Remember the days when you had nothing to do? I would just lay around, maybe read a book or go explore. The days were relaxed and slow. Sometimes it would get boring and I’d have to think hard of what could I do.
Somewhere along the way things changed. I think it really happened aft having kids. At first having a kid wasn’t that big of a deal as the first kid kind of just lays there and sleeps most of the time (except at night). However, after the kid gets a little older, and especially after number two, things change and you always have something to do.
Then by the time the teenage years start, things get really busy. There are sports, school and the things they want to do with their friends. They want spend the nights, or go spend the night with a friend. These are usually impromptu things that conflicts with other things you had already planned and also are usually around the time they need correction for bad grades or conduct in school.
I’m getting old enough now to see the light at end of the tunnel. Hopefully I can make it the last few years until they are out of college then maybe things will get boring again (except for the occasional something for a grandkid.) Will I be bored then or will I finally get to rest and then do something for me?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Essence of Insanity
Albert Einstein is quoted as saying “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The Christian Church today can be said to be insane. How so you ask? Please allow me to explain.
Having grown tired of getting beat up time and again with the Bible by “Christians;” I had finally had enough. I had to find out where they get some of the bizarre ideas they espoused. This led me to go through a ministerial studies course. I also study Spanish and got a bilingual Bible in English and Spanish.
As I went through the ministerial studies course, I did not find where the bizarre ideas came from. However, when I began to study the different translations of the Bible and also the differences in what the Bible said in English versus what it said in Spanish I began to see where the nuttiness comes from. What does this have to do with the Christian church and insanity you ask? Allow me to tie the two together.
From my study of language and translation, I learned that it is not possible to directly translate from one language to another. The conveying of an idea will be phrased differently in one language to another to convey the same idea. For example, in English we say we ARE so many years old however in Spanish, the literal translation would say that we HAVE so many years.
Also there are words that exist in one language that do not exist in another. For example, in English we have evening which denotes a time from late afternoon until a little after dark, say from 5pm to 8pm. Evening doesn’t exist in Spanish however in Spanish they have a word that denotes the time from around 1am to 3am or 4am that we do not have in English.
Also, in languages such as Spanish and Greek, each word has encoded in it its gender, tense and person thus they are called syntactical languages. In English for example, you can tell if the word run is first, second or third person, or if it’s singular or plural until it’s used in a sentence thus English is called an analytical language. Still you ask; what has this got to do with Christian church insanity?
Well let me finally tell you. The Christian church in North America has complained of declining numbers for a very long time. If you go to discussion groups like “Christian Professionals” on a website like Linked In, you will see people asking why that is and what can be done about it.
The non-Christian people are fairly united in that they don’t like the Bible thumpers and they don’t like the confused, mixed message of the church. They believe that there is a lot of hypocrisy and undo self righteousness within the church and want nothing to do with it. So I decided to try an experiment.
I go into some discussions with the so called Christians about how the English translations of the Bible didn’t quite match the original intent that was written in the original language and pointed out how people in the church behave toward the un-churched and guess what happened? You have probably already guessed that I was either attacked, ignored, told I was wrong, or that it didn’t matter because “God can still speak to” them even if the words aren’t right.
So, on one hand, the Christian church sees people leaving in droves and they wonder why. On the other hand, they don’t think that it has anything to do with them. So they continue to do what they have always done and expect a different result.
Having grown tired of getting beat up time and again with the Bible by “Christians;” I had finally had enough. I had to find out where they get some of the bizarre ideas they espoused. This led me to go through a ministerial studies course. I also study Spanish and got a bilingual Bible in English and Spanish.
As I went through the ministerial studies course, I did not find where the bizarre ideas came from. However, when I began to study the different translations of the Bible and also the differences in what the Bible said in English versus what it said in Spanish I began to see where the nuttiness comes from. What does this have to do with the Christian church and insanity you ask? Allow me to tie the two together.
From my study of language and translation, I learned that it is not possible to directly translate from one language to another. The conveying of an idea will be phrased differently in one language to another to convey the same idea. For example, in English we say we ARE so many years old however in Spanish, the literal translation would say that we HAVE so many years.
Also there are words that exist in one language that do not exist in another. For example, in English we have evening which denotes a time from late afternoon until a little after dark, say from 5pm to 8pm. Evening doesn’t exist in Spanish however in Spanish they have a word that denotes the time from around 1am to 3am or 4am that we do not have in English.
Also, in languages such as Spanish and Greek, each word has encoded in it its gender, tense and person thus they are called syntactical languages. In English for example, you can tell if the word run is first, second or third person, or if it’s singular or plural until it’s used in a sentence thus English is called an analytical language. Still you ask; what has this got to do with Christian church insanity?
Well let me finally tell you. The Christian church in North America has complained of declining numbers for a very long time. If you go to discussion groups like “Christian Professionals” on a website like Linked In, you will see people asking why that is and what can be done about it.
The non-Christian people are fairly united in that they don’t like the Bible thumpers and they don’t like the confused, mixed message of the church. They believe that there is a lot of hypocrisy and undo self righteousness within the church and want nothing to do with it. So I decided to try an experiment.
I go into some discussions with the so called Christians about how the English translations of the Bible didn’t quite match the original intent that was written in the original language and pointed out how people in the church behave toward the un-churched and guess what happened? You have probably already guessed that I was either attacked, ignored, told I was wrong, or that it didn’t matter because “God can still speak to” them even if the words aren’t right.
So, on one hand, the Christian church sees people leaving in droves and they wonder why. On the other hand, they don’t think that it has anything to do with them. So they continue to do what they have always done and expect a different result.
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