Tag Archives: religion

I Feel Just Like a Political Refugee

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Danny

Have you ever casually read through a Facebook political argument thread?  If you have you might recognize it as minutes of your life that you’ll never be able to claim back.  People arguing with zero intentions of having their minds changed with their only intention of internet yelling louder than their adversary.

And of course we know that no one ever wins an internet political argument until the mud slinging begins.  It’s like watching children argue in the sandbox.

The political environment in the United States is fairly simple.  If you support Donald Trump you’re an ignorant, back-woods racist.  And if you are a supporter of the left then you are a closed minded, child-killing, socialist.  Politics in the U.S. is quite polarizing and at the same time maddening.  And I hate it.

I don’t identify with the left because they seem to be a party who only accepts you IF you believe exactly as they believe and then tow the party line regardless.  And I don’t identify with the right these days for many of the same reasons.  I feel as though I am a political refugee without a home.

On the surface the sides seem to be dug in.  The left refuses to budge.  The right refuses to budge.  And those in the middle are stuck, left to choose between two polar opposites.  And choosing is like being asked which you prefer, to drink a cup of vomit or eat a bugger sandwich.  I wish there was an option in the middle.  A candidate who was a bit socially conscious, yet fiscally responsible.

I absolutely, positively hate politics.

Danny

Is Sugar Really That Dangerous?

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DannyI was reading an article the other day about sugar on Huffpost (you can read the article here) and I had an epiphany.  There are a lot of facts about sugar that are alarming, especially considering that food manufacturers put it in a lot of our foods.

The simple truth is that sugar might be the most deadly substance on the planet.  And even if that statement is a bit overstated, it isn’t far off.

And because of this I have decided to spend the next week or 2 weaning myself off of all sugar.  I’m not saying I’ll never eat sugar again.  I’m saying that I need to be cognizant of the dangers of sugar and then use that awareness to make better food choices.

Danny

We Believe Different Things and That’s Okay

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DannyI’m sure at this point you’ve seen the interview videos held on college campuses around the United States.  I’ve watched several of them today as I took advantage of a rainy day.  In these videos a guy or lady walks around college campuses asking students about their political views and then asks them to give specifics to back their belief system.  Rarely can the students provide substance to defend their beliefs.

One particular video grabbed my attention for 2 primary reasons.  First, because of the number of college students who seem to be espousing socialist views.  Secondly, because many who were interviewed believe that free speech only applies to those expressing views that aligned with their own.  And differing views should be considered “hate” speech.

I don’t agree with many people who are extremists, but I do believe they have the right to express their views.  And sometimes it is painful to let someone speak, especially if their views are racial, anti-religion, pro-life/pro-abortion, etc.  Opposing views should not automatically be classified as “hate” speech and it alarmed me to listen to student after student express this world-view.

And quite a few agreed with amending the Constitution to limit citizens’ right to free speech!

But when asked WHY the Constitution should be amended they were not able to provide a single valid reason why.  Eventually they fell back on their belief that “hate speech” should be restricted.

I don’t believe this is a view I’ll be adopting any time soon.

Danny

Not All People Are A** Holes…

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DannyThere are these moments when people do things around me that appear on the surface to reinforce the perception that most people are self-centered, self-focused, selfish and all the other “self” prefixed words.  My usual reaction is to point out that society is going down the toilet or that people are such a** holes these days.

I do believe that social media has changed us.  It has changed how people interact with the world around them.  The most interesting change, in my opinion, is the selfie.  Stop for a moment and imagine how you might have viewed someone 15 years ago who used their camera to take pictures of themselves.  We would have thought “how vain do you have to be?”, but in today’s world the selfie is completely acceptable.

On the surface society would appear to be spinning in the toilet bowl.  People do appear to be more self-focused.  People do appear to be less interested in helping others.

But all of these perceptions are superficial.  When I stop and think about humanity in general, I believe that most people are good.  I believe most people have good intentions.  I also believe most people care about others and are considerate.

It’s easy to be influenced by social media and the inundation of news to believe that the entire world sucks.  And I’ll admit I have fallen victim (at times) to this false narrative.

The truth is there are a lot of good people who are trying their best to make it through a hard life and a tough world.

Danny

Working Through Cycles of Personal Growth

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Like An Anchor

We often think of growth as happening one direction. Growing things expand and get older, they don’t shrink or get younger. If something is not moving forward, then it’s not growing.

But maybe that’s not always the case, especially when we’re talking about personal growth journeys. Growth like this doesn’t happen all at once or in a steady direction. Sometimes, a thing that you thought you dealt with will come back and needs to be worked through again. You often have to keep going back over the same ground in order to make progress.

This isn’t failure to grow. But it might look like it depending on our perspective. If we’re the type of person who wants to get everything right the first time, then it can be discouraging when we find ourselves having to deal with something we thought we’d already worked through. We might even decided that since…

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I’m Not Sure What I Believe About God

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Danny

I’m Not Sure What I Believe About God

When I was a young boy we went to church on a regular basis: every Wednesday night, every Sunday and every Sunday night.  I had a great youth group to be a part of and we were all pretty good friends.  God and Jesus weren’t really pushed down our throats, but the church was a Bible teaching church and believed that life, Earth were all created by God in 7 days, Adam and Eve were the first humans and if you didn’t confess Jesus then you would go to hell.  I think these beliefs are fairly typical of most Christian churches.

When I left for college many of these ideologies were challenged and I abandoned most of these beliefs.  At this point it has been proven that our planet and universe have been around for more than five thousand years, humans evolved from a primitive form of proto hominins who had limited faculties and it is highly unlikely that the world was created in 7 days.

I look at some of my early beliefs much in the same way humans once believed the Earth was flat.  Or that people who suffered from seizures were possessed by demons.  Or that witches in Salem existed resulting in thousands of innocent women being brutally murdered.

As I have interacted with people from around the globe and met people from all religions my eyes have been opened to the fact that the world is an enormous place with people who hold differing world-views.  My views have been influenced by many people and have become an amalgamation of my experiences.

As the title reflects, I’m not sure what I believe about “God”.  I do believe there is a higher power in this world, I just don’t know what it, he, she is exactly.  I’m fairly certain God isn’t a person.  It is easy for mankind to view a deity in our form as it is the only form we know.   Maybe God takes on a human form?  I don’t know.

I am always put off when someone pretends to know or believe as definitive fact something that humans cannot possibly know.  I have no idea if aliens helped build the pyramids, but I doubt it happened.  I don’t have any insight as to Nessie being a real creature living in a lake, but I have my doubts.  And I will never state as fact what happens when we die because I have no clue, nor does anyone else.  As it stands, we are all guessing.

And we guess about a lot of stuff, but I’m satisfied not knowing.  It actually feeds my curiosity and that makes life that much more interesting.  Not knowing sometimes is most of the fun.  It forces me to dig for information.  It challenges me to expand my mind.  Not knowing allows me to use my imagination.  Not knowing makes anything possible which is exciting and scary all at the same time.

So, what is “God”?  I have no idea and I’m okay with not knowing.

Danny

Link Up Party Continues!

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The Link Up continues today but ends tonight so be sure to jump in and have some fun!

And don’t forget, you can leave your link multiple times!!

Meet and Greet Link Click Here

Link Up Party Continues!

Posted on by

The Link Up continues today but ends Monday evening so be sure to jump in and have some fun!

And don’t forget, you can leave your link multiple times!!

Meet and Greet Link Click Here