I wrote this last year for Christmas. I read over it, and while I might do it a little differently now, I decided to keep it...for now. Maybe I'll start revising it a little every year or something, to see how my writing style and perspective changes...dang...that's a good idea...why do I always have those late at night...
"So, There Was This Teenage Girl" by Kendra Logan, December 2009
So, there was this teenage girl.
She was a good Christian. She was kind and gentle and loved God (she was probably really fun, too, because all real Christians are! XD). She was also a virgin, and her name was Mary.
(Fun Fact #1: "virgin" in the Greek can sometimes just mean "young girl", but in this case, it means, you know, an actual virgin ;D)
Mary was engaged to this great guy named Joseph, who was also a good Christian. He was pretty awesome actually. Really fun, caring, Christian, even brave. They were pretty excited about getting married.
But then God just had to throw a curve ball.
One night, an angel suddenly appears to Mary. *freak out* And the angel said, "Do not be afraid" first.
(Fun Fact #2: We don't know much about angels, but we know one thing for darn sure: they are scary. Every time someone sees an angel, they're panicking so much the angel has to calm them down. Haha, I can see the angels getting impatient now, "*rolls eyes* GOOD GRIEF, WOULD YOU GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF? Oh, I mean DO NOT BE AFRAID.")
So, back to Mary and the angel. The angel says, "God is so proud of you! You're doing great!"
...
...thanks...
Guess what? You are pregnant."
*blink*
O.O
Imagine how Mary must have felt. I know I would have been absolutely panicking. I mean, I wouldn't have doubted it or anything--if an Angel of the Lord says you're pregnant, you're pregnant--but I would have been really scared. And I wonder if Mary was afraid she had done something wrong, you know? I mean, I would have been like, "OH MY GOSH, is there something I've...er...missed..."
The angel went on.
"You are to name the child Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
>insert awkward silence<>insert awkward, ANNOYED silence<
Joseph: "Okay...well, you see, my wife is pregnant, and the baby is expected any day now. Isn't there anything you can do?"
The innkeeper directs Mary and Joseph to the stable.
I'm not even gonna go into what Mary must have been thinking at this point. But anyway, Mary and Joseph head on over to the stable and try to get as comfortable as they can.
(Fun fact #4: most of you probably already know this, but back in the day, stables weren't little barns like we have now. They were usually caves!)
So, Mary goes into labor, and now we will graciously switch over to what is happening with the shepherds.
Now, let's get something straight about shepherds. They weren't really considered important. They were kind of like today's garbage men. You need 'em, you'd miss 'em if they were gone, but it's not exactly what every kids dreams of becoming or anything. For the shepherds to be the first ones God had told (aside from the baby's parents) was definitely ironic to say the least.
That's another thing I love about God: he's got a great sense of humor.
And here comes the part we all know. Say it with me now ;)
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"
Then tons more angels joined them and sang praises to God!
So, with that, the shepherds decided to go and see what the angels had been talking about. And they went into Bethlehem and found the stable, and WHOA! There *is* a little baby here, just like the angels said! (Shocker, right? ;D)
I can only imagine what Mary was thinking now. I'm sure she was overjoyed with Jesus, and I really don't think she minded having random shepherd guys show up at her "doorstep". I do think she might have been a little frightened, though. I mean, having your first child is supposed to be MONUMENTAL already, so imagine the huge burden it would be to have the SON OF GOD. The random shepherds showing up was probably a whole 'nother level of eye-opening to Mary. She was holding the Son of God in her arms, only a few hours old, and already he was drawing people to himself.
It’s a beautiful story, is it not? It has everything a good story should: love, adventure, realism, excitement, irony, and even a little baby. But not just any little baby.
The baby that grew up and saved my life.
But that's another story ;)
~Kendra
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Friday, December 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Eleven of Kendra's Kristmas Memories
Thanks for following (again) Steven! WooT!
Okay, let me just say this in case any of y'all missed it ;)
VOTE ON THE POLL ON THE RIGHT! Can we get all 81 followers to vote? Let's find out. So far there are 26 votes. Even if you round that to 30, we're still missing 51 votes. That is pitiful ;) Let's get it in gear and vote, shaaaaaaaaaall we?
So, tonight I'm going to a birthday celebration. Katie ("little sister") is going to be ELEVEN years old! :O And to think I knew her when she ate Cheerios while sitting on Mrs. Martha's lap during church...*sniff sniff* LOL :)
I watched another Alias episode today. No Mr. Sark. *sob* But it's getting even more interesting. It used to be that I liked the show, but it wasn't like this constant thing on my mind or anything. Now it feels like either I'm watching Alias, or I'm thinking about watching Alias! I really, really recommend it. Really. It is awesome.
Alrighty, time for the Christmas Countdown! Eleven...eleven...eleven...
Eleven of Kendra's Kristmas Memories:
1. When I was two, I got a dollhouse for Christmas from my grandparents! It. Was. Awesome. Three floors of awesome with a little family and some furniture! I loved that dollhouse and collected more people and stuff for years and years. I played with it pretty much all day from ages 2-9 (except when in school). Then I played it regularly from ages 10-13. Most of my stories started out as "dollhouse shows". The main games I played were orphans, slaves, poor people, weird cultures, and runaways :) Oh, yes, and brothers. Always lots of brothers. Always an older, usually a younger, but always brothers.
2. When I was very little, I don't even know how old, we had a rule: after the tree was decorated, no one is allowed to touch the tree or the ornaments. One day my grandpa, "Papa", was carrying me around, and he reached out and touched an ornament. I gasped in horror and cried, "PAPA! Did you touch it???" It was apparently really funny :)
3. I have lots of memories of cooking for the Open House.
4. Two years ago, I was begging for a phone for Christmas. Not a cellphone, just a phone for my room. So I could talk on the phone without having to take the one from downstairs. I really wanted a phone. I wrote out organized lists of why I should get one and gave them to my parents periodically. I organized speeches and discussions and debates on why I should get a phone for my room. Well, guess what? I GOT THE PHONE! It was white and metallicy green. I actually cried a little :') It was a great phone, but recently it's stopped working. *sigh*
5. I have lots of Open House memories. Last year, this guy at my church named Daniel provoked me into debating home-school vs. public school. Ugh, not pretty. Something about him brings out the absolute worst in me.
6. Four years ago when I was eleven and Lizzy was nine, my mom made chocolate chip cookie dough truffles for the Open House for the first time. Lizzy loved them. A lot. Too much. She ate thirteen of them. It was not a happy night, let me tell you that ;)
7. At my old church, there was this thing called...wait, what is it called...? Journey to Bethlehem. Anyway, people from church dressed up as the many different "characters" in the Christmas story and then everyone walked around and visited the different "stations". I don't remember if I liked it or not, though, LOL!
8. Last year, was an interesting Christmas. I got a cellphone, which was such an absolute shock that I started crying. Yeah, I actually cried. It was so utterly unexpected. I hadn't even been asking for a cellphone! I also got a straightener, an iPod, and a ton of other little things. It was basically the ideal Christmas, but, guess what? I actually wasn't happy. Last year should have been an amazing Christmas, but it wasn't for some reason. Stuff really doesn't make you happy, y'all. I know you've heard that a million times, but it's true. I don't expect you to believe me, I never believed it REALLY. It's just one of those live and learn things. But be prepared, because stuff just doesn't do it.
9. When I was about four, I got a hippity hop for Christmas! Do y'all know what those are? It's like this big rubber ball with a handle that you sit on and bounce. Here, picture. Well, I have this grandma. She's kind of no-nonsense; I actually don't think she likes me all that much. Well, guess what she did? She got on the hippity hop! She took one bounce, and...fell right into the Christmas tree! LOL! To a four year old, it was pretty hilarious :)
10. When I was maybe twelve, I had a Christmas party. We played all sorts of games, one of which was seeing how many words you could make with "Merry Christmas". I lost, and I was mad, LOL! I'm supposed to be this awesome word person, so whenever I get showed up, it turns me into a Grinch ;) I've gotten better at hiding it, though. Still learning good sportsmanship, haha!
11. We have this manger. I think I've mentioned this before, but just in case you missed it, I'll just explain it a little. My dad made this manger, and every year at Christmas time, we put it out and put hay in it. It's our reminder that Jesus is coming. On Christmas Day, Jesus is in the manger! We bought this baby doll when I was really little; I don't remember not having it. I think he's beautiful. Maybe I'll post a picture sometime. But anyway, when I was maybe three, I got this baby girl doll for Christmas and named her Maria. I was wide-eyed and so thrilled with her that I ran to Baby Jesus and showed her to him :)
So there are Eleven of Kendra's Kristmas Memories that you could have lived without :) Ah well.
MERRY ELEVEN-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!
Okay, let me just say this in case any of y'all missed it ;)
VOTE ON THE POLL ON THE RIGHT! Can we get all 81 followers to vote? Let's find out. So far there are 26 votes. Even if you round that to 30, we're still missing 51 votes. That is pitiful ;) Let's get it in gear and vote, shaaaaaaaaaall we?
So, tonight I'm going to a birthday celebration. Katie ("little sister") is going to be ELEVEN years old! :O And to think I knew her when she ate Cheerios while sitting on Mrs. Martha's lap during church...*sniff sniff* LOL :)
I watched another Alias episode today. No Mr. Sark. *sob* But it's getting even more interesting. It used to be that I liked the show, but it wasn't like this constant thing on my mind or anything. Now it feels like either I'm watching Alias, or I'm thinking about watching Alias! I really, really recommend it. Really. It is awesome.
Alrighty, time for the Christmas Countdown! Eleven...eleven...eleven...
Eleven of Kendra's Kristmas Memories:
1. When I was two, I got a dollhouse for Christmas from my grandparents! It. Was. Awesome. Three floors of awesome with a little family and some furniture! I loved that dollhouse and collected more people and stuff for years and years. I played with it pretty much all day from ages 2-9 (except when in school). Then I played it regularly from ages 10-13. Most of my stories started out as "dollhouse shows". The main games I played were orphans, slaves, poor people, weird cultures, and runaways :) Oh, yes, and brothers. Always lots of brothers. Always an older, usually a younger, but always brothers.
2. When I was very little, I don't even know how old, we had a rule: after the tree was decorated, no one is allowed to touch the tree or the ornaments. One day my grandpa, "Papa", was carrying me around, and he reached out and touched an ornament. I gasped in horror and cried, "PAPA! Did you touch it???" It was apparently really funny :)
3. I have lots of memories of cooking for the Open House.
4. Two years ago, I was begging for a phone for Christmas. Not a cellphone, just a phone for my room. So I could talk on the phone without having to take the one from downstairs. I really wanted a phone. I wrote out organized lists of why I should get one and gave them to my parents periodically. I organized speeches and discussions and debates on why I should get a phone for my room. Well, guess what? I GOT THE PHONE! It was white and metallicy green. I actually cried a little :') It was a great phone, but recently it's stopped working. *sigh*
5. I have lots of Open House memories. Last year, this guy at my church named Daniel provoked me into debating home-school vs. public school. Ugh, not pretty. Something about him brings out the absolute worst in me.
6. Four years ago when I was eleven and Lizzy was nine, my mom made chocolate chip cookie dough truffles for the Open House for the first time. Lizzy loved them. A lot. Too much. She ate thirteen of them. It was not a happy night, let me tell you that ;)
7. At my old church, there was this thing called...wait, what is it called...? Journey to Bethlehem. Anyway, people from church dressed up as the many different "characters" in the Christmas story and then everyone walked around and visited the different "stations". I don't remember if I liked it or not, though, LOL!
8. Last year, was an interesting Christmas. I got a cellphone, which was such an absolute shock that I started crying. Yeah, I actually cried. It was so utterly unexpected. I hadn't even been asking for a cellphone! I also got a straightener, an iPod, and a ton of other little things. It was basically the ideal Christmas, but, guess what? I actually wasn't happy. Last year should have been an amazing Christmas, but it wasn't for some reason. Stuff really doesn't make you happy, y'all. I know you've heard that a million times, but it's true. I don't expect you to believe me, I never believed it REALLY. It's just one of those live and learn things. But be prepared, because stuff just doesn't do it.
9. When I was about four, I got a hippity hop for Christmas! Do y'all know what those are? It's like this big rubber ball with a handle that you sit on and bounce. Here, picture. Well, I have this grandma. She's kind of no-nonsense; I actually don't think she likes me all that much. Well, guess what she did? She got on the hippity hop! She took one bounce, and...fell right into the Christmas tree! LOL! To a four year old, it was pretty hilarious :)
10. When I was maybe twelve, I had a Christmas party. We played all sorts of games, one of which was seeing how many words you could make with "Merry Christmas". I lost, and I was mad, LOL! I'm supposed to be this awesome word person, so whenever I get showed up, it turns me into a Grinch ;) I've gotten better at hiding it, though. Still learning good sportsmanship, haha!
11. We have this manger. I think I've mentioned this before, but just in case you missed it, I'll just explain it a little. My dad made this manger, and every year at Christmas time, we put it out and put hay in it. It's our reminder that Jesus is coming. On Christmas Day, Jesus is in the manger! We bought this baby doll when I was really little; I don't remember not having it. I think he's beautiful. Maybe I'll post a picture sometime. But anyway, when I was maybe three, I got this baby girl doll for Christmas and named her Maria. I was wide-eyed and so thrilled with her that I ran to Baby Jesus and showed her to him :)
So there are Eleven of Kendra's Kristmas Memories that you could have lived without :) Ah well.
MERRY ELEVEN-DAYS-UNTIL CHRISTMAS!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Mary and Martha: God's Custom-Made Love
So, today was definitely a cool day.
1. Cavender came to my church.
2. The sermon really spoke to me.
3. I had the first play practice.
I'll talk about the second cool thing last; it'll be my thing for God Day.
So, Cavender came to my church today! That was cool. He said he really liked the music, which is my favorite, too. I think our church really does have awesome music, and the band members are all really into.
Play practice went well, I think. We just did a read-through of the script and listened to the songs on a CD. Mushu (the little dragon) is played by a girl who definitely does it justice. The girl who plays Mulan is awesome. The guy who plays Captain Shang (Shang + Mulan = falling in love, duh ;D) is pretty good. He can sing pretty well. If he can just hide that southern drawl a little...Lol! No, really, he did fine. Mulan's father is...not good, and neither is the Emperor. I think the guys were just nervous, though. And it was the very first read through.
I'm, just in case you didn't know this, doing the voice for a big Hun puppet -.- Lols, I'm okay with it now, though. I'm also in the Ensamble (yay for singing and dancing with everyone else), and a hairdresser. I forgot to mention that last night. The hairdresser is going to be my favorite, probably. It's a tiny part with no real lines, but in a song, a have a quick singing-line all my myself, and then some with the other hairdressers and stuff. I picked out a couple of harmony parts, so I'm looking forward to being able to do them. I really hope I get a harmony part and not just the melody...
----------------------------
God Day!
So, the sermon today was about Lazarus. Let me just do a quick run-through of this story. It helps me to do that. So, Jesus and his diciples are just kind of hanging around, and a messenger comes and says to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
The messenger is talking about Lazarus. Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary are good friends of Jesus', so they figured Jesus would want to know that Lazarus was sick. Really sick. Like, about-to-die sick.
Instead of going right to Lazarus' house, Jesus is just kind of like, "Oh, yeah, okay" and he hangs out in the little town where he is for a few more days.
Finally, he says to his diciples, "Okay, let's go see Lazarus. He's fallen asleep, and we'll just go wake him up."
The diciples are like, "Uh, but isn't sleep probably the best thing for him?"
Jesus: "I mean he's dead."
They go to see Lazarus, and when they're close to his house, Lazarus' sister Martha comes out and says to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you want."
She's pretty much saying, "I know you're the Messiah, so why didn't you DO SOMETHING?"
She's kind of mad. She's like, if you're so amazing and powerful, why didn't you stop this from happening? Why didn't you FIX IT?
*cough* That might sound just a little familiar...maybe...
May 24th: "Then four years later, God takes him away. Uh, ouch. Thanks a lot, God."
July 17th: "WHY COULDN'T I HAVE HAD BROTHERS? IS ONE BROTHER TOO MUCH TO ASK? ONE? ONE??"
August 2nd: "Why had God taken Him away from me? Why on Earth would a good God do that? It's like someone punching you in the face."
March 23rd: "God created the Heavens and the Earth, surely he could give me my older brother!!"
...
Hmm.
A little later, the other sister, Mary falls at the feet of Jesus and says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died."
The way she says it is more like, "How could you be so unkind to your friends?"
Don't you love me, God? Why would you let this happen? Don't you care?
Of course, Jesus ends up raising Lazarus from the dead, but only after he meets both sisters where they are. With Martha, he takes the logical route.
Martha's argument is a simple Modus Ponens:
If you are the Messiah, then you could have saved my brother.
You are the Messiah.
Therefore, you could have saved my brother. (And yet you didn't.)
Jesus talks to Martha about how her brother will rise again. Martha is kind of like, "Yeah, thanks, I know he'll rise again at the ressurection and all."
Jesus says, "I am the ressurection!"
He's like, Martha, listen to me! I AM the ressurection! It's me, it's here! Your brother will rise again.
Mary comes to Jesus not from the logical and theological angle, but from the emotional, friend-to-friend angle. Jesus cries with her. He's really sad! Lazarus was his friend! He's upset. He cries with Mary.
Jesus meets us right where we are. Right where we need to be met. Whether it's logical or emotional, or somewhere in between.
As my pastor said in the sermon this morning (ALL of this is borrowed STRAIGHT from him, by the way), "God's love is not one size fits all, or most. God custom fits his love for us."
That was a great sermon anyway, but add on my whole issue with God not giving me a brother, then giving me one and taking him a way, and the sermon is flat out AMAZING.
It COULD NOT have been more spot on. I come to God from Martha's angle, as demonstrated in my post excerpts. God, you created the Heavens and the Earth. And you didn't give me a brother?? If you're so great, fix this injustice!
I also come to God from Mary's angle a little. God, if you love me, why would you do something so unkind? Why dangle my life's desire in front of my face, and snatch it back? Don't you care for me?
I know this has been a very long post, and sort of jumbled and probably at parts unclear, but I just needed to get in writing how much this morning's sermon hit me. Everything was exactly fit to ME! This story is, literally, ANCIENT, and I've heard it, probably also literally, A HUNDRED TIMES, and it's never been so clear to me.
Every detail fits me. It's even about losing a brother and being mad at God because he could have prevented it and didn't.
It takes my breath away, y'all.
I could elaborate more, but I know you must be tired of the ranting, so I'll stop. I just want you to know that I KNOW that God is watching out for us. He knows what he's doing. And every once in a while, he might throw an tired ol' Bible story at you and revel a whole new meaning.
Thanks, God.
1. Cavender came to my church.
2. The sermon really spoke to me.
3. I had the first play practice.
I'll talk about the second cool thing last; it'll be my thing for God Day.
So, Cavender came to my church today! That was cool. He said he really liked the music, which is my favorite, too. I think our church really does have awesome music, and the band members are all really into.
Play practice went well, I think. We just did a read-through of the script and listened to the songs on a CD. Mushu (the little dragon) is played by a girl who definitely does it justice. The girl who plays Mulan is awesome. The guy who plays Captain Shang (Shang + Mulan = falling in love, duh ;D) is pretty good. He can sing pretty well. If he can just hide that southern drawl a little...Lol! No, really, he did fine. Mulan's father is...not good, and neither is the Emperor. I think the guys were just nervous, though. And it was the very first read through.
I'm, just in case you didn't know this, doing the voice for a big Hun puppet -.- Lols, I'm okay with it now, though. I'm also in the Ensamble (yay for singing and dancing with everyone else), and a hairdresser. I forgot to mention that last night. The hairdresser is going to be my favorite, probably. It's a tiny part with no real lines, but in a song, a have a quick singing-line all my myself, and then some with the other hairdressers and stuff. I picked out a couple of harmony parts, so I'm looking forward to being able to do them. I really hope I get a harmony part and not just the melody...
----------------------------
God Day!
So, the sermon today was about Lazarus. Let me just do a quick run-through of this story. It helps me to do that. So, Jesus and his diciples are just kind of hanging around, and a messenger comes and says to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
The messenger is talking about Lazarus. Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary are good friends of Jesus', so they figured Jesus would want to know that Lazarus was sick. Really sick. Like, about-to-die sick.
Instead of going right to Lazarus' house, Jesus is just kind of like, "Oh, yeah, okay" and he hangs out in the little town where he is for a few more days.
Finally, he says to his diciples, "Okay, let's go see Lazarus. He's fallen asleep, and we'll just go wake him up."
The diciples are like, "Uh, but isn't sleep probably the best thing for him?"
Jesus: "I mean he's dead."
They go to see Lazarus, and when they're close to his house, Lazarus' sister Martha comes out and says to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died. But I know that even now, God will give you whatever you want."
She's pretty much saying, "I know you're the Messiah, so why didn't you DO SOMETHING?"
She's kind of mad. She's like, if you're so amazing and powerful, why didn't you stop this from happening? Why didn't you FIX IT?
*cough* That might sound just a little familiar...maybe...
May 24th: "Then four years later, God takes him away. Uh, ouch. Thanks a lot, God."
July 17th: "WHY COULDN'T I HAVE HAD BROTHERS? IS ONE BROTHER TOO MUCH TO ASK? ONE? ONE??"
August 2nd: "Why had God taken Him away from me? Why on Earth would a good God do that? It's like someone punching you in the face."
March 23rd: "God created the Heavens and the Earth, surely he could give me my older brother!!"
...
Hmm.
A little later, the other sister, Mary falls at the feet of Jesus and says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't have died."
The way she says it is more like, "How could you be so unkind to your friends?"
Don't you love me, God? Why would you let this happen? Don't you care?
Of course, Jesus ends up raising Lazarus from the dead, but only after he meets both sisters where they are. With Martha, he takes the logical route.
Martha's argument is a simple Modus Ponens:
If you are the Messiah, then you could have saved my brother.
You are the Messiah.
Therefore, you could have saved my brother. (And yet you didn't.)
Jesus talks to Martha about how her brother will rise again. Martha is kind of like, "Yeah, thanks, I know he'll rise again at the ressurection and all."
Jesus says, "I am the ressurection!"
He's like, Martha, listen to me! I AM the ressurection! It's me, it's here! Your brother will rise again.
Mary comes to Jesus not from the logical and theological angle, but from the emotional, friend-to-friend angle. Jesus cries with her. He's really sad! Lazarus was his friend! He's upset. He cries with Mary.
Jesus meets us right where we are. Right where we need to be met. Whether it's logical or emotional, or somewhere in between.
As my pastor said in the sermon this morning (ALL of this is borrowed STRAIGHT from him, by the way), "God's love is not one size fits all, or most. God custom fits his love for us."
That was a great sermon anyway, but add on my whole issue with God not giving me a brother, then giving me one and taking him a way, and the sermon is flat out AMAZING.
It COULD NOT have been more spot on. I come to God from Martha's angle, as demonstrated in my post excerpts. God, you created the Heavens and the Earth. And you didn't give me a brother?? If you're so great, fix this injustice!
I also come to God from Mary's angle a little. God, if you love me, why would you do something so unkind? Why dangle my life's desire in front of my face, and snatch it back? Don't you care for me?
I know this has been a very long post, and sort of jumbled and probably at parts unclear, but I just needed to get in writing how much this morning's sermon hit me. Everything was exactly fit to ME! This story is, literally, ANCIENT, and I've heard it, probably also literally, A HUNDRED TIMES, and it's never been so clear to me.
Every detail fits me. It's even about losing a brother and being mad at God because he could have prevented it and didn't.
It takes my breath away, y'all.
I could elaborate more, but I know you must be tired of the ranting, so I'll stop. I just want you to know that I KNOW that God is watching out for us. He knows what he's doing. And every once in a while, he might throw an tired ol' Bible story at you and revel a whole new meaning.
Thanks, God.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Been There Done That and Allergies
Okay, I'm not really sure where exactly in the Bible this is, but at church today, we sang a song about God being everlasting; how he doesn't grow weary, and how he's completely all-powerful. And so I got to thinking, "Well, isn't that great? He can't know how I feel then, can he? Mr. I-Can-Blow-Up-The-World-With-One-Word can't possibly understand my struggle to grasp physical science!"
And then I had another thought!
THAT'S WHY HE SENT JESUS, BOZO!
See, that's why my God is so cool! He's like three in one! The all-powerful, world-creating God who listens to your every word (only not in a creepy way :D), the Holy Spirit who can help you randomly when you're in a tight spot without you even having to ask, and finally, JESUS, who might be my favorite "piece" of God. He totally gave up paradise to come down to Earth and experience life WITH us! Aside from taking all the penalty for our being sinners obviously, I think one of the most important reasons for Jesus coming to Earth was so that he could tell us that he knows how we feel.
God is cool, but Jesus has BEEN THERE. He's been made fun of, gotten super hungry, had his parents not understand him, been deserted by his closest friends, felt that frustration when you're trying to explain something and people JUST AREN'T GETTIN' IT, and ALL THAT STUFF! Jesus has been through, like, everything!
So, when I pray now, I don't have to be all stuck up thinking that God is so sheltered and he doesn't even know what I'm going through. Now I can just remember that, well, Jesus does. He's a classic case of Been There Done That And Got the Robe.
--------------------------
Well, it's kinda late, and I'm really tired, so I think I'm just gonna be out! Oh, but last night and this morning, my eye puffed up because of allergies! Yeah, it sucks: I'm allergic to pollen. *sigh* Oh well, must enjoy summer anyway! I went down to the beach again, but I cut my foot going barefoot ALL DAY yesterday, so walking around a ton kinda hurt :( And now I have this creepy rash on my left thigh from who-knows-what, and it's freaking me out! Well, not totally, just a little. Mostly I just don't want it to get worse...so, pray for my allergies, cross your fingers, whatever works for you! ;) Carpe this aestas diem!
And then I had another thought!
THAT'S WHY HE SENT JESUS, BOZO!
See, that's why my God is so cool! He's like three in one! The all-powerful, world-creating God who listens to your every word (only not in a creepy way :D), the Holy Spirit who can help you randomly when you're in a tight spot without you even having to ask, and finally, JESUS, who might be my favorite "piece" of God. He totally gave up paradise to come down to Earth and experience life WITH us! Aside from taking all the penalty for our being sinners obviously, I think one of the most important reasons for Jesus coming to Earth was so that he could tell us that he knows how we feel.
God is cool, but Jesus has BEEN THERE. He's been made fun of, gotten super hungry, had his parents not understand him, been deserted by his closest friends, felt that frustration when you're trying to explain something and people JUST AREN'T GETTIN' IT, and ALL THAT STUFF! Jesus has been through, like, everything!
So, when I pray now, I don't have to be all stuck up thinking that God is so sheltered and he doesn't even know what I'm going through. Now I can just remember that, well, Jesus does. He's a classic case of Been There Done That And Got the Robe.
--------------------------
Well, it's kinda late, and I'm really tired, so I think I'm just gonna be out! Oh, but last night and this morning, my eye puffed up because of allergies! Yeah, it sucks: I'm allergic to pollen. *sigh* Oh well, must enjoy summer anyway! I went down to the beach again, but I cut my foot going barefoot ALL DAY yesterday, so walking around a ton kinda hurt :( And now I have this creepy rash on my left thigh from who-knows-what, and it's freaking me out! Well, not totally, just a little. Mostly I just don't want it to get worse...so, pray for my allergies, cross your fingers, whatever works for you! ;) Carpe this aestas diem!
Monday, April 13, 2009
If You Read All This, I'll Give you a Million Dollars (Just Kidding)
In honor of the philosophy (and Latin) final(s) tomorrow, I am going to use this post to study for my philosophy exam. Bear with me. You might actually find this interesting. I did.
Democritus was the first really note-worthy philospher. Of course, he came from Greece, because that's where philosophy really started. The Greeks began to have time to do fun stuff like ponder the origin of life because their culture and government was so secure then, that the people didn't have to fight to survive 24/7. They could stop and smell the roses as it were. Or think. Which is what Democritus did.
Democritus, believe it or not, was the first person to come up with the concept of "atoms". If I'm not mistaken, that word comes from some Greek word that means "uncuttable". Democritus imagined atoms as being sort of like Legos: small (only atoms were obviously WAY smaller), different shapes and colors (as well as textures), and with little hooks and barbs so they could fit together. Democritus figured this was how everything was made. Atoms of different textures and colors hooked together to make things. Democritus was also a materialist, which means he thought that matter is all there is. He believed that humans have no afterlife, and no soul.
The next great Greek philosopher (or really just the next great one period), is Socrates. Hopefully you've at least HEARD of him. You might recognize his name from the idea of the "Socratic Method", which is asking questions to help someone learn. Also "Socratic Irony" which is taking the opposite position from what you believe to help your opponent figure out why he believes something.
Socrates was very enigmatic and got on peoples' nerves. He was also extremely ugly (think pot-bellied with piggish eyes). Socrates believed that "he who knows right will do right." I thought what you are thinking at first, too. You're thinking "That's ridiculous. Murderers know that it's wrong to kill other people, and yet they do it anyway! Little kids know not to eat out of the cookie jar, and they still do."
The way Socrates saw it is this: everyone wants to be happy, right? And you are never happy when you know you've done the wrong thing, correct? So, you will do the right thing FOR YOU, because you want to be happy. Socrates was big on saying that there isn't exactly a "right" and a "wrong." He thought there can be right for you, and right for me, and they don't necissarily have to be the same to both be right for each of us. Make sense? So, I will do ''my right" in order to make myself happy, and you will do "your right" to may yourself happy. So, since we know right, we will do right because that makes us feel good. Does that make sense?
Socrates opposed the leading intellectual people of his time, the Sophists. Sophists were not philosophers because they did not seek new knowledge. They were very stuck in their own ways and extremely uncurious (is that word?). Because Socrates irritated people, mainly the Sophists, they found some little loophole reason for arresting him and condeming him to death by way of drinking hemlock.
Next, we have Plato. Plato was sort of Socrates's apprentice. He somewhat followed Socrates's ideas. Plato believed that somewhere, there is an "idea world" with one of every species in it. One horse, one chicken, one cow, etc. And that "idea horse" is perfect. It's like the average of all the horses on Earth. Sort of like the perfect horse. Plato believed that all the animals here on Earth were imperfect reflections of the perfect animals in the "idea world." This story may help you understand:
Once upon a time (hehe), there were four guys who were chained up in a small cave. They had their backs to the opening of the cave, so they were staring at the back wall, and had been all their lives. The only thing to entertain them were the shadows of creatures flickering on the cave wall. Of course, since the guys had never been able to turn around and see the real creatures, they thought the shadows were the real thing. One day, a guy managed to get lose from his chains. He turned around and saw the real creatures! He was super surprised and very excited. (This free guy would represent Plato.) The real creatures were so much more interesting and colorful and perfect than the dull shadows he had always thought were real. He went back to the cave and tried to tell the others about what the shadows really were, but they wouldn't believe him. He grew so persistent and so irritating that the other guys eventually just killed him.
Some people believe this sad ending was inspired by Socrates's unfair death.
Aristotle was mentored by Plato. He went to his academy for almost twenty years. However, Aristotle did not carry on Plato's idea. Aristotle thought that Plato needed to get his head out of the clouds and look at reality. Aristotle thought that the real world was the physical world. I did my philosophy presentation on Aristotle, so I don't really need to study on him much. And I've already put one post about him here. So I'm not going to say any more, lol!
Now it's time for Jesus. I don't need to study up on him either because I'm a Christian and know quite enough to pass a test on Jesus! But I'll say a few things: Jesus's main idea was taht God provides relationships with God through Christ (Jesus). Jesus said that the two most important things in the world were to love God, and love people. Jesus also stressed the fact that DOING GOOD THINGS DO NOT GET YOU TO HEAVEN. Only trusting and having a relationship with Jesus can do that. Forgivness doesn't come through a priest; it comes from asking Jesus. Jesus also preached that we are all sinners, and none of us deserve to live with God after we die, but Jesus loves us so much that he took the penalty for our sins so we wouldn't have to. Now, if we accept this gift of eternal life, we can live with God when we die!
Next comes Augustine. He basically just Christianized Plato's philosophy. He said that Plato's "idea realm" stuff was absolutely correct, only instead of there being a parallel world of ideas, the "idea realm" was God's mind.
Next we have St. Thomas Aquinas. You've probably heard of him, too. He Christianized Aristotle's philosophy, and thought he could prove the existence of God using that philosophy. He also believed that what we think and what we see go hand in hand in discerning the truth. Kind of like a thunderstorm. We both hear the thunder and see the lightning. The two senses don't contradict one another, but enforce each other. Aquinas thought that we can eventually figure out the truth by just thinking about it or looking around us, but it's better if we use both talents: thinking and experiencing.
I'm sure you've all heard of Martin Luther (not King, just regular Martin Luther). He began the Protestant Reformation. A long time ago, the Bible was only printed in Latin, and only the priests could read Latin. How convenient, right? Well, Luther began to get the idea that the priest were making things up. The priests kept telling people that if the people paid the priests money, the priests would ask God to forgive their sins. Kind of like buying forgiveness. Luther decided to investigate that himself. He learned to read Latin, and read the Bible first-hand. Guess what? He was right! The priests were making stuff up. The Bible clearly says that salvation/forgiveness comes by faith alone. Not by buying forgiveness (indulgences). Each person can be his own priest, Luther thought. Everyone can talk to God themselves, no priest necessary.
Descartes is next. As is obvious from the silence of most of the letters (it's pronounced day-CART), he was French (hehe). He was a rationalist, which means he relied on his thinking rather than the five senses. He believed that our senses can decieve us, so it's better just to ignore them altogether. The more he studied, the more ignorant he saw himself as being. He also believed that philosophies should start out simple and work toward complex. He doubted everything until he could prove to himself that it was true. After all, how can you build a reliable philosophy if you don't make sure everything you're building it on is true?
Spinoza is definitely one of the most confusing philosophers. I barely have any notes on him. All I can really tell you is that he believed that God or nature was the cause of all things. I guess he's saying that the laws of nature are already instilled in everything, so things are kind of on auto-pilot now. Spinoza also thought that the Bible wasn't God-inspired. He thought we should let go of our feelings and passions, because they cloud our judgement. He was a rationalist, using his thinking skills and reason to decide things.
Locke is really cool! I especially like his philosophy, mostly because it makes so much sense to me. He thought that before humans experience things, our mind is a blank slate, or a "tabula rasa", which is "blank slate" in Latin. Locke says that humans have two kinds of ideas: simple, and complex. Let's use an apple for an example. The concept of "an apple" is a complex idea, because within that one idea, there are many smaller pieces: crisp, juicy, green, etc. Those smaller ideas are "simple" ideas. It takes us a long time before we can put together a complex idea. I mean, when you're little, all you have is simple ideas. You don't think, "I am eating an apple." You think, "I am eating something crisp, juicy and green." It takes us many apple-eatings to get to where we bundle those three sensations together and form the complex idea of "apple". Make sense?
Locke also said that there are primary extensions and secondary extensions. Primary extensions are things that everyone can agree on about an object. Its shape, number, weight, and things like that. Secondary extensions are sort of oppinions. Color, taste, smell, and sound are secondary extensions. Your friend might think an orange tastes sour, while you think it's sweet. I might say something is black, but you might insist that it's not; it's only a very dark green.
Hume is possibly one of my favorite philosophers. He built off of Locke a little bit, using the simple and complex theory. Hume also had some original thoughts, though. The first is the idea of "impressions" and "ideas". An impression is an immediate sensation. Let's say you bang your hand on the table. It hurts. That's your "impression". Later, when you're explaining to your mom why your hand has this giant black bruise on it, you remember the pain of hitting the table. This remembering is your "idea". The idea is the recollection of an impression.
Hume was an agnostic, which means he wasn't saying that there isn't a God, he just didn't know that there was either. Kind of an undecided sort of guy. He was big on saying that almost nothing is certain. You can't be sure that every time you drop a rock, it will fall. Why not? Because you haven't dropped it EVERY time. You can't REALLY know until you've done it every time it will ever be done. And that's humanly impossible. Just because you've only ever seen black crows doesn't mean that sometime somewhere there was a white one.
Hume also pointed out that it's no fun for a toddle to see the laws of nature defied, because he doesn't even know the laws yet. If a baby saw a guy floating in midair, he would think, "Oh, how interesting. Moving on." If you or I saw a guy floating in midair, we would think something more like, "OH MY GOSH!! IS HE SERIOUSLY FLOATING??"
Hume also stated that you cannot draw conclusions from "is" sentences to"ought" sentences. Example: "That man is suffering. We ought to help him." Hume argued that that was not good reasoning. It...it's really, really, REALLY hard to explain. It does make sense when it's explained properly. If you're dying to know, I suggest going to page 275-277 in the book Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.
Alrighty. Now for Berkeley. His philosophy is really very interesting. He suggested that we might all be in God's head. Now, WAIT. Before you freak out and say "THAT IS NOT TRUE! WE'RE REAL! WE'RE REAL!", just listen. This is much easier apparently for writers to understand than non-writers. I'm not trying to be conceited, I'm just saying what I've noticed. If you're a writer, think about your characters. You created them, right? Just like God created us. And the characters aren't exactly real, but they do exist in your head, right? I mean, they might exist on paper or on the computer, too, but they aren't actual flesh and blood. They are flesh and blood in your mind, and they have their families and friends and houses in your head, but not in the actual world. According to Berkeley's philosophy, we are like God's "characters", existing in the mind of God, but not in the actual world. What we hear, see, feel is only real to us because we've never experience real real stuff. Make sense? Okay.
Next comes Kant. His philosophy isn't very complicated I don't think. His main thought was the Categorical Imperative. It's kind of like the Golden Rule. He thought you should act as if everyone in the world would do the same. So, pretty much "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you." Next philosopher.
Hegel. Hegel made up a method for understanding the process of history. It's actually very clear in just these philosophers. Hegel said that someone comes up with an idea (a thesis), then someone else comes up with their own idea, which is the complete opposite of guy #1's theory (an antithesis). Then, along comes Mr. Compromise and he makes up an new theory that takes the good parts from both theories and puts them together (a synthesis). Think about Plato's "idea realm". Aristotle comes along and says, "What a wack-o. The physical world is CLEARLY the real world." Then along comes goold ol' Aquinas who says, "Wait, wait. They're BOTH right. We should think things through like Plato did, but Aristotle was right, too. We need to pay attention to our senses as well." Remember that. The Hegelian Dialect. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
Almost done. Only four philosophers to go.
Here comes...SOREN KIERKEGAARD!! Bleck. Sorry, but I really don't like Kierkegaard. Besides his name being so hard to type, I barely understand his philosophy. Pleaseohpleaseohplease don't let me have to know a ton about him on the exam!! Anyway. He reacted agains the idealistic philosophy of Spinoza. (Go figure. I also don't get Spinoza very well.) Kierkegaard thought that truth was subjective. He also believed that there are kind of three ways or stages of living: aesthetic (trying to beautify stuff) (WHAT?! My notes are not helping so much here...); then ethical (when you learn to filter your thoughts and actions and do what's right); and religious (taking your thinking to a deeper spiritual level). Wow. Okay, done with Kierkegaard. (I deserve a medal for typing that correctly like four times!)
Here comes Marx. Who's actually fairly interesting. He saw that there was a struggle between owners and workers. He also thought that capitalism is temporary (that's definitely debatable). As far as I can tell, Marx was a very practical guy. He thought that the material changes are what really affect history, not as much the idealistic changes. He thought the way people think is closely related to what kind of work they do. Which sounds pretty plausible to me. He said that it's mainly the rulers and most influential social class that set the norm for right and wrong.
Next we have Darwin. Now, I KNOW y'all have all heard of Darwin. He believed that life evolves over millions of years through mutations and natural selection without God. He went to the Galapogos Islands once and saw for himself the variations between the different birds and stuff. After doing more research, he figured that animals must change and adapt to their surroundings. This makes sense to me, the only real problem being, where did the very first organism that started this whole thing come from?
LAST PHILOSOPHER! If you're still reading, give me your address and I'll send you a million dollars. Haha, just kidding, but seriously, I'll probably have a heart attack from surprise if any of you made it this far. Tell me if you did, okay? Just so I know. :D
Freud is another one of my favorites. He deals with dreams and stuff. I'm super tired of this, though, and even though it's five-thirty, I have A TON of studying and stuff to do still, so I'm gonna make this tragically brief: He thought we tried to surpress bad thoughts, and so if we try hard enough, we eventually forget bad things. However, he thought that somewhere in our minds are the memories of everything we've ever done. Even as a little kid. And as a psychiatrist, he tried to get people to remember these deeply burried thoughts. He also said that dreams are wish fulfillment. If we can't or shouldn't do something in real life, Freud said our subconsciousness would bring out the desires in a dream.
Freud also had an idea of the three "stages" of being sort of. The id, the ego, and the superego. Newborn babies have almost nothing but id, which is the quest for pleasure and comfort. Then comes the ego, when we learn what's bad and try not to do those things. Then the superego tries to get rid of our bad desires altogether by shoving them into our subconscious, where only dreams and certain mental exercises can bring them out.
Whew! There. I'm done. Now, tell me if you got to the end of this. I will scream in shock.
Democritus was the first really note-worthy philospher. Of course, he came from Greece, because that's where philosophy really started. The Greeks began to have time to do fun stuff like ponder the origin of life because their culture and government was so secure then, that the people didn't have to fight to survive 24/7. They could stop and smell the roses as it were. Or think. Which is what Democritus did.
Democritus, believe it or not, was the first person to come up with the concept of "atoms". If I'm not mistaken, that word comes from some Greek word that means "uncuttable". Democritus imagined atoms as being sort of like Legos: small (only atoms were obviously WAY smaller), different shapes and colors (as well as textures), and with little hooks and barbs so they could fit together. Democritus figured this was how everything was made. Atoms of different textures and colors hooked together to make things. Democritus was also a materialist, which means he thought that matter is all there is. He believed that humans have no afterlife, and no soul.
The next great Greek philosopher (or really just the next great one period), is Socrates. Hopefully you've at least HEARD of him. You might recognize his name from the idea of the "Socratic Method", which is asking questions to help someone learn. Also "Socratic Irony" which is taking the opposite position from what you believe to help your opponent figure out why he believes something.
Socrates was very enigmatic and got on peoples' nerves. He was also extremely ugly (think pot-bellied with piggish eyes). Socrates believed that "he who knows right will do right." I thought what you are thinking at first, too. You're thinking "That's ridiculous. Murderers know that it's wrong to kill other people, and yet they do it anyway! Little kids know not to eat out of the cookie jar, and they still do."
The way Socrates saw it is this: everyone wants to be happy, right? And you are never happy when you know you've done the wrong thing, correct? So, you will do the right thing FOR YOU, because you want to be happy. Socrates was big on saying that there isn't exactly a "right" and a "wrong." He thought there can be right for you, and right for me, and they don't necissarily have to be the same to both be right for each of us. Make sense? So, I will do ''my right" in order to make myself happy, and you will do "your right" to may yourself happy. So, since we know right, we will do right because that makes us feel good. Does that make sense?
Socrates opposed the leading intellectual people of his time, the Sophists. Sophists were not philosophers because they did not seek new knowledge. They were very stuck in their own ways and extremely uncurious (is that word?). Because Socrates irritated people, mainly the Sophists, they found some little loophole reason for arresting him and condeming him to death by way of drinking hemlock.
Next, we have Plato. Plato was sort of Socrates's apprentice. He somewhat followed Socrates's ideas. Plato believed that somewhere, there is an "idea world" with one of every species in it. One horse, one chicken, one cow, etc. And that "idea horse" is perfect. It's like the average of all the horses on Earth. Sort of like the perfect horse. Plato believed that all the animals here on Earth were imperfect reflections of the perfect animals in the "idea world." This story may help you understand:
Once upon a time (hehe), there were four guys who were chained up in a small cave. They had their backs to the opening of the cave, so they were staring at the back wall, and had been all their lives. The only thing to entertain them were the shadows of creatures flickering on the cave wall. Of course, since the guys had never been able to turn around and see the real creatures, they thought the shadows were the real thing. One day, a guy managed to get lose from his chains. He turned around and saw the real creatures! He was super surprised and very excited. (This free guy would represent Plato.) The real creatures were so much more interesting and colorful and perfect than the dull shadows he had always thought were real. He went back to the cave and tried to tell the others about what the shadows really were, but they wouldn't believe him. He grew so persistent and so irritating that the other guys eventually just killed him.
Some people believe this sad ending was inspired by Socrates's unfair death.
Aristotle was mentored by Plato. He went to his academy for almost twenty years. However, Aristotle did not carry on Plato's idea. Aristotle thought that Plato needed to get his head out of the clouds and look at reality. Aristotle thought that the real world was the physical world. I did my philosophy presentation on Aristotle, so I don't really need to study on him much. And I've already put one post about him here. So I'm not going to say any more, lol!
Now it's time for Jesus. I don't need to study up on him either because I'm a Christian and know quite enough to pass a test on Jesus! But I'll say a few things: Jesus's main idea was taht God provides relationships with God through Christ (Jesus). Jesus said that the two most important things in the world were to love God, and love people. Jesus also stressed the fact that DOING GOOD THINGS DO NOT GET YOU TO HEAVEN. Only trusting and having a relationship with Jesus can do that. Forgivness doesn't come through a priest; it comes from asking Jesus. Jesus also preached that we are all sinners, and none of us deserve to live with God after we die, but Jesus loves us so much that he took the penalty for our sins so we wouldn't have to. Now, if we accept this gift of eternal life, we can live with God when we die!
Next comes Augustine. He basically just Christianized Plato's philosophy. He said that Plato's "idea realm" stuff was absolutely correct, only instead of there being a parallel world of ideas, the "idea realm" was God's mind.
Next we have St. Thomas Aquinas. You've probably heard of him, too. He Christianized Aristotle's philosophy, and thought he could prove the existence of God using that philosophy. He also believed that what we think and what we see go hand in hand in discerning the truth. Kind of like a thunderstorm. We both hear the thunder and see the lightning. The two senses don't contradict one another, but enforce each other. Aquinas thought that we can eventually figure out the truth by just thinking about it or looking around us, but it's better if we use both talents: thinking and experiencing.
I'm sure you've all heard of Martin Luther (not King, just regular Martin Luther). He began the Protestant Reformation. A long time ago, the Bible was only printed in Latin, and only the priests could read Latin. How convenient, right? Well, Luther began to get the idea that the priest were making things up. The priests kept telling people that if the people paid the priests money, the priests would ask God to forgive their sins. Kind of like buying forgiveness. Luther decided to investigate that himself. He learned to read Latin, and read the Bible first-hand. Guess what? He was right! The priests were making stuff up. The Bible clearly says that salvation/forgiveness comes by faith alone. Not by buying forgiveness (indulgences). Each person can be his own priest, Luther thought. Everyone can talk to God themselves, no priest necessary.
Descartes is next. As is obvious from the silence of most of the letters (it's pronounced day-CART), he was French (hehe). He was a rationalist, which means he relied on his thinking rather than the five senses. He believed that our senses can decieve us, so it's better just to ignore them altogether. The more he studied, the more ignorant he saw himself as being. He also believed that philosophies should start out simple and work toward complex. He doubted everything until he could prove to himself that it was true. After all, how can you build a reliable philosophy if you don't make sure everything you're building it on is true?
Spinoza is definitely one of the most confusing philosophers. I barely have any notes on him. All I can really tell you is that he believed that God or nature was the cause of all things. I guess he's saying that the laws of nature are already instilled in everything, so things are kind of on auto-pilot now. Spinoza also thought that the Bible wasn't God-inspired. He thought we should let go of our feelings and passions, because they cloud our judgement. He was a rationalist, using his thinking skills and reason to decide things.
Locke is really cool! I especially like his philosophy, mostly because it makes so much sense to me. He thought that before humans experience things, our mind is a blank slate, or a "tabula rasa", which is "blank slate" in Latin. Locke says that humans have two kinds of ideas: simple, and complex. Let's use an apple for an example. The concept of "an apple" is a complex idea, because within that one idea, there are many smaller pieces: crisp, juicy, green, etc. Those smaller ideas are "simple" ideas. It takes us a long time before we can put together a complex idea. I mean, when you're little, all you have is simple ideas. You don't think, "I am eating an apple." You think, "I am eating something crisp, juicy and green." It takes us many apple-eatings to get to where we bundle those three sensations together and form the complex idea of "apple". Make sense?
Locke also said that there are primary extensions and secondary extensions. Primary extensions are things that everyone can agree on about an object. Its shape, number, weight, and things like that. Secondary extensions are sort of oppinions. Color, taste, smell, and sound are secondary extensions. Your friend might think an orange tastes sour, while you think it's sweet. I might say something is black, but you might insist that it's not; it's only a very dark green.
Hume is possibly one of my favorite philosophers. He built off of Locke a little bit, using the simple and complex theory. Hume also had some original thoughts, though. The first is the idea of "impressions" and "ideas". An impression is an immediate sensation. Let's say you bang your hand on the table. It hurts. That's your "impression". Later, when you're explaining to your mom why your hand has this giant black bruise on it, you remember the pain of hitting the table. This remembering is your "idea". The idea is the recollection of an impression.
Hume was an agnostic, which means he wasn't saying that there isn't a God, he just didn't know that there was either. Kind of an undecided sort of guy. He was big on saying that almost nothing is certain. You can't be sure that every time you drop a rock, it will fall. Why not? Because you haven't dropped it EVERY time. You can't REALLY know until you've done it every time it will ever be done. And that's humanly impossible. Just because you've only ever seen black crows doesn't mean that sometime somewhere there was a white one.
Hume also pointed out that it's no fun for a toddle to see the laws of nature defied, because he doesn't even know the laws yet. If a baby saw a guy floating in midair, he would think, "Oh, how interesting. Moving on." If you or I saw a guy floating in midair, we would think something more like, "OH MY GOSH!! IS HE SERIOUSLY FLOATING??"
Hume also stated that you cannot draw conclusions from "is" sentences to"ought" sentences. Example: "That man is suffering. We ought to help him." Hume argued that that was not good reasoning. It...it's really, really, REALLY hard to explain. It does make sense when it's explained properly. If you're dying to know, I suggest going to page 275-277 in the book Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.
Alrighty. Now for Berkeley. His philosophy is really very interesting. He suggested that we might all be in God's head. Now, WAIT. Before you freak out and say "THAT IS NOT TRUE! WE'RE REAL! WE'RE REAL!", just listen. This is much easier apparently for writers to understand than non-writers. I'm not trying to be conceited, I'm just saying what I've noticed. If you're a writer, think about your characters. You created them, right? Just like God created us. And the characters aren't exactly real, but they do exist in your head, right? I mean, they might exist on paper or on the computer, too, but they aren't actual flesh and blood. They are flesh and blood in your mind, and they have their families and friends and houses in your head, but not in the actual world. According to Berkeley's philosophy, we are like God's "characters", existing in the mind of God, but not in the actual world. What we hear, see, feel is only real to us because we've never experience real real stuff. Make sense? Okay.
Next comes Kant. His philosophy isn't very complicated I don't think. His main thought was the Categorical Imperative. It's kind of like the Golden Rule. He thought you should act as if everyone in the world would do the same. So, pretty much "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you." Next philosopher.
Hegel. Hegel made up a method for understanding the process of history. It's actually very clear in just these philosophers. Hegel said that someone comes up with an idea (a thesis), then someone else comes up with their own idea, which is the complete opposite of guy #1's theory (an antithesis). Then, along comes Mr. Compromise and he makes up an new theory that takes the good parts from both theories and puts them together (a synthesis). Think about Plato's "idea realm". Aristotle comes along and says, "What a wack-o. The physical world is CLEARLY the real world." Then along comes goold ol' Aquinas who says, "Wait, wait. They're BOTH right. We should think things through like Plato did, but Aristotle was right, too. We need to pay attention to our senses as well." Remember that. The Hegelian Dialect. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
Almost done. Only four philosophers to go.
Here comes...SOREN KIERKEGAARD!! Bleck. Sorry, but I really don't like Kierkegaard. Besides his name being so hard to type, I barely understand his philosophy. Pleaseohpleaseohplease don't let me have to know a ton about him on the exam!! Anyway. He reacted agains the idealistic philosophy of Spinoza. (Go figure. I also don't get Spinoza very well.) Kierkegaard thought that truth was subjective. He also believed that there are kind of three ways or stages of living: aesthetic (trying to beautify stuff) (WHAT?! My notes are not helping so much here...); then ethical (when you learn to filter your thoughts and actions and do what's right); and religious (taking your thinking to a deeper spiritual level). Wow. Okay, done with Kierkegaard. (I deserve a medal for typing that correctly like four times!)
Here comes Marx. Who's actually fairly interesting. He saw that there was a struggle between owners and workers. He also thought that capitalism is temporary (that's definitely debatable). As far as I can tell, Marx was a very practical guy. He thought that the material changes are what really affect history, not as much the idealistic changes. He thought the way people think is closely related to what kind of work they do. Which sounds pretty plausible to me. He said that it's mainly the rulers and most influential social class that set the norm for right and wrong.
Next we have Darwin. Now, I KNOW y'all have all heard of Darwin. He believed that life evolves over millions of years through mutations and natural selection without God. He went to the Galapogos Islands once and saw for himself the variations between the different birds and stuff. After doing more research, he figured that animals must change and adapt to their surroundings. This makes sense to me, the only real problem being, where did the very first organism that started this whole thing come from?
LAST PHILOSOPHER! If you're still reading, give me your address and I'll send you a million dollars. Haha, just kidding, but seriously, I'll probably have a heart attack from surprise if any of you made it this far. Tell me if you did, okay? Just so I know. :D
Freud is another one of my favorites. He deals with dreams and stuff. I'm super tired of this, though, and even though it's five-thirty, I have A TON of studying and stuff to do still, so I'm gonna make this tragically brief: He thought we tried to surpress bad thoughts, and so if we try hard enough, we eventually forget bad things. However, he thought that somewhere in our minds are the memories of everything we've ever done. Even as a little kid. And as a psychiatrist, he tried to get people to remember these deeply burried thoughts. He also said that dreams are wish fulfillment. If we can't or shouldn't do something in real life, Freud said our subconsciousness would bring out the desires in a dream.
Freud also had an idea of the three "stages" of being sort of. The id, the ego, and the superego. Newborn babies have almost nothing but id, which is the quest for pleasure and comfort. Then comes the ego, when we learn what's bad and try not to do those things. Then the superego tries to get rid of our bad desires altogether by shoving them into our subconscious, where only dreams and certain mental exercises can bring them out.
Whew! There. I'm done. Now, tell me if you got to the end of this. I will scream in shock.
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