interaction between fiction and real life...

I'm not in the mood to spam my writing blog with this (even though it probably should be updated!), but it just occurred to me how much various people I know are like fictional characters of mine. I know a girl who reminds me a lot of Scott. Good intentions that go awry quite easily. Especially since Scott doesn't take into account how his sister (or Michael) will react to anything he throws at them!

But if this is the case, then I have a lot of interesting stuff to look forward to. Especially since whatever happens in my fiction tends to play out IRL later. That's kind of freaky at times. And unpleasant. But I suppose it cannot be helped; it just happens like that. I guess I'm in a really wierd mood, but I've been hanging out with friends for the past few hours.

I still have a hard time believing exactly how much fiction and real life intertwine with one another. 'Nuff said.

I really need to write something, but I have no idea what to write, so I'll just spam this blog instead of spamming my writing blog. Sadly, I am frustrated with people. Oddly enough, that doesn't surprise me much. Mostly I am fed up with people not listening to their own advice. And one person in particular who shall remain nameless. <_<

Le sigh. Right now, I have nothing better to do. I just went on a walk and have been trying to rationalise things to myself, but it isn't working. Whatever. I didn't really expect it to work.

Not fun...

Well... it's been one really long week. Not only studying, but also dealing with some issues with various people. I've hardly done any homework at all this weekend and I have stuff due for nearly all my classes tomorrow, which should be interesting. Hoorah for finals week! And for professors who seem to think that they can pile all sorts of homework and stuff on people right before exams.

So not fun. But right now, I don't care.

Thoughts on Miracles: Ch. 2-3

So... we're reading Lewis in class and I thought I'd make some comments about what he writes here, especially since the title of this journal is taken from one of his most well-known works (haha, not my favorite one, though!). Let me start out by stating that, for those of you who read this and don't know me, I am a Christian.

I will be approaching any entries I make on this piece primarily as a Christian, secondly as an author and thirdly, as a scientist... and occasionally as a devil's advocate. I just thought I would clarify that here and now. Keeping that in mind, we're reading Miracles in western civ 1. And so I have a few preliminary thoughts on this piece. My thoughts on chapters one and two are a little sporadic right now, so I'll just leave with a thought or two on the part of chapter three I've read thus far.

In the book, CS Lewis takes time to talk about Naturalism and Supernaturalism and defines Natrualism as being a system which everything is included in this system, whereas Supernaturalism says that there is something outside the system. One metaphor I thought of was that of an author and his books. In fiction, the author does not exist in the same world as his characters, but he is the giver of life to said characters. This is like Supernaturalism. Naturalism strikes me as being similar to non-fiction, where the author is simply observing and/or acting from within the same system in which the characters live and act. In fact, in non-fiction, sometimes the author is even a character. This is similar to Naturalism.

Now that I've explained a little about the two philosophies, I'll get into the point I am trying to make here. According to Lewis, Naturalism includes everything within what he calls Nature or "the Total System". He argues that Naturalism will only hold if "every single thing should be such that we see, in general, how it could be explained in terms of the Total System" (Lewis 17). He then proceeds to state that if there was one instance that couldn't be explained in these terms, that "Naturalism would be in ruins" (18). In other words, if there was an explanation for an event that required belief in the Supernatural, then Naturalism would be false.

Theoretically speaking, let's go through every possible event and think of all the explanations possible. If we can find one that requires use of the Supernatural, then Naturalism would be false. If we can't find one that requires use of Supernatural to explain, then Naturalism can be true because there could always be some event in the future that would require Supernatural explanation. This would make Naturalism quite a bit more difficult to prove.

Iff (if and only if) Naturalism could stand up to that amount of scrutiny and pass every test, then wouldn't it be a stronger argumentative position than Supernaturalism? Naturalism would then be proven true through a strong argument of many cases that proved it true. Iff we can find something that Naturalism cannot explain every known event, then Naturalism is false. Assuming that Naturalism and Supernaturalism are mutally exclusive and we must either have one or the other, if Naturalism is false, it logically follows that Supernaturalism must be true. However, this is a weak argument for Supernaturalism because we haven't actually proven its existence.

From the perspective of a scientist, experimental results and proof are everything. Given what I've said above, Naturalism has a stronger argument going for it iff it can be proven. That's just something to think about and I think I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you think I'm playing devil's advocate or not.

Grr... People are Annoying

Okay. Honestly, people annoy the daylights out of me. Yes, I'm writing this online rather than in my own journal because if I do that, I think I will seriously go insane. Aside from that, I've noticed a couple of things.

First of all, girls tend to be a heck of a lot more subtle than guys are. I think this is why I prefer to spend time with my guy friends; they say more of what they're thinking than girls do.

Second of all, it's really annoying when people make assumptions about things. I've noticed that a lot of scientists tend to make assumptions less than the rest of the population. I think that's because scientists are trained not to make assumptions about things... and if they do, to clearly state what assumptions they're making.

Thirdly, I'd never risk ruining a good friendship for anything romantic. 'Nuff said.

Seriously.

Life Stuffs

So, I just got to register for classes and needless to say, registration is probably one of the most stressful times of the semester. I'm really glad I only have to deal with it once more. At least I got most of the classes I needed/wanted to take. Unfortunately, the class that I was going to take for fine arts credit has prerequisites (what kind of class doesn't?), but maybe I'll be able to go talk to the English department and see if they'll let me in.

On a separate note, I am now starting to learn how amazing good friends can be. Not only to talk to you when things aren't going so well, but also to give you a quick reality check or distract you from what you've been thinking about if that's what needs to be done. And they are fun to spend Friday nights hanging out with. And I am knitting a scarf for one of my friends, but it's supposed to be a surprise for next winter. I should have it done by then.

General Life Update

So... I got my cast off yesterday, which means several things. First of all, I can get my hand and arm wet again! Second of all, I can get back to knitting soon. Thirdly that I should be heating it and icing it.

I really actually did miss knitting a lot for the month and a half that I couldn't do it. And now, I can knit again! In fact, I even started a hat that I will probably end up donating to a local charity or something after I'm finished. It's a simple beanie, which is nice. I would give it to one of my friends, but it's on the smaller side for my head. Maybe making stuff for charity is a good way to use up extra yarn that I have left over from other projects. And making simple beanies is a good project for when I'm watching movies.

Despite being exhausted and harboring a strong dislike towards half of my classes, I am in a relatively good mood right now.

Things I am thankful for (by no means a complete list!):

1. Being able to knit again!
2. Having lots of yarn and a few sets of good needles (both circulars, dpns and straights) with me at school.
3. Good friends and family.
4. Having edible food, even if it means going off-campus.
5. The fact that I am able to write and that I've been writing some.
6. Having awesome movies! I'm going to watch one this weekend. Though, I have to admit that I would still like to own Galaxy Quest...
7. That we don't have any physics homework due today.
   

But... it is starting to get late and I need to go get ready for breakfast and classes. Hoorah for Fridays. At least I have stuff to look forward to at the end of the day, as my favorite class is the last one.

Can't Sleep... Again

I am so ridiculously tired that it isn't funny anymore, but I can't sleep. I haven't really even been able to sleep since I got back to school after spring break. Except for sort of last night.

Long Week

Well, it's 4AM and I'm still awake. I only slept for a few hours tonight, but it's so hot in here. I even opened the window so it would cool down a bit, so hopefully that will help, but I'm a bit skeptical. It's been a long week and a long month. I can't wait to go home for break, but I have so much to do before then... we have a chemistry assignment due EVERY DAY of class next week, two assignments and an exam in another class and just regular stuff in my other two classes. Thank goodness Mr. Dr. postponed the physics exam until after break! And I like it that he tells us at least two weeks in advance whenever he does that.

I can't knit right now (my wrist is in a cast), but I'm enjoying being able to write some. I figure I'll be doing more of that over break, which will be more than nice. Maybe I'll actually work on Snapshots again...

Le Sigh

I have decided that I enjoy my physics classes more than my chemistry ones. And it's not just this semester. If it was, I would question whether that is because we have a much smaller physics class than chemistry, as I do not like large classes.

ONLY FIVE AND A HALF MORE HOURS UNTIL I CAN OFFICIALLY YELL AT MY NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOURS TO SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT WAIT!

Despite the fact that it is Friday evening, some of us actually do have homework to do that we try to finish so we don't have to cram for it on Sunday night. Or Monday morning before class starts. Seriously, people.

And our RA is one heck of an enabler. I think I'm going to go talk to the RD this weekend and tell him that if people don't stop being inconsiderate of the "24-hour consideration" that I am going to move out. Telling me that people have a right to be loud until quiet hours starts is such BS, especially since I can't be loud until after 10 AM on weekends. By that time, I've already been up for at least three hours, usually more.

Physics, Life and Knitting

So... I was sitting in quantum chem today and we were talking about blackbody radiation (my favourite subject... haha!). As we were going through the notes and drawing our little diagrams and writing over-simplified equations without going through derivations, I realized something. I miss not being able to make the assumptions that we make in chemistry class in order to change the math from calculus to what would be required of a high school algebra student. I actually miss thermo class.

Call me a masochist, but it's true. Despite the fact that I didn't understand about a third of what was going on in that class (at least as far as math was concerned), I enjoyed seeing where the equations came from and actually going and walking through the plethora of derivations we did in class. I think the moment I was most proud of myself was when I figured out how to derive the integral of the Gaussian without looking down at my notes (and no, I didn't memorize it!).

Sitting in chemistry class with people who have only had through calculus two and don't even understand or remember that (hey, at least I don't stare at you stupidly when we're discussing when we can and cannot change a summation into an integral!) is a completely different world than sitting in physics class where people have had 400-level (that's senior year and the highest level of undergrad mathmatics) classes and where the instructor operates under the assumption that everyone in the class has had at least three semesters of calculus already. Sad thing is... I miss it.

Yeah, I know I should be grateful that I've taken more physics classes than most of the people in my quantum class, but it's just one of those things that happens when you've been doing something really hard (and you've come to have a love-hate relationship with it) for so long and it's over... and all of a sudden, you're back in the world of mediocrity with nothing to challenge you in the way that what you've previously done has.

Maybe that's why I do it... take up so many hobbies, I mean. Each one is learning some new skill and once I'm done with learning it and getting decent at it (ie, calligraphy), I get bored and want to move on, learning another new thing. It doesn't satisfy me to create numerous objects of work if I'm not learning new skills while doing so. Like there were at least eight distinct calligraphy styles I've learned, but I stopped doing calligraphy because there really aren't very many other ones (other than Script, which is a killer... because I've tried!) to learn and master. There's also knitting, which I've only been doing for a little over a year now. I've learned most of the techniques needed for various projects and once I learn how to successfully make a pair of socks, I don't know what I'll do next. Maybe knit lace or something. I have already even written my own patterns.

I guess I've said all of that to say this. I get bored easily. And I wish chemistry was a little more math-intensive (though I think most people in the class would disagree with me, considering that we have so many biochem majors!) because I really miss having the math-intensive physics course. This always seems to happen... I hate something at the time I'm doing it, but when I look back afterwards, I realize how much I miss it and how much I really did enjoy it and learn from it. Like high school physics. As much as I complained about the class, the teacher and anything and everything related, now that I think about it, I did learn a lot and I did actually enjoy it more than I thought I did at the time.

Last semester, I got so used to doing more math than application and constantly being challenged to think things through, rather than to just accept things as they are and move on. I miss that.

Skills Check?

First of all, I need to write more. Second of all, I should probably do a knitting skills check, just to see what things I still want to learn and haven't yet.

1. Fair Isle Technique
2. Intarsia - another form of colorwork
3. Socks
4. Cabling
5. Following a pattern (because I am bad at it)
6. Writing my own patterns

people = idiots

I just love the stupidity and ignorance of people. No really. I do. And yes, I am being sarcastic. I don't care right now.

Honestly. I am so fed up with people it's not funny anymore. People who argue that others listen to REASON (hahaha) and that REASON is the way to prove one's point, yet don't listen to the same REASON themselves!

And yes, I am intent on moving out of this Balrog-infested (only subsitute for something less appropriate...) dormitory as soon as I can. Especially since people DON'T respect REASON around here... and nor do they respect the fact that some of us actually do get up at a reasonable hour.

Maybe I will go kill off one of my fictional characters right now. Just for the fun of it. And because I'm pissed off.

I am procrastinating on whatever I need to do, which isn't much right now. Except for working on a few hats (which are going slowly) and eventually finishing up the rest of chapter five of Snapshots.

I also really want to run through the halls screeching right now because that's what other people were doing past midnight last night (or rather, this morning). But I'm too nice. I'm always too nice. Kind of like Aislynn. Though it's amazing that other than that, I'm more like Sharpe or Michael in personality. I'd say Michael's nice...

I'm starting to really hate people...

I really want to move out of the dormitory I'm living in. Right now, if possible. Because I am so sick of my neighbors (and my lovely RA) that it's starting to get ridiculous.

And no, this isn't just me complaining about people. It's me complaining that I was sitting in the room and the RA knocked and then opened the door WITHOUT WAITING FOR AN ANSWER!!!!!!! And that my next-door neighbors like to bang on the walls at really odd hours. Really, people. What I wouldn't give to have that clarinet playing girl back instead of these people! At least the noise she was making was pleasant!

I just wish people had a little more respect for privacy around here. And I can't exactly rant about this on facebook because I don't want everyone seeing it (not that this is exactly private, but not everyone at my school knows I'm here).

Maybe I should just take out my frustration on one of my fictional characters. Though the next time I do that, one of them is going to wind up dead. Permanently. Not like Ackerman who winds up dead in the alternate universe.

Veritas Fair Isle Bag

I put up a knitting blog, specifically for knitting-related posts and stuff. This includes patterns, pictures and cool knitting links (once I get around to it). But I uploaded my first things to the site today, including a few pictures of finished objects and the rough draft of the pattern for the amigurumi squid I'm making. I know what his name is going to be now. ^_^

But this place will still be for random musings that are connected to knitting, like the fact that I'm WORKING ON A NEW BAG DESIGN!!! I've actually finished designing it and now I'm just test knitting one to see if it works. If it does work, I may either keep it for myself (yeah, I know I'm selfish!) or I may give it away as a gift.

And that was because my sister took the bag I made her for Christmas to school and she said that lots of people wanted one. Well, I'm not making large Fair Isle bags for people without a good reason to do that, so I'm using the pattern I had for hers as an inspiration to create my own... one that's a little bit smaller and won't take me quite as long to make.

And thus the Veritas Fair Isle bag was born. Okay, not literally... the idea came to mind when I was thinking about what to design for the shield motif and I was looking through pictures I had. One of the first things that came to mind (other than one of the hazard symbols, which would be totally awesome, but out of place here) was the Chinese symbol for truth. Not only does it look cool, but it's one of the simpler characters that would fit the shape of the shield well.

For those of you who don't know, I took Latin and veritas is Latin for truth. (It's also where one of my fictional character's surnames comes from.) So yeah... it's a Fair Isle bag. I'm about a third of the way done with the knitting part, so that should be cool. Hopefully it actually works.