Knowledge

So, I am most of the way through the collected works of Poe, and I have noticed many of his cultural criticisms still hold weight today. Currently, I am reading through "The Colloquy of Monos and Una," and one character is in a monologue describing man's thirst for knowledge. Here is a selection:

"Occasionally the poetic intellect - that intellect which we now feel to have been the most exalted of all...occasionally did this poetic intellect proceed a step farther in the evolving of the vague idea of the philosophic, and find in the mystic parable that tells of the tree of knowledge, and of its forbidden fruit, death-producing, a distinct intimation that knowledge was not meet for man in the infant condition of his soul. And these men - the poets - living and perishing amid the scorn of the 'utilitarians'...these men, the poets, pondered piningly, yet not unwisely, upon the ancient days when out wants were not more simple than our enjoyments keen - days when mirth was a word unknown, so solemnly deep-toned was happiness - holy, august and blissful days, when blue rivers ran undammed, between hills unhewn, into far forest solitudes, primaeval, odorous, and unexplored."

He goes on to describe "knowledge" as "the leading evil." Reading this is astonishing to me, as his words seem only to have gained application and wisdom after all this time. Man's thirst for knowledge has been at an unhealthy level for a long time, and our power over the earth far outscales our discretion.

This would be an appropriate time to say, "It's not that I don't like progress," but I can't actually bring myself to say those words. What we view as "progress" only occurs at great cost to our planet. All of our inventions and great strides, while rapidly increasing our knowledge and capabilities as a race, are destroying the planet right now. We take too much, and often what we do give back is even more destructive. Even as I write against these things, I am using coal-powered electricity and thus supporting the destruction of the mountains which I claim to love so dearly.

We cannot live without causing at least some sort of small-scale destruction (just the act of walking is technically destroying one thing or another underfoot), but the effects of our "progress" on earth are now far beyond a small scale. Modern culture needs a new perspective on what makes real progress. I applaud those people who are now living simple lives, consuming less of the world's resources, and giving back in positive ways to both their communities and the world at large. We need more of those people. I hope myself to begin living such a lifestyle, as soon as I find the faith to let go of the system I rail against.

Here is an applicable movie scene. Take a moment to listen and glean the important principles.

Jurassic Park - Lunch

If you know me well enough, you probably know about my obsession with Jurassic Park. Here's something you may not know: my love of this story runs deeper than just loving dinosaurs. The previous scene is, in my opinion, the pivotal scene of the whole movie and contains the central message. Yet even after hearing it, how many of us would wildly support a real-life Jurassic Park? We agree for a moment with Malcolm, but when it comes to real application in the world, we can usually find ourselves siding with Hammond.

I'll leave you with the most poignant quote of the scene:

"What you call science...I call the rape of the natural world."

Peace.

I think I need professional help...

So, I haven't posted in a while. That's ok. My new job is going very well, and I've been getting closer to God together with my roommate Justin. God has taught us so much by making us live together, haha.

Life is generally going quite well. I'm still working on saving money for the big move this summer. I'm moving home from Lansing by the end of this month. My family and close friends are supportive of all this, which is great. I'm trying to learn Irish, practicing guitar and singing all the time...the usual.

However, I recently caught a bad bug...one that I've had before, and one that I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully get rid of. It's the "Man, I really wish I had a geology degree" bug. Since as far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a geologist, specifically a paleontologist. Jurassic Park is my favorite movie ever (Dr. Grant, naturally, being my favorite character). I never got out of the dinosaur phase. If you know me or have read this blog for a while, you probably know that I tried going back to school last year in hopes that I could eventually get a degree in geology or some kind of wildlife science...and if you knew all that, you also know that I didn't follow through with it. I realised that it was better to get a job right now and save money. Glad I made that choice, but I still can hardly stop thinking about pursuing more education eventually.

I kind of feel like an addict...except it's to learning, not an illegal substance.

It's very likely that I will end up in a city called Durango. My new friend Andrew will be moving there once he graduates from Charis Bible College next year, and since my goal is to start an outdoor discipleship ministry with him, I don't see why I wouldn't also move there. My plan was originally to move to Colorado Springs from Michigan, then go to Durango whenever he did. However, I found a place called Fort Lewis College in Durango which looks like it has an amazing geology program, and it's really tempting me to just move straight there. Andrew would be able to help me find a place to stay, so that's not a huge issue. The real issue is whether or not I should try to go back to school...again.

Your prayers and advice are appreciated.

Peace.

Call me a heretic

So, some of you may not like what I'm going to say today. I've been doing a lot of thinking (always dangerous, yes), and I've been finding myself moving further and further from the typical mindset of students at Spring Arbor. As some know, I'm looking at going into the sciences at MSU after I graduate from the Arb, specifically their environmental biology/zoology program. If you've read certain of my posts, you may also know I'm terribly sick of watching the generally bad interactions between the Church and scientists, particularly naturalists. Today in my doctrines class, we watched a video about a Christian man named Francis Collins who is also a geneticist, and learned about his coming to faith and attempt to reconcile science and Christianity. My professor, during the discussion afterward, said many theologians often make fools of themselves in trying to argue science when they really have no idea what they're talking about. On the flip side, people like Richard Dawkins end up being made out to be fools when it comes to talking about philosophy. He also said the overwhelming scientific evidence points toward evolution as being an accurate theory.

The thing is, I have very little issue with evolution at this point. *collective gasp*

The more I learn, even in my religion courses, the less I care about arguing this issue...heck, the more I think the evolutionary theory really isn't that bad. Certain philosophical principles people draw from it aren't compatible with Christianity, but the scientific facts pointing to evolution are. My professor said, in fact, science and Christianity are closer in beliefs than ever in the present time. Plenty of people I know would argue with this statement, but many Christians are realising the merits of the new scientific discoveries in genetics and physics, and many scientists are realising the merits of intelligent design theory in explaining the origins of the universe. This is huge. I want to be a part of the group working to reconcile scientists and the church, as I think this discussion has been too long in arriving. Scholars, sure, have been talking about it for a long time, but the Church in general needs to start practicing love and acceptance toward the scientists, especially the atheists and the naturalists which it has shunned for so long. I'm sure some people reading this will strongly disagree with my stance on evolution; go ahead and argue, but you're not helping.

And now, something completely different:

I was chosen to play Jesus for a short skit in a class today. I expressed some thoughts to everyone afterward about this. People who look like me (full beard, long hair, etc.) are often chosen to play Jesus, John the Baptist, Moses, and other similar characters because of how we look on the outside. I cannot think of an instance where someone was chosen to play Jesus because they truly look like Jesus, not in physical appearance, but in character. I may look like some depictions of Jesus, but I don't feel like my life looks like His.

Peace.