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Name: Will
Country: United States
State: Texas
Metro: Houston
Birthday: 2/4/1983
Interests: God, Christianity, Ferrari, cars, photography, Nikon, Canon, Martin Logan, speakers, audio, Pioneer Elite, Krell, Italy, Homestar Runner, Cheat Commandos, penguins, theology, apologetics, philosophy, food, music, movies, computers
Expertise: Computers, cars, cameras, audio, video, cell phones, iPods (sadly), among a slew of other things
Occupation: Management
Industry: Retail Home Theater
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  cryptic3113
Member Since:
9/6/2004
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| So I started a new blog today:
http://stallout.blogspot.com/
I guess it's a major time of transition in my life and as good a time as any. Let me know what you think. Also, you can comment there even if you're not setup with a blogspot account.
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| "For all intents and purposes your adult self should never be consulted regarding vehicle purchases or breakfast cereal.
That is all."
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione | | |
| "There is a flow to history and culture. This flow is rooted and has
its wellspring in the thoughts of people. People are unique in the
inner life of the mind-what they are in their thought world determines
how they act. This is true of their value systems and it is true of
their creativity. It is true of their corporate actions, such as
political decisions, and it is true of their personal lives. The
results of their thought world flow through their fingers or from their
tongues into the external world. This is true of Michelangelo's
chisel, and it is true of a dictator's sword.
People have presuppositions, and they will live more consistently on
the basis of these presuppositions than even they themselves may
realize. By presuppositions
we mean the basic way an individual looks at life, his basic world
view, the grid through which he sees the world. Presuppositions rest
upon that which a person considers to be the truth of what exists.
People's presuppositions lay a grid for all they bring forth into the
external world."
-Francis A. Schaeffer How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture
People like to think they have independence; that they have some sort
of fine control on their own lives and decisions. Each us of has our
own ideologies, our own system of beliefs that have a tremendous impact
on how we live our day to day lives. We are heavily influenced by
these internal set of rules and guidelines; they affect everything from
how we treat others (do I help a stranger, hold open the door, let that
insult pass without comment, rip into that clerk at the store) to what
we create (art that honors God, building homes to help the helpless,
paint vulgar images). It is that moment's hesitation before you make a
decision sometimes and how you feel about that decision afterward. It
is in that moments that follow the decision afterward that we can truly
see what we believe. It is where the presuppositions really come to
life.
Let me explain with a simple example: we see someone in need of aid and
we do not stop to help. Afterward we feel no remorse. That speaks
volumes about your worldview, your presuppositions. A true Christian
for example has a fundamental belief that a person is created in the
image of God and that we have a responsibility as our brothers'
keeper. Therefore someone claiming to be a Christian in that situation
and has that response does no truly have that presupposition. Perhaps
they think they do but in
reality they have a different worldview. Its in those small moments
that when we step back and look at our lives we can learn what we truly
believe.
Shaeffer is brilliant. He's a borderline prophet if you read his
work. In the 60's he was predicting quite a bit of what we see in
modern culture: animal life is valued more than human life (animal
rights vs. abortion), that we would have a political party in the US
that would align itself with Christians and ultimately use them (the
Republican party, and mind you I generally align myself with Republican
ideals), so on and so forth. He has so much to say on society and
culture that is eerily accurate based upon a study of the past. I
think I have to agree with Malcom Muggeridge the famed British
newspaperman who said, "News is old things happening to new people."
The degredation we see in our society today is not so different from
what we saw in Greek and Roman culture and even further back. It just
shows that general human nature hasn't progressed much regardless of
what your modern humanist might argue.
In fact, the twentieth century has becomes the bloodiest century in
history. More people have been killed because of idealogical
differences and destroyed on the battlefields of geopolitical
maneuvering, in the twentieth century than any other century in
history. Some have caclulated that this past century has been bloodier
than the previous nineteen centuries combined. Stalin, Hitler, Mao
Zedong, atrocities in Africa, political strife in the US and eastern
Europe, riots in France, bombings in London. My how we have risen
above the primordial ooze and evolved into such advanced organisms.
What is eerie about that is the man who predicted this was none other
than the greatest modern spokesperson for atheism himself, Friedrich
Neitzsche. So much for modern day progress since we have "outgrown"
God.
Everyone loves Buc-ee's!
Gregory Gymnasium, UT Austin
No Dumping: Think of the fish
Looking up from the bottom of the tower, UT Austin
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| It's 9:32am. I've been up for a little over half an hour. The coffee
I sip could be a bit stronger though it's plenty hot. Mentally I
loosely plan out my day; then my week. There is so much to do it
borders on overwhelming.
I'm twenty-five now (it doesn't seem so bad when you type it out, as if
not using hard numbers softens it a little), engaged, trying to find a
house before the "big day," and getting things sorted with work. As I
ponder where I am in my life the sky outside is overcast (and soft,
diffused light filters in through the skylight and windows), Roger
Waters playing classic Pink Floyd comes warmly through the speakers and
my coffee cup is nearly empty. It's all so melodramatic. I'm happy
though.
I'm going back to my old store soon. My feelings are slightly mixed.
I've learned so much and feel like I've been through the fire. Life
was harder and I had to fight for everything. In a sense it will be a
relief; back with old friends in a store that isn't insane and plagued
with problems. On the other hand, it will lack that type of
challenge. In the end I don't need the stress and will go further in
the old store with the new lessons learned. I'm leaving behind a group
of younger guys that I was over. That's really the part I'm most sad
about. These are guys who have really come to trust me and open up to
me. I've spoken with them about family issues, relationships and God;
just last night one of them who knows almost nothing of financial
matters came to me seeking advice on getting his finances in order and
beginning to plan for retirement. They have been through so many
leadership changes in the past year it seems like they are orphans
going to a new foster home. I feel like I'm abandoning them.
Rocky
UT Austin
UT Austin, view from the clock tower to the capitol
UT Austin, the clock tower
50's T-Bird
Remnants of Thai
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| "The war creates no absolutely new situation; it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with 'normal life.' Life has never been normal. Even those periods which we think most tranquil, like the nineteenth century, turn out, on closer inspection, to be full of crises, alarms, difficulties, emergencies. Plausible reasons have never been lacking for putting off all merely cultural activities until some imminent danger has been averted or some crying injustice put right. But humanity long ago chose to neglect those plausible reasons. They wanted knowledge and beauty now, and would not wait for the suitable moment that never comes"
-C.S Lewis Learning in Wartime speaking to Cambridge University students during WWII
War creates no absolutely new situation; it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. That statement leads to the question which Lewis immediately answers, "What is the permanent human situation?" He later goes on to answer further what is perhaps the more important question, "What is that shadow we exist under that is infinitely more important than ourselves?"
As great and wonderful and powerful as mankind is I think we may all agree that we are absolutely broken and most would agree there is nothing we can do to fix it. Do I mean that mankind is lost? That it is beyond any and all hope? Yes. And no.
In and of ourselves in the classic humanitarian view of things we are lost and beyond hope. Most would say, "I am not my brother's keeper. I am only responsible for myself." Not only do most of us refuse to take responsibility for anyone other than ourselves but even when we do take action there is only so much we can do being flawed and limited. Ultimately, we live in a broken world and we are a broken people.
Our only hope therefore lies in that ever present shadow of something infinitely more important than [ourselves]. He is the only perfect thing in the universe. More flawless than the purest diamond He knows all and can not only fix that which is broken but if He so choses He can even unbreak it. We get caught up in trivialities and calamities alike. As human beings we insist that once we get past this one thing we will turn to Him. At times we even ask why He didn't step in and radically change things when we did come to Him? He has His purposes. I end with another of Lewis' comments which are just a few pages beyond those which I quotes above:
"The best defence is a recognition that in this, as in everything else, the war has not really raised up a new enemy but only aggravated an old one. There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarrelling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come."
After all, aren't we all constantly at war? And just what is it that we are fighting for? Things spiritual or material or emotional?
As far as my personal life goes? I've been fighting sickness since Sunday, our server was down at work for a week causing untold chaos and my aunt is in the ICU and assuming all goes well will be home in ten days for two months of bedrest. All in all though I'm tired but happy.
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