Love

Love. Its a good thing.
Its really all that we've got.

If i have a faith that moves mountains but have not love i am nothing-1 Corinthians 13:2b

Hopeful Downward Mobility

I just sorta rediscovered this the other day and was thinking about the progressions i have made over the last year. When i first started to actually connect with christianity i felt a sense of anger towards the Christian subculture. And while i still disagree with it in some ways i would like to think that im trying to replace that anger with love. For example instead of just getting angry at people for wasting food and clothes, i can be proactive and live in spite of that(ie dumpster diving). Instead of simply despising those who show hatred, i can love them and love the ones they hate. Certainly there are many things wrong with modern day christian culture with its focus on wealth and lack on remembrance of the things Jesus said. But even if we sell all we have and give it to the poor but have not love we are nothing. Granted that doesnt let people off the hook at all. But we should proactive in our lifestyles and life in spite of all the crap that surrounds us.

Recently ive started Dumpster diving. I had a real difficulty with this, trying to decide if i was doing it for the right reasons. If i am diving just to get stuff, than that is no different that going into a store and buying. sure the process is different, but im still caring about my stuff more than God. I struggled with this for a while but i think ive finally come up with a solution. I've decided to do a Free Market up here at College. The goal is to retrieve things that people throw away(that are useful) and give them back into a community that truly needs it. There is a certain sense of oddity of being a private Christian college amidst the second poorest county in new york state. While we as christians are called to care for the poor we have so much wealth, yet there is so much need. So im planning on dumpster diving and curb shopping things and giving them back to the poor in the community. So far we've been pretty successful! im currently sitting on a chair courtesy of a dorm dumpster. After only about a month we also have ski boots, books, a dinnerware set, cards, bowling ball, dolly, clothes, watering pot, and others. Im really excited for it and i think its a pretty great thing to do.

One of the biggest items that is thrown away is food. Over 100 billion pounds of food is thrown out in the United States in one year, while meanwhile people are dying of hunger(even in our own country). This is something that should catch everyones attentions, and as a Christian this is incredibly disturbing when we fail to take care of God's children. check out freegan.info for more information on this and ways to live a lifestyle in stark contrast to wastefulness.

Of course if you plan on doing something like this make sure and research it online so you are being safe about it. also dont do anything stupid like dive into a doctors office dumpster. Also check out this great site, they give an awesome theology to dumpster diving(imagine that!)

http://www.larynandjanel.com/blog/a_shout_out_to_eating_garbage_on_dumpster_diving.html








God Bless.

Scratch Track

So Scratchtrack played at my college tonight. Scratchtrack is probably a case of 'music that i wouldnt really like on record but is freaking amazing live'. seriously. they put on one hell of a show. most fun ive had at a concert in a while. They feature two guys. The lead singer also lays down some sick beatbox beats (which he loops) and the guitarist using a slide to give an almost blues feel. Its awesome. They also featured a sax player on a song or two. yeah. awesome. They also covered Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy' Here's some sick pictures and make sure to check them out. Their new album "The Legend of Wild Bill' is pretty legendary. get it? like you see the title has the word legend in it. its like a pun. its funny.

http://www.myspace.com/scratchtrack

Music Review: Migala-Arde

Allright! so this is my first music review. WOOHOO!



Migala-Arde (Sub Pop)


So i found this album when i was looking around on Ruckus (a free music downloading site for college students. its pretty awesome) and ended up getting it while knowing absolutely nothing about it. They are based out of Spain, and have since broken up. Arde is a very pleasant surprise. The album starts out with a melodic tone, with the opening track 'Primera Parada' sliding softly with guitars and percussion. This tone dissipates, and it begins to sound darker and darker conjuring up a pleasant mix of The Black Heart Procession, Nick Cave and Current 93. 'El Caballo Del Malo' provides one of the nicest instrumentals i've heard in a long time, with effects and distant squealing guitars battling against the wind surrounding the music as it slowly builds(listen and you'll understand.) After these two more upbeat tracks it strikes a somber mood, and the vocals kick in. Listening to these is like listening to two completely different bands which can be slightly disconcerting and doesn't have the most natural flow. The songs individually are beautiful however, and overall it is a very nice record which i'll be sure to continue listening to.

visit them here: http://www.myspace.com/migala

Overall Score= 8 out of 10



(pic via http://http//decadent3.livejournal.com/70997.html?thread=167509)

First Real Post

So i've never done a blog before, and frankly thought that they were pretty stupid. But i also frequent them a lot, usually to get music. So i figured i'd try this out, just to give myself an outlet for something. If no one in the world ever reads it, who cares. So here goes

Lately i've been thinking a lot about what we value as people. I would describe myself as a Christian, but please don't shrug your shoulders and click that lovely red x in the right hand corner. For many years i've struggled with finding a niche in Christianity that actually made sense to me. As i became more and more socially active, i couldn't figure out how the church's squabbles over doctrine actually applied to the teachings of the Bible. It all seemed so pointless. Many Christians lead a self-righteous lifestyle, judging those around them. We are supposed to do the right things, and hang out with the right people. Really? thats odd. Jesus hung out with sinners, tax collectors, outcasts, lepers, the least of the least. Not to mention that he was homeless, by which we would immediately dismiss him.

I recently read the book 'Under the Overpass' which i would highly recommend to anyone. It tells the story of two college students who decide to live as homeless men for 5 months across the United States. One of the most telling things was their experiences with Christian churchs. These churches, the places that are supposed to offer love and hope, were the places where they were judged the most harshly. I thought about this and began to realize that the non-christian friends i have tend to be more loving than the Christian ones i have. Why is that? Sure they may do things that christians view as bad, just as drinking and smoking, but they seem to be more in line with what Jesus wanted than many Christians are. Should we not value love? isn't that the most important thing? Jesus seems to think so. So why do we spend so much time living without love.

A few days after reading this book i attended an Easter service at my church. Well actually it wasn't at my church. We rent out this conference centeresque place where we hold a service. And before was the crispest worship band, in the nicest clothes, with nice food everywhere. To worship a homeless man. Who lived uncomfortably. Why are we spending this day living the complete opposite of what Christ lived? It seems like we are lavishing things upon ourselves. I made a point to look at the cars in the parking lot as i came in. BMW, Mercedes, SUVs. Doesn't this seem just a little bit hypocritical?

This is the part where i realize i don't know where im going with all of this. I just feel that the evangelical church fails on so many levels. But there is some hope. There are some really cool churches that are accepting and spreading Christ's love. I think that one of these is Revolution Church. Check it out if you get a chance.
www.Revolutionchurch.com


Well i don't really have anything to say. i thought that this would have turned out better than it did, but oh well. ill get better at this hopefully and organize my thoughts better. i'd really like to know some of your opinions of the state of the Evangelical church. Feel free to comment about it, i'd love to talk about it.

Peace.Love.

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