Life: a divine journey through space in time

In less than 24 hours I will once again recall a year past, say: “thank you,” remind everyone of my age –celebrate my birthday, in consequence be reminded again of a milestone in my life journey that is both exciting and demanding.

As I write this my heart beats albeit restlessly because at present my journey is not what I would call ‘well.’ I have a lot of things happening and at times I honestly feel like I a twig in the middle of a whirlwind and at times it seems like I am hanging on a thread. So writing about life as a journey for me is quite difficult, partly because there’s that persistent discomfort that I myself am wishing that I’d be relieved of.

It has been said that life on earth can be considered as a journey –thus it is an activity that transcends time and space wherein environments, culture and values play a vital role and not to mention are formed afterwards acquired as a means upon which we interpret reality –thus forming us into the persons that we are.

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PayItForward | Lending Yourself

An old song that my band PayItForward haven't played in years. Too bad my camera's memory ran out before we were able to hit the final note.

Punk rock and theology | God Save the Queen

Many who know me are well aware that as far as music goes I am a huge punk rock fan. Primarily, because of all the genres in music it is the only style that has captured my imagination and not to mention has given language to my then adolescent angst that came about my experiences of not being what is defined as ‘cool’ at the time.

Erstwhile I was thinking of punk as a starting point in initiating a dialogue between its counter-cultural and at times nihilistic ethos with Christian theology that is in areas of anthropology, hamartiology, theodicy, and soteriology as personally I find the lyrics, noise and overall aural experience of listening to punk rock give language to such aspects of how I interpret and theologize about life in my personal context.

Shedding our Biases Along the Hermeneutical Spiral

A summary of Preunderstanding of the Interpreter from Klein, Bloomberg, and Hubbard’s Introduction to Biblical Interpretation

Can one approach the Scriptures without bias?

This is a fundamental question that confronts biblical interpreters, whenever they would approach the Bible, because whether we like it or not “we all have certain suppositions or assumptions of the word based upon our prior experiences based on these presuppositions”. In their book Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, the authors Klein, Bloomberg and Hubbard, defined this phenomenon as preunderstanding: an occurrence upon which knowingly and unknowingly we construct a body of beliefs and attitudes that we use to interpret or make sense of what we experience, which according to them play a very significant role in shaping the way we construe reality –therefore functioning as an arbitrary hermeneutic that we tend to use whenever we would try to draw out meaning at a given text.
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Not 'I' but 'Us': a counterpoint

Yesterday I finished writing a reflection about interpersonal-relationships as the soul and purpose of our humanity wherein it is in relationships that can be found in life that is shared in relationships –relationships that can be found in that of parents, grandparents, children, siblings, relatives friends, comrades, kindred spirits and lovers that the wholeness of our being is found as creatures created after the image of God.

It is in relationships that we are animated into living life and enact love because love is a feeling that begs to be expressed and life is the arena upon which we enact love in our relationship with God, to one another, and to all creation. Thus giving us a to live and make meaning in living.

Here I would like to offer a counterpoint upon which what is the consequence of following self?

If life’s wholeness is found in relationship what then is the ultimate goal of life that stands over and against this design of wholeness?

The Black Button is among the finalist of the YouTube Award 2007 for Best Short Film that was made Lucas Crandles.

The film’s premise is simple yet intriguing: if you couldn’t get caught, would you kill a stranger for $10 million?

The last line is a killer: "the evil can be saved. the good can still be condemned!"

Not ‘I’ but ‘us’ | Relationship as the essence and goal of human wholeness

I remember ending my week with a goodbye that underscored a sense of lonesomeness as it means that for a time life will be lived apart from a loved one. While, the following day I started the week with a celebration of my father’s 85th birthday that also coincided with Father’s Day.

Thinking about it now further reinforces my conviction that our humanity if we are to look at human life it can be summed up in terms of relationships. It is in relationships that we discover ourselves and our tenacity to live and make meaning in living –because to be human is to stand in a unique relationship to God, to one another, and to all creation. This, of course is because God, as Trinity, is relational. The perichoretic God makes perichoretic people. God’s being-as-communion overflows in humans’ being-in-community. Therefore we as humans have no being apart from others. Humanity is co-humanity.

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The Synthesis Between Historical Inquiry and Divine Revelation

A summary of Gordon Fee’s Exegesis and Spirituality: Completing the Circle, an excerpt from Listening to the Spirit in the Text

To paraphrase the words of Gordon Fee: ‘The ultimate task of exegesis is spirituality,’ as he proposes the need for an interface between exegesis and spirituality which can be found in between the historical exercise of digging out the original intent of the text and the experience of hearing the text in the present terms of both its presupposed and intentional spirituality.

Accordingly if the goal of exegesis is spirituality it is crucial now for us to ask what spirituality is in the first place –for it is in framing it into a working definition that we start what Fee, portrays as the circle of approaching the Scripture from the vantage point of a serious exegete and a earnest followers of Christ that are seeking for a genuine encounter with the God who has revealed Himself in the Word.
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The Language of God

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon this blog by the United Church of Christ as part of their "God is still speaking," or "The Stillspeaking Initiative", campaign that was originally launched in 2002.
Having historically favored progressive or liberal views on civil rights, gay rights, women's rights and other social issues, the video appeals to me as it shows how in my opinion churches should be.

ut haud lacrima can exsisto effundo.

Why can’t I cry?

Does the absence of tears mean that I have gone past the point of crying?

Have I totally lost my humanity that I am not totally devoid of emotion?

I have gone past the point of crying…one can only wonder why the things hoped for are the things that blow up onto our faces with a resounding “no!”

I have gone past the point of caring. For the nth time I have been burned and rendered broken for caring.

I have gone past the point of living.

I’ve done so much.
I’ve hurt so many.
I’m a miserable person.
God help me now…

decisions

for the longest time i've been asked to make decisions on what is just, fair and equitable to all parties
for the longest time i've made decisions based on such principles
for the longest time i've been told that what i did was the noble thing to do
for the longest time i've been made to feel that what i did was right
but for the longest time i betrayed my heart and its desires....