Would just like to inform those of you who read this blog that it will be a while before I'll have the time and/or energy to add to this blog. It's not for lack of want, but marching band is soon to kick into high gear, and quite frankly it's hard work. As always feel free to share any comments you have on past entries, or any ideas for future ones, or heck, any experiences you've had.

Congregating

Well folks, I do believe I have figured out why meeting with fellow Christians is so important. After two months of battling with temptation on my own, the simple act of being around other Christians this morning was an amazing relief. I didn't ask them for any advice, or anything like that, but being with them made me feel safe. Being with a large group of people, who have the same beliefs as myself made it well worth the earliest morning I'd had in a long long time. Hearing my pastor give his lesson this morning brought a sense of safety back, and a sense of calm to my mind.

If any of you find yourselves needing a support group, church is an amazing place to receive that support, in an environment where you shouldn't feel pressured, and will feel safe from the temptations from the outside world, if only for a little while.

Simply a thesis

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted something, but I wanted to have this looked over by another person before I posted it on the web. Hope you enjoy!


I wish to start this article with some cold hard facts. I am not a theology major. I have never taken a theology class, and there is a fair chance I never will. I also do not have a major degree in Science. I have taken courses, but only through high school so far. This article is solely my opinion. It is my attempt at finding a way for the two seemingly opposite things to mesh.

Science gives us the idea of Evolution. Evolution was spawned from Charles Darwin, a scientist from long ago. Not only was he a scientist, but he also studied theology in seminary. Evolution is often a misunderstood entity among the religious society. Over time Evolution has become a bit of a joke to them. The accepted idea about Evolution is that man was once a monkey, over time became human, and if this continues could some day end up as a rattlesnake, or some other creature. For any of the scientific community reading this, it may sound as though I am exaggerating, but sadly this is the view that many young teens expressed at a youth group. For those of you who are less informed into what evolution is, it is the idea that things adapt to their environment over a period of time. This is evident in everyday life. Every year you have to get a different flu vaccine, but why is that? The answer is evolution. The traits of one strain of the flu that survives are passed on, and the ones that die, well, don’t. By the constant act of this there becomes a new strain of flu that is impervious to the old vaccine. This relates to everyone. If a simple strand of flu, which is basically protein covered DNA, can evolve, then anything can. This is also shown in humans. Now I want to make perfectly clear, this is in no way racist. The reason we have different colors of people is evolution. For example, in Africa, the people there spent a lot of time in the sun. Because of this, the people were introduced to high levels of radiation from the sun. When people tan, its not really because the sun is cooking our flesh or anything like that. It is our skin trying to protect us. A chemical comes into the skin, and acts like a natural sunscreen, protecting us a touch more from the suns harmful rays. Freckles are an example of this as well. Well, over time, the people in Africa started being born darker skinned, instead of tanning. In Europe they were in less sunny conditions, and therefore, just tanned instead of being darker skinned all year long. In Asian countries they also adapted to their environments, resulting in a perma-tan, and slanted eyes. Evolution is something we are affected by every day of our lives, whether you believe in it or not. It is basically adaptation over generations.

Religion gives us the idea of Intelligent Design. Details of Intelligent Design can be found in the Bible, particularly in the book of Genesis. What Intelligent Design boils down to is that God created the universe. In doing so, he created life, and created man from his own image. Please remember that, I will be returning to it. Now in Genesis it says that God created the world in seven days. While a super powerful entity like him could easily do it in seven Earth days, when he started Earth did not yet exist, for he had not yet made it. A day is merely a man made measure of time, that measures the amount of time it takes the earth to rotate 360 degrees on its axis. Before the Earth was made, there was no way to measure an earth day. Because of this, one day by God’s measure could be, thousands of years by ours. What I’m getting at is not that God is less powerful, but that time measurements are imperfect. Now if that is possible, then easily the millions of years of development we have discovered through science could be the seven days of God’s development, in a different form of measuring time. One thing the pro Intelligent Design community argues is the idea that we were made in the image of God. This is true; the bible states that god made us in his image. However, that may not necessarily mean his physical image. It is very possible that we were made in his mental image. It isn’t overly clear as to whether it meant we look like God, or if we are closer to how he thinks. God is proven again and again to be a compassionate being, and on an individual basis, most people are as well.

The idea of evolution can play in with this idea easily. God is an amazingly intelligent entity as well. It is more than possible that when He created us, He knew we would need to adapt to our environment, and give us the ability to do so.

Now I in no way want to seem like I am bashing the Bible, or religion, or any of this. I am merely stating my opinion on this and over time it is likely that this view will change. The main point of my writing this is to emphasis the fact that science and religion can in fact coincide. As a quote I heard on Ben Steins documentary, Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed, states, “I believe that science gives us one perspective on the world, and our religious insight gives us another perspective on the world, and by putting the two together, we will see more deeply and more truly."

a quick update

Well folks, I am very glad to say that so far my stategy is working nicely. My antagonist, if you will, seems to have decided to drop his determination on his ill intents. On top of this, every thing seems to be going very well. I hope that my advice was able to help you with your battles with temptation. If you have any input, within reason, please feel free to share. Thanks!

Temptation

Alright, I'm going to start off with a fairly large topic, but one that every single person on this earth will have to deal with. Temptation can come in many forms, from a friend suggesting something, to television, to radio, to your own mind. Currently my main form of temptation comes through my family. One particular member actually, but that's going to far lol. This member of my family seems to think that I need to "become a man" and well, we all know what that means. Now, we all hopefully know that what is implied, is sinful. And in my opinion, it is one of the worst sins. The plan introduced by my family member is that he is going to get me alone with just him, his friends, and one of the local, easy girls. Then they will introduce alcohol, get me drunk, and use my lowered inhibitions to their advantage. Why he is so bent on doing this is beyond me, but thankfully I have the ability to avoid this situation. I have a firm support group I can turn to, including my other family members, youth group, and most of, if not all of my friends. I also have reasons of my own for not doing this. The fact that it's sinful is just one of them. The rest include my love for my girlfriend, my desire to be pure for whomever I marry, and many others.

Unfortunately not everyone has a firm support group they can turn to. For those of you who do not have that group, there are several options for you. Church is an obvious one, but for some it is hard to feel truly comfortable in that environment, or comfortable to enough to share this battle of temptation. Another option is your church's youth group. If you don't know what that is, it is a group of teens who meet with one or more youth leaders. These are people who are willing to give you advice, support, in some cases shelter, and other forms of aid. On top of this they teach you the word of the lord, in an easy to understand manner. Hopefully you'll be able to attend this group, and maintain some sort of comfort level with your leaders, and fellow youths.

If this doesn't work, you can join in activities at your school. Some are notorious for pushing bad decisions on people, like football, but there are many that are there to aid people, or just make them comfortable. I am a member of my school's bands, book club, knowledge bowl, and science club. Now, I realize I just described the ultimate geek, but I am an ex football player, and still dabble in soccer, and play all varieties of sports with my friends. What I'm trying to show, is there are groups where you can find comfort. Most schools have christian based clubs. Join those. If you are an athlete there are clubs directly for the christian athlete.

All in all, there is no way to completely avoid temptation, but the thing that makes us good Christians is finding ways to deal with temptation, before it crushes us, or drags us into the dark road of sin.

A Little Insight on the Future of this Blog

I promise you one thing. I promise to keep this blog from becoming an "I art holier than thou" type entry, so long as you promise to read this with an open mind. In this blog I will share my insights, beliefs, and possible tips I have, and will gather throughout my life (or until I stop updating this blog). I have not always been of the Christian faith. In fact, I've only been a christian for a little over a year. Before that I was agnostic, meaning I did not believe anything that could not be proven to me. My mind was, and is still, completely run by science. Technically speaking, I am still agnostic. God showed himself to me, in a way I prefer to keep to myself. Not because it is some crazy thing that makes me sound nuts, but because it is a deeply personal event.

This blog is intended for people who are on the fence about religion, whose faith is weak, or who just want to know that somewhere out there, another christian is struggling just as much as they are. I hope that in some little way, this blog is able to help, or comfort someone in need of that comfort.