1. Time doesn't matter when you're dead. It means everything to us now, but we do nothing with it. Time doesn't exist -it's a concept. Freedom exists in that you can do what you actually enjoy doing -but most people only experience this periodically when they are allowed to.
2. Money is sh*t. It means nothing. Literally has no value other than what "we" give it -mostly the people who have loads of it defending and preserving it make us believe it has.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EewGMBOB4Gg
3. Life comes from life force. Call it God or the Universe -it's what connects us all and unites us a greater part of a whole. Trees, animals, people -we all have it. But we get distracted from it easily and lose sight of our true selves.
4. You need to be Uplifted. You can't go up when you die if you're tied down to this life or the things in it. Your past. Your fears. Your possessions. Your "self". Let it Go. Move on.
5. Don't fear death. Embrace it. It isn't an end. Know it isn't an end. Like lying on your back in the ocean -know you will be carried through. You will be released from pain. You will know truth. You will be loved. You will be taken care of. Just as you are now -whether you're aware of it or not.
6. Connect. If we really are one nation -one people- one spirit- then we are ONE. This is where the "You are me, and we are you" mentality comes in. We are all extensions of each other. We may divide ourselves into categories of race, gender, religion, nationality... but those are just Divisions, not who We Are.
7. Imagine yourself 500 years ago -wandering around. How sh*ty would that be? Why? Why would it be so bad? The conditions those people lived in were far worse. Why? Because they lacked the technology and knowledge we do now. How did we achieve this technology and advancement? By breaking through established ways of doing things. By branching out. By exploring. By trying. By questioning. By following God-given intuition. Don't stop. Keep going.
8. What will people think of us 500 years from now. Why will they view us with disdain or pity? Because we knowingly let children starve to death -even though we had the resources to help them. Because we distracted ourselves from knowing the truth and what life is really about. Because we thought only of ourselves and didn't take future generations into consideration. Because we chose not to care.
9. War is sh*t. Conquering and fighting for what? Aliens would think we were the stupidest species in existence. A species that destroys its own kind. 1000 years ago there were a people who fought another group of people. For land and for wealth. They're all dead now. The land they conquered has changed names and shifted cultures. All those lives lost -and for what? Death. If you don't think a war 1000 years ago is currently relevant, why would ares be 1000 years from now?
10. You have everything you need to be happy. You have everything you need to survive. There are people who manage to make it through tropical forests with only a tent and a hunting knife. If you can't survive here with your intelligence, your spirit, and your creativity -you are an idiot. If you can't be happy and appreciate the gift of life you were given, can you say you have one?
Alright well lets first of all start off by saying that I don't watch Harry Potter because I don't feel like it. I don't preach that it's wrong to watch, or that someone is sinning in doing so. 99% of my friends watch it and I still hang out with and love them. Most folks in my church do. So let's just clarify off the bat that this really is no big deal to me; I simply have no inclination to watch or read Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteSecond of all, I'm not just an avid church-goer. I'm the senior minister of a church. I preach 3 times in front nearly 150 people every Sunday. It's my profession. Spiritual issues are what I'm all about. What may seem like a minor thing to you is a major thing to me.
What I find interesting and odd is your desire to "defend" Harry Potter or make me want to like him.
Do you work for him?
You related to him?
Is Harry Potter important to you self identity?
Why is it such a big deal to you that I don't want to watch Harry Potter, and have good reasons for it?
don't know the full history of your angst with alcohol, but I bet you wouldn't find the movies Drunken Master 1 and 2 funny/good at all. It's about a martial artist who fights way better when drunk. The drunker he is, the better. But for people who have had bad experiences with alcohol, maybe like you, this series wouldn't be intriguing or good to you even though they are considered by many (like me) to be the best martial artist movies ever made. Would I be mad at you if you didn't watch it, or try to make you watch it, or act like something is wrong with you because you didn't follow with the sheep who think it's awesome? Nope.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, in Drunken Master, the main character getting drunk is never shown as being good. He gets ugly, disgusting, and is put down for it. He hates it. It's like a necessary evil --- kind of how J.R. Tolkien viewed Gandalf and his powers, for the record.
My problem with Harry Potter is that it is taking a word and a practice and making it appear good. Your list of all the ways Harry Potter is different than witchcraft proves my point even more (so thanks for listing it): they are taking a word which = pure demonic evil and making it appealing to kids. There is just enough credibility in the Potters witchcraft so that it can be called as such, but the rest is sugar-coating a very bad word.
What if Harry Potter was part of a prostitution school, and the series made prostitution look so cool and full of fake things...but used the word "prostitution"? What about thievery? What if Potter was in a school of thieves and totally gave thievery a positive light? What about drug use and addiction? How about a kids show that said drug use is awesome, heck, even call it "crack", and totally misrepresented what "crack" really is?
Remember when kids used to walk around with those fake candy cigarettes? We don't see that happening today because we know the dangers cigarettes pose. We know that this is really no laughing matter, and even though kids 1. know the candy cigarettes are fake, 2. the parents know they are fake and 3. chances are few kids got into smoking due to the candy cigarettes, most parents wouldn't allow their kids to walk around puffing those things today.
ReplyDeleteI certainly wouldn't.
So maybe you and many others don't see the dangers in words like "witchcraft" and "sorcery" being dandied about as if they are harmless around kids, but as someone who has studied the practice and have ample warning about it from God himself in His Word, I don't like it. I choose not to watch/read HP.
We are living in a time in witch witchcraft and the occult are viewed as harmless. Ever watch Bewitched? How about Ghost Whisperer? Shows geared towards youth that are simply now an acceptable part of this culture. Sure, HP might be harmless (in your view) but what comes next? What is it promoting? What culture does it stand for?
This is why I don't like any media, including HP, that displays evil as good, or good as evil. The more watered down this message is, the worse that actually is, because all kinds of people buy into it. Please don't think I have a personal problem with HP alone. You ever watch Natural Born Killers? Same problem with that, as it displays violence for violence sake and doesn't show the consequences of that lifestyle.
Again, this is just a strong opinion of mine...not something I preach in the pulpit or divide myself from others over...lol. It is indeed just a movie. I just happen to not be interested in the concept for the reasons listed above. I don't know why you feel the need to defend Harry Potter....who cares. *shrug* JK Rowling is rich, her fans are happy --- who cares what my little feelings are. HP is doing quite fine without your defense....haha
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Wow. You wrote a blog response to my blog. Nice. I just feel bad because I know what you're saying, and I understand the dangers that can occur if kids/teens/naive individuals are led to Satanism -but you seriously sound like one of those severly religious people on street corners outside of movie theaters with huge signs saying, "Harry Potter is the Devil!"
ReplyDeleteI just don't want you to be associated with those people and lumped into that category because I know you are intelligent and are just concerned for the well being of others. On a special side note -I'm fine with watching movies about people being alcoholic. I choose not to have alcohol in my own life, but I have no issue being around people drinking/ watching people drinking on TV/ or hearing about people drinking. I'm pretty open-minded and understanding.