I'm thinking about it.

A friend of mine wrote this today on facebook. While I really wanted to answer her then and there, I'm thinking this was more for herself than anyone else. So I thought I'd just copy it to my blog and share my thoughts on it.

Think about this.

What do you believe, and why do you believe it?
Are you a Christian? Are you an atheist? Are you a Buddhist? Are you unsure? Are you apathetic? Who told you what to believe? Did you choose your beliefs, or did your beliefs choose you because of your circumstances? Are you conforming, or rebelling? Are you thinking for yourself? Did your parents choose your opinions? Did your teachers? Did your friends?

What makes you think you're right?

What makes you wonder if you're wrong?

Are you well-informed? Are you dogmatic? Are you open to change? Are you open to enlightenment?
Are you open to the truth?
Would you know it if you saw it? What if it contradicted your beliefs? Would you tear them down, or grasp at them stubbornly? Are you capable of reinventing yourself?

Are you hungry for knowledge? Are you hungry for answers? Are you too full of yourself to hunger at all?

Have you bothered to study other beliefs? Have you taken the time to question your opinions? Have you seen the other side? Have you listened to the opposition? Have you judged too quickly? Have you spoken harshly out of ignorance?

Can you admit that you might be wrong?

So many questions. But she makes a lot of good points about people, thoughts, beliefs, and philosophy.
Anyhow, here I go.

I'm a Christian. I'm not at all your typical Christian. While my parents, church, and friends have had an impact on my current beliefs, I was most influenced by a teach in high school. Yes, it was a home-schooled co-op, but it was not the program that was great. The program, called Inklings, was good, but the teacher, Matthew Anderson, was great! Not only was he inspiring, and helpful, (Even though I NEVER seemed to finish my homework) but he had a general love of teaching and leading students to think. To think hard and to think long. To play devil's advocate. To question their beliefs. To never take anyone's word without a grain of salt. It was great.
And through that education I was able to start to really develop my own faith, not that of my parents. I changed, grew, and developed it. And through that I've come to three core beliefs:
God
Christ
Science
And I believe it should go in that order of importance. Everything else, well I'm just not quite positive about. And I love discussing it.

Days like this

make me so sad...

Remembering people who used to be a large part of my life.
People who've changed, moved, or died.
The nostalgia is killing me right now.
And then the pathetic attempt to reconnect with friends lost.
Pointless really, both of us have changed, and moved on in our lives.
Trying to reconcile, wishing somehow, some way life would put friends back together...
*sigh*
It's not like my friends right now aren't as good as my friends before. Actually their much better.
But I still miss the people I don't really see or talk to any more.

Critique of "Origins"

Critique of "Origins": "The moon was a special creation by God, not the result of a cosmic collision as depicted in “Origins.” Nor did God use such a collision to form the moon as some Christians teach (thus compromising the Bible); such a collision would destroy life on Earth, yet plants were created before the moon according to Genesis. These many differences expose the folly of trying to fit the Genesis account of creation to the secular alternative with its billions of years."

The part of the quote is something that drives me absolutely insane about some Creationists. I just don't understand how it compromises the Bible at all. In fact, if you ONLY believe in a six day creation, are you going to drop your faith because if it gets proven that the world wasn't created EXACTLY like Genesis recounts it?

Salvation is Secure: "You may have other questions that are yet unanswered.� I encourage you to get some books and start reading on the subject.� May God bless you as you come to a greater understanding of His creation, young or old."

I sure like this guy's thoughts on the whole issue.

Office War!

I adore this video (:

AT&T - 50 Things we know now that we didn't know this time last year

AT&T - 50 Things we know now that we didn't know this time last year:
A Few quotes:

"12. Scientists have discovered how to scan brain activity and convert what people are seeing or remembering into crude video images"

"29. The human body emits a glow that is 1,000 times less than what our eyes can detect."

"38. A chemical component in broccoli can protect the lining of arteries from blockage that leads to angina, heart attack and stroke."

"47. The spleen is a reservoir for huge numbers of immune cells called monocyte. In the event of a serious health crisis, such as a heart attack, wound or infection, the spleen will disgorge them bloodstream to help defend the body."