before eternity

i watched tank girl last nite, as i sometimes do.
i do enjoy thinking about post-apocalyptic realities (i use this term because i am referring to a genre, a reality that is created and you are invited to join - think blade runner, ghost in the shell, 1984).
do you think we will get a chance at eternity on earth?
do you think we will get an attempt at utopia, to get things right, will we get the chance to redeem ourselves and have a go at fixing the planet before Christ returns?
is it realistic to expect that we will get to fix diseases, conquer planets, get rid of the 'evil' gene?
or are we headed towards decay?
will we have apocalypse on earth, with the johnny mnemonic/ghost in the shell/do androids dream of electric sheep (blade runner)/z is for zachariah/metropolis type world, or will any apocalype of that type be the apocalypse?
if so, should we speed that up? should we bring on the nukes? we're never going to have utopia, so why bother trying?!

Greed v Discontent

is there a difference between discontentment that leads to the accumulation of stuff (think shopping sprees) versus the better-than-the-joneses never-ending pursuit of wealth?
i mean to say feeling unfulfilled and discontent is quite a different malady than being greedy, but do they have necessarily different cures?
the solution to discontentment is to be content. content with who you are, what you have, where you fit in to the world, the grand scheme of things.
the drug of greed however seems quite different. is it necessarily due to a lack of fulfillment? for i think many greedy people are fulfilled, do have all they want, but simply enjoy the endless pursuit of more. i don't know whether this is a condition that needs a cure. i don't know whether the greedy person has a soul that cries out for meaning, for water to drink that will truly satisfy. i don't know whether this person needs anything? whether they need jesus?
the person who seeks contentment, however, will, and can truly be content when they find and accept jesus, the water that he brings.
but what, if anything, can we bring to the greedy person?

Hip Hip

So who gets to say Hip Hip before the Hooray (or Huzzah depending on your fancy)?
I tend to leave it for the closest or most important at the occasion, ie the Wife, Father, Prime Minister present.
I do, however, have a voice that lends itself to the Hip Hip, and feel a little guilty leaving it for the low-speaking VIP.
Am I correct to be observing protocol, or should I be taking the front foot, leading the way into the Hooray!!!?

really here

NEITHER presumtion of, nor resignation to, the future, allow us to truly embrace the present - we are able only to truly love and to serve, practically able to be involved when we have real hope.
Hope is nothing else than the expectation of those things which faith has believed to have been truly promised by God. - Calvin
FOR without that view of the future, we will become despondent with the lack of change, and will indeed become resigned to the downward trend of history, the decline of man.
BUT, being sure of our future in Christ, we can truly fix our eyes on him, unwaveringly following and serving him and his kingdom, toward the ends of his kingdom.

so, knowing the end is nigh, do we live presuming the coming, being resigned to the coming, OR are we realistically expecting his kingdom?

i say this to counter the thought that we live oblivious to the present, for i would suggest it is only in having this realistic expectaion of the future that we are able to properly grasp hold of the present.

(the vibe of these ideas were stolen off me by Jürgen Moltmann, long before i was born...)

My Memory is Your Memory

I remember watching a special on memory years ago, the idea of virtual memories in particular.
Coming off things such as Johnny Mnemonic, Ghost in the Shell (Stand Alone Complex) and the 2 movies, the idea that a soul may not be innately tied to the body fascinates me.
Especially considering the oft quoted Jewish doctrine of the body and the soul being one, to what extent are we able to virtualise memory? To the extent where we have duplicated the soul?

This clip got me thinking about it, we were planning to do this with my rapacious facial hair, take a photo every day, watching the progress and regress.
It may be too late to copywrite the idea, but i would love to do it one day.
Anyway, watch the clip.:

• ahree lee: me

Pets are poison

Is there a greater deadweight than a pampered pooch, a cared-for cat or an ascetically-pleasing armadillo?

I see them simply as a product of our avaricious society, and furthermore as ballast for the previous millenia,

the need for pets CANNOT be justified in the world today, when there are needs for:
a) housing
dog parks, beaches, etc. take up SO much room, that could be much more effectively usedfor higher density housing, rather than pandering to the needs of this selfish section of society.
b) monetary support for those less fortunate than ourselves
the amount of money spent on food, accessories, pedicures, vaccinations, medical bills (required due to increasingly higher standards for purebred animals) could be spent in so many more areas than on fuelling our desire to be needed, and this by animals bred purely for us, and sustained simply by supplying the continued need.

the possible exceptions are when the animals are working animals, are rescued from pounds (most of which are there simply because they were bred for an overestimated need), or for the VERY few people who benefit medicinally (ie sick kids, old people), when there is noone else to care and lift there spirits.

The need for animals is simply because we are so useless at caring for people, at showing them they are needed and loved.
In summary, the fact we even have pets is a blight on us - were we free of them, perhaps our time, energy and money, might be spent on each other.


On the other hand, if you would like to, you can donate to (for example) the

• poodle club of america

which is where i got the lovely photo from, so they can continue their great work!

Jesus Ain't A Dirty Word

At UNSW the 2nd Session Mission has begun!
It started yesterday with a debate between Rob Forsyth and Peter Slezak, on whether Jesus rose from the dead or not.
By all accounts it went well, with more questions raised than answers given, but the end result being that people need to make a decision of faith, whether they are willing to put their trust in the evidence for the ressurection of Christ or not!
Praise God!
Stay tuned for all the events, with MP3s of talks going up soon.

Have a look at:

• JesusAintADirtyWord.com

Cyclic v Linear

once upon a time, i was reading Sophie's World.
the discussion was comparing the indo-european cyclical view of history, with the arab-semitic linear view of history.

the issue seems to be the view makind has of the beginning and end of history, as clearly seen in the Bible, and the way that view is intertwined with the rather futile cyclical view of the world in, for example, Hinduism, where the point is to escape this stupid cycle.

there are obvious cycles seen in the Bible, however, in the 'rebellion-> punishment-> repentance-> redemption' whirlpool.

this seems in contrast to the idea of us getting our perspective in life from where we are in the timeline, from creation to judgement day.