Wolverine: Immortality Destroys Humanity

"I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice."-Wolverine

All right, I think that this will be my last comic-character-oriented blog for a bit, so here we go:

Wolverine may be one of the most famous super heroes out there. A mutant with a healing factor, retractable bone claws, enhanced senses, and an adamantium-covered skeleton, Wolverine is probably the most efficient killing machine in the Marvel Universe. However, because of his healing factor, numerous mind-wipes, and a few shots to the head his memory of his past is almost non-existent. Also, because of his healing factor, he ages extremely slow, which makes estimating his age almost impossible. According the the 2001-2002 miniseries, Origins, Wolverine was born James Howlett in the late 19th century to rich plantation owners. He then left home for a mining colony, adopting the name Logan. He then left for America, joining up with Captain America (my hero) during WWII. Eventually he gets kidnapped by the Weapon X program who lines his skeleton with the strongest metal known to man, wipes his memories, and trains him as an assassin. He gets out, gets back to Canada where he becomes Wolverine, Canada's first superhero. Eventually he winds up at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters as a member of the X-Men and later heads up the X-Force, which does the violent stuff the X-Men can't do (like killing and what-not).

O.k., I skipped a lot but that's his basic over view. Let's rewind to WWII. In the miniseries Death of Wolverine, it explains why Wolverine always lives through whatever deadly blows he sustains. During an exceptionally harsh battle in WWII, Wolverine was the only man left standing. As he surveys the battle scene, he sees a mysterious figure in the distance. This stranger tells him that he has killed more people than any one person should be able to. This angers Wolverine, and naturally Wolverine attacks the stranger. In the end, Wolverine kills this person, only to discover that the stranger is the Angel of Death. So now, Wolverine basically has immortality, but every time he dies he is forced to fight the Angel of Death and if he wins, then his soul is allowed to return to his body, which heals itself thanks to his mutant healing power.

However, this immortality comes at a price. As a natural killer, Wolverine has little respect for human life, and since he's basically immortal he has nothing to fear. This leads to his main solution to problems being killing. Example: there was an entire comic story where Wolverine was trying to find someone and instead of asking people about his query, he immediately killed every lead he had. This obviously leads to more problems. Whenever Wolverine attempts to have a normal life, get in a relationship with someone, or even try to make a friend, the people around him immediately become targets for his enemies. And the more loved ones who get killed, the less reasons Wolverine has to not kill people. This immortality has forced Wolverine into a vicious cycle of death and killing.

This teaches us a valuable lesson: when you have little respect for human life, life has little respect for you. It's almost a karma-like idea, if you don't respect others, or think before you hurt those who seem to hurt you, you will eventually only be hurting yourself, and often it is those you love who will pay the ultimate price.

So how can we apply this to our own lives? It's not like we go around killing people all the time (or at least I hope not). Well, this principle can be used in every day life. Don't hurt others just because you think that what they are doing will hurt you. Think before you confront those around you, look further in time at the consequences in your interactions with people. Follow the Golden Rule every now-and-then. But above all: don't kill people, it's just not nice.

So that's the end of my short superhero miniseries. I'm gonna try to get back to writing about whatever random though pops into my head. However, if you have any superheroes that I didn't write about that you would like me to do a blog on, then put up some comments and let me know. Hint: try to keep it to Marvel comics or really well-known D.C. for optimum insight. Also, if there are any other topics you want me to write about then just let me know!

Magneto: The Ends Don't Justify the Means

“I wear red, the color of blood, in tribute to their lost lives. And the harder I try to cast it aside, to find the gentler path, the more irresistibly I am drawn back. I should have died myself with those that I loved. Instead I carted the bodies by the hundreds, by the thousands, from the death house to the crematorium, and the ashes to the burial ground. Asking myself now what I could not then—Why was I spared?”-Magneto, Uncanny X-Men #274

Holocaust victim, mutant outcast of an unforgiving society, terrorist: all these words describe one man: the controversial Max Eisenhardt (a.k.a. Magnus, Erik Lehnsherr, Deus Maximus, and of course, Magneto). As a small jewish child, Max and his family were captured, lined up into a trench, and shot by Nazi soldiers. Although his parents were killed, Max's mutant powers over magnetic fields emerged just enough to deflect the bullets from himself, he was later recaptured and taken to Auschwitz, one of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps. After his release, he married, and had a child, who died during a fire. Trying to save his wife and child from the fire, he found about his mutant ability and was able to save his wife, however his daughter died when Max was attacked by a mob who saw him use his powers. His wife, pregnant with his twins (whom he later found and tried to take care of), left him, fearing his abilities, and Max was continually discriminated against for being a mutant.

The next time he appeared in the public eye, he was wearing red and going by the name of Magneto. Because he had been mistreated so badly by the humans, he intended to extinguish the species of homo sapiens to "free" and bring up the species of "homo superior" (mutants). This is what I want to talk about. Magneto has been mistreated his entire life, whether because he was a Jew or because he was a mutant, and I can see why someone would want to try to right those wrongs. What the Nazis did to the Jews is, in my opinion, unforgivable, and what some humans were doing to the mutants were horrible as well. I mean, all Magneto wanted to do was make Earth a better place for his fellow mutant right?

Although I agree with the idea that Magneto had, that mutants deserve to be treated just as well as humans (if not a little better since they have superpowers), but the way Magneto went about it was not only wrong, but also, in the end, had an extreme negative consequence for mutants. First off, Magneto did not just have public demonstrations, his idea of a demonstration was to attack politicians and other human areas regardless of innocent bystanders. He even formed a "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" to help him fight against his old friend Charles Xavier's X-Men. It's not like there weren't other groups trying to do the same as him but in a better way either. Charles Xavier and other well-respected mutants were often in Washington politically fighting against any anti-mutant agendas (often inspired by Magneto's terrorist acts). However, Magneto's past and his hate for humans has blinded him to all other ways to advance mutant kind, so he makes himself a villain. In an attempt to help their father be happy and love them (Magneto had often neglected his children in as his goal of mutant domination consumed his life), Magneto's son, Pietro (a.k.a. Quicksilver) has his twin sister, Wanda (known as the Scarlet Witch, able to create alternate realities), create a reality in which Magneto was the ruler of the mutant nation of Genosha. Although all was essentially well, it was not the true reality, and when the X-Men realized that none of it was real and attempted to put a stop to the Scarlet Witch, Magneto angered her to the point that she took away 98% of the world's mutants' powers, including Magneto's.

In the end, Magneto's attempt to get his way through force failed miserably. Not only did the world hate him, but he forced his agenda to a point where there were almost no mutants left. This shows a key moral. Sometimes, things must be done to change the world for the better. How this change comes about, however, is almost as important as the change itself. Magneto tried to destroy human kind to help the mutants, but in the end destroyed the mutant species. As we go about our lives trying to obtain different goals such as a good career, a good family, a good life, we must make sure that the way we do it is also good. There's a famous quote: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Just because the goals is a good goal, that does not mean that the goal justifies any means.

For further insights into the lessons taught by Magneto, please check out http://www.magnetowasright.com/. It has other lessons, quotes, biography, etc. Also, as with all my posts, I'm always open to feedback, so please let me know any thoughts, ideas, or even arguments.

Spider-Man: Responsibility, Confidence, and the Difference between Right and Wrong

"With great power comes great responsibility." -Uncle Ben

WOW! I just realized that it has been way too long since I've posted on here, and I would just like to apologize to anyone who was looking forward to this sort of mini-series I mentioned in my last post, about 3 months ago. Hopefully you didn't all forget about me and are still interested in my thoughts.

Anyways, I thought that I should start off this comic-based mini-series with one of the most popular superhero of all: Spider-Man, the radioactive spider-bitten teen geek gone super hero. He has the proportional speed, strength, and agility of a man-sized spider, as well as a helpful "Spider-Sense" that allows him to sense impending danger in time to avoid it. Through reading of his comics and watching his movies, I have learned quite a bit about responsibility and sacrifice, humility and confidence, and the difference between what may seem right and what is right.

The first point is sort of obvious. The famous line from any Spider-Man comic/slash movie is "With great power comes great responsibility." This line is very true. Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man for the un-initiated) learns very quickly that when you are put in power, you have a responsibility to help those who don't have power. In an attempt to get back at a greedy T.V. executive who cheated him out of money, Peter allowed the executive to get robbed. The robber, looking for a quick ride, car-jacked and killed his Uncle Ben, who had raised him like his own son. Realizing that he could have easily stopped this from occurring if he had only put forth the slightest effort, Peter decided to quit using his abilities for selfish monetary gain and start using them to better the lives of those around him as the crime-fighting Spider-Man.

This is where the story gets sad. Spider-Man more than any other comic hero exemplifies how being a masked crime fighter can almost ruin your life. Having to be able to disappear and change into hero mode at any instant makes it almost impossible to hold a job or a relationship for very long. The job he has is as a photographer for a newspaper whose job it is to make Spider-Man look like a menace. One of the only steady relationships he has had (Gwen Stacy) was ended when the Green Goblin found out that she had a relationship with Spidey and threw her off a bridge. In his attempt to save her, Spider-Man shot some webbing to stop her fall, but ended up instead causing a whiplash effect bad enough to snap her neck, killing her. The other relationship ended when Spider-Man had to choose saving the world over his marriage to actress/model Mary-Jane Watson. Alone, working for a crappy newspaper company, and hated by the city, why continue to fight crime when a better life could be found anywhere else? It's because Spider-Man has learned what many of us have failed to: when we have the power to help someone, no matter how much it inconveniences us, we are obligated to help them, no matter what.

The second point comes from many of Spider-Man comics. Spider-Man is not the most powerful, fastest, or even coolest superhero in many people's opinion, including his own. In many instances, when faced with a seemingly impossible task, he will attempt to call in more powerful heroes than himself. Of course, the Avengers are always out fighting aliens or some other planetary threat, and the Fantastic 4 are always in a different dimension, so he ends up having to rely on his own smarts. One of my favorite things about Spider-Man is how similar he is to me. We both love a good laugh, and we're both decently smart, although we don't always see it. Spider-Man often does not believe that he is good enough for certain things, but always pulls through no matter what. In one issue of The New Avengers, Spider-Man felt as if he had nothing to bring to the table. All of the Avengers are high-powered heroes, and he's just a webbed-up geek. However, Captain America pointed out that one of his best qualities was one that wasn't super. He reminded Spider-Man that although he might not have been a Reid Richards (Mr. Fantastic) or a Tony Stark (Iron Man), he was very intelligent and that sometimes the way you can help best is by using the gifts that God gave you. This shows that although humility can be a good thing, you also have to look at the abilities that you have and have confidence that you can get over any struggle.

The final point came into play the most during the Civil War of the Marvel Universe. Super heroes are fighting over a law that has passed stating that all heroes must give their identities to the government and become licensed or they will be arrested. Unsure of which side was right (Spider-Man has probably one of the ferociously guarded secret identities), he was convinced by Tony Stark to become the figure head for the Registration Act and unmask himself on national television. After doing this, Spidey helped round up his former friends and send them to a special prison just because they were fighting crime illegally (ironic? Yes). This continued until he discovered that the Pro-Registration side was enlisting the help of notorious super villains (including the Green Goblin). Although Spider-Man wasn't completely sure of what was right, he knew what was wrong. He knew that using super villains to round up super heroes would end up not working out. He also knew the consequences of going rogue and teaming up with Captain America on the Anti-Registration side, but he did it anyways. In our lives we come to points where all choices seem to be good. However, when we see something that we know is wrong, we absolutely know it, and we must never choose to go against our morals, even if it would be the easier choice.

So that is what I have learned from reading Spider-Man comics. Keep checking in for the next installment of the Super Hero Mini-Series. I promise to get it in this month!

Introduction to Some Interesting Philosophy...

So, I was in Books-A-Million the other day when I saw a book entitled Iron Man and Philosophy. I thumbed through the pages and, although I did not buy the book (I left with a book called Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter), I came up with a great idea. Over the past year and a half I've been an avid reader of Marvel comics. Now, if you ask my girlfriend she will tell you that I have a knack for for finding, or making up, a deeper meaning in something that seems lacking in that area. So I've decided that the next few posts will be about different Marvel characters and the lessons that can be learned from them. However, since I've already written about Captain America, I won't be rewriting about him. I hope you enjoy!

Batman: Not a Superhero

That's right, I said it, I don't think Batman is a superhero. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Eli, how could you say that? Batman does so many great things and helps so many people, plus, he could easily kick you're @$$!"

I agree. Although now-a-days I strictly read Marvel comics, the first comics I really read with zeal were Batman comics, so Batman holds a special place in my heart. However, I can not consider Batman a superhero, and here's why:

The dictionary on my Mac defines a superhero as "A benevolent fictional character with superhuman powers, such as Superman." I added the bold for emphasis on superhuman. To be a superhero you have to have abilities that are impossible for a human to obtain, i.e. flight, super strength (not strength you can get from working out all the time), super speed (not speed you can get from running everyday), heat vision, etc...

Now, pro-Batman-as-a-superhero people would say something like "Batman is super intelligent." Not true! Batman is intelligent, yes, but any person can be as intelligent as him if they study enough, Reid Richards (or Mr. Fantastic) can be considered super intelligent because he can literally stretch his mind to allow for more intelligence, more memory capacity, and more retained information than a normal human can. Tony Stark (Iron Man) can only barely be considered a superhero when he integrated his body with the Extremis program, allowing his mind to become literally a computer, so he made himself into a superhero. A man with a suit with fancy gadgets does not make him a super hero, it makes him a hero with super gadgets.

Other's will say "he's super cunning." Again, not true, any person with enough training can become super cunning, just look at snipers and special agents, although they are definitely heroes, they're not super heroes by definition.

Now, I am NOT saying that this makes Batman less of a hero. He saves lives and fights bad guys, he just doesn't have any superhuman abilities. Super abilities, sure, but not superhuman, so in conclusion: hero yes, superhero no.

Now, since I hold these standards to Batman, I have to admit, the new Captain America (Bucky Barnes) is not a super hero. He is solely a man with a robotic arm, but he is definitely a hero, personally one of my favorites, but again just a man.

HOWEVER! The original Captain America (Steve Rogers) is a superhero. He has the peak condition in every aspect of himself. Although, from my understanding, it is the optimum strength, speed, agility, and reflexes of man, he is still super. Why? Because of the combination. It's fact that the strongest man can't be the fastest man or have the best reflexes or be the most agile, our bodies don't allow that. The fact that Captain America is the strongest, fastest, agilest, and has the best reflexes of any man (not including specialized superheroes) makes him a super hero.

I would like to hear other's thoughts on this so please tell me what you think.

God and Science

"What a thrill it is, then, to discover that the scientist, too, can legitimately believe in the existence of the spirit."-Wilder Penfield

First off, I would like to apologize for not posting anything in a while, I've been pretty stressed with school stuff lately, but I hope that this is a post you will enjoy.

As you may know, I'm a college freshman majoring in Biology and minoring in Religious Sciences, crazy mix right? My first classes in biology seemed to try to do everything it can to tell me that creationism is wrong and that life appeared through random processes and that intelligent life was formed through random natural selection from single-celled organisms. An interesting thing to think about is that originally, science was seen as a way to understand God, a window to look in at His creation and understand how awesome He is. However, recently there have been huge debates between theologians and scientists. Scientists say that science disproves God, Lee Strobel did some research to see whether or not science actually does that.

The Case for a Creator is a very interesting book in which a former atheist interviews brilliant scientists to see if science actually disproves God. An interesting thing I noticed was that many of the scientists interviewed were atheists, but after long years of study they realized that there was just too much scientific evidence for creationism. In this post I'm going to go through some of my favorite points and add some thoughts of my own. If you find some problem with what I'm saying please let me know, I'd love to have a conversation about it.

WARNING: THIS MAY GET SCIENTIFIC

Biology

So, this book started with my subject of choice: biology. Many biology professors will tell you that evolution is a proven fact. That's not correct, it's just a theory, there's just as much evidence against evolution as there is for it. Now, while I agree that there is proof for natural selection and descent with modification inside a species, I find it very hard to believe that intelligent life came from a single celled organism that crawled out of some primordial ooze, but maybe that's just me.

In Principles of Biology II, we learned about a period of time called the Cambrian Explosion. During this time, millions of different species of organisms suddenly appeared. My professor told us that this is due to increased oxygen in the atmosphere or allopatric speciation (which means different environments formed because of Pangea splitting up and different organisms evolved from the adaptation to different niches). He did not tell us, however, how sudden it was. "Okay, imagine yourself on one goal line of a football field. That line represents the first fossil, a microscopic, single-celled organism. Now, start marching down the field. You pass the twenty-yard line, the forty-yard line, you pass midfield, and and you're approaching the other goal line. All you've seen this entire time are these microscopic, single-celled organisms. You come to the sixteen-yard line...[t]hen-boom!-...all these other forms of animals appear." This quote, from Dr. Jonathan Wells, PHD, PHD describes how sudden the Cambrian Explosion occurred. This completely contradicts Darwin's slow process of evolution. In fact, there is a lack of any intermediate fossils between the Cambrian fossils and the single-celled fossils. So that's one thing.

Another point: in the book it states that we have 98% of the same genes as monkeys. That shows evolution right? Actually, that would mean that this difference between us and monkeys is in 2% of our genes, however, the 2% of our genes that are different don't have anything to do with anatomy, so why aren't we covered in fur?

Another point that I really like: the similarities between wings, flippers, legs, and hands. Looking at the bones of these limbs, there is a definite similarity. Undeniably, we have the same bone structure in our hands as dolphins in their fins and bats in their wings. However, the similarities can be explained through Darwinism and Creationism. Darwinists say that it shows how although outside there are differences, the insides just show a common ancestor. Creationists state that the similarities are just like the way an architect uses the same design for different buildings. In fact, the original person to discover this said that it was a testament to God's creativity, interesting right?

There was a lot more in biology but I want to move on, if you want to learn more ask me or go find the book.

Cosmology

So, apparently, scientists say that the "big bang theory" actually does point to Creationism because it implies a finite beginning to the universe. The reason a finite beginning implies a creator is proven in something called the kalam argument. The kalam argument has 3 points:

1. Everything that begins to exist has a cause

2. the universe began to exist

3. the universe has a cause.

I thought that was pretty interesting, and it makes a lot of since. The universe has to have a beginning because through some mathematical thing described in the book it's impossible to have an infinite amount of happenings, I didn't really understand that part because it was all math stuff. Then it's very difficult to find anything that's created without some cause, in fact it's impossible. Therefore, through the transitive property of mathematics, the universe has a cause.

Now there is a lot of evidence in other scientific disciplines, but I decided to go ahead and publish this post, so if you're really interested in more than let me know and I publish some more about it, and again, if there are any problems with anything I've said then please let me know!

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland: Becoming Who You Are

SPOILER ALERT!!!!

This post may reveal key parts to the plot of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, if you have not yet seen this movie I suggest you do so before reading this post (and don't be cheap, see it in 3D, you won't regret the extra two bucks).

Cheshire Cat: What do you call yourself?

Alice Kingsley: Alice

Cheshire Cat: THE Alice?

Alice Kingsley: There's been some debate about that

Cheshire Cat: I never get involved in politics

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland had a very interesting idea to it. It's almost ten years after her adventure in Wonderland (which you later find out is actually called "Underland," not so hot on that part, but it can't be perfect right?) and she has forgotten all about it, dismissed it as a dream. Through a series of events she finds herself back in Underland, led there once again by the White Rabbit. The White Rabbit takes her to an opium-smoking caterpillar named Absolem who will tell them whether or not she is the "right Alice." When they get there, the White Rabbit also tells her that her return was prophesied and she must slay the Jabberwocky (a monster from an Old English poem Alice tries to read in the book Through the Looking Glass). Alice refuses to believe this so they consult Absolem who grimly states that this Alice was "not hardly" the right Alice.

The White Rabbit and his group of talking plants/animals immediately leave in disappointment. Alice couldn't care less. This was the weirdest dream she's ever had! Talking animals, prophesies of her slaying some sort of mythical dragon, and all sorts of utter impossibilities, she was going to wake up soon and that's all that mattered.

Of course, she doesn't wake up soon, she meets the Mad Hatter, the Red and White Queens, and all sorts of other characters as she goes through all sorts of shenanigans. Eventually, she starts realizing that she's stuck here, things have become less impossible to her, and when the White Queen asks her if he will slay the Jabberwocky she....runs. She ran to a porch where she sees Absolem wrapping himself into a cocoon. She tells him of her predicament, everyone wants so much from her and she's not even the "right Alice."

But then Absolem tells her something. He tells her that what he said was that at that moment she "[wasn't] hardly Alice," but now she's "almost Alice." He then goes on to tell her how he thought she'd take things in Underland better since she had been there before. This totally trips Alice out and she goes into a flashback and realizes that she's not dreaming. Underland is a very real place with very real people who expect HER, not some other Alice, to bring an end to a terror that's haunted them for a very long time. She goes to the White Queen and tells her that she will slay the Jabberwocky.

So I'm not completely sure if I described the events perfectly, but here's what I'm trying to say: Alice came to a place she didn't understand and through a series of events became who she was meant to be. I've always believed that who we are comes from a series of events that have shaped our lives, and that's exactly what this movies is saying. Alice was in surroundings that seemed completely impossible, her best friend was a Mad Hatter, and she was given a responsibility that she could never do. With this outlook she really wasn't hardly Alice.

Evaporating cats, flowers that talk, and creepy hatters with too much make up, impossible right? It has to be a dream, no way this could be real. Have you ever been in circumstances that you just can't understand? I know I have. When everything comes at you at once and you don't understand what's happening, it's terrifying! These sort of times can really shape who you are though. You're actions during these times, who you look to for help, and how you get out of them are all things that can shape you for the rest of your life, but the first thing that you have to do is realize the reality of what you're going through. One good quote from the movie was "sometimes I believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast," and sometimes that's what you have to do.

Friends are possibly the most important things in developing who you are. The Hatter instantly knew Alice was THE Alice. He was willing to do anything to protect her and guide her to her purpose including lose his head, which he stated had already happened. The Hatter believed in her when no one else would, and when Alice had doubts about slaying the Jabberwocky he even tried to step in for her. It's friends like these that are so important in times when everything seems impossible. I've been so blessed in my life to have some amazing friends to get me through my tough times. In the trailer for the movie, the Hatter stated that "there is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: you must be as mad as a hatter. Which luckily, I am." There's no better helper than a friend who's been where you are.

Finally, there are those times when you're given too big of a responsibility. Mother Teresa once said "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much." Alice had to first steal a special sword from an insane large-headed monarch and then save a land full of talking plants and animals from some sort of crazy dragon thing, not your average chore. Everyone has had these times, when there's no way we can do this, it's too big, too tough, too scary. But then you learn that you'll never know what's possible unless you do that which is impossible. Alice cut that Jabberwocky's head off and freed Underland from the Tyrannical rule of the Red Queen. She was a hero! which just goes to show, when you think you can't do it, try anyways, then you'll realize there's more to you than you thought. When Alice said that it was impossible to kill the Jabberwocky, the Mad Hatter gently said "only if you believe it is."

And that's it I suppose. Alice finally became "The Alice" she was supposed to be. She went through impossibly strange conditions, made some impossibly awesome friends, and lived up to an impossibly big responsibility and became the person she was supposed to be. So I guess what I'm saying is do the impossible and find out who you're supposed to be.

To "Gumby"...

All right, this is going to be an interesting one. In a response about my post on writing, a good friend of mine who goes by "Gumby" asked me about my thought on Norman Osborn's rise to power. Hold onto your hats, this is gonna get crazy.

Let me paint you a picture: Captain America's dead. Super heroes have spent a great deal of time fighting each other about whether or not super heroes should tell the government their secret identities. The "Super Hero Registration Act" was passed, forcing any heroes who refuse to give up their identities to be criminals, with Tony Stark, a.k.a. "Iron Man," heading up the mission to stop any underground heroes and bring them to justice. Heroes fighting heroes? How can things get worse?

This is where it gets worse. While the heroes were busy attacking each other, and the nation's hero was killed while he was trying to make things right. A shape shifting alien force intent on taking over the earth, the Skrulls, have found a way to completely infiltrate the ranks of super heroes. Once the heroes find out, trust is broken, heroes are fighting heroes even harder now. When the climax hits, and the Skrull king is exposed, one man takes the shot. That man, Norman Osborn, becomes a national hero, given control of S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization that polices super heroes, and his first act is to exert his power to his full extent.

Here we go: Norman Osborn, a.k.a. "The Green Goblin": murderer, psychopath, schizophrenic, took control of a group called The Thunderbolts, an organization made to reform super villains. In reality, Osborn used this power to advance his own corrupt agenda under the guise as a legitimate reformer of super villains. Once he takes that shot and kills the Skrull king, Osborn essentially rules the world. Osborn makes his own version of The Avengers, using super villains with similar powers as the original Avengers, and he modifies and dons confiscated Iron Man armor under the name of "The Iron Patriot." Their role was to make sure that the super heroes of the world don't do anything and that the super villains of the world are free to reign.

So there are multiple things that kill me about this. First off: Captain America's role should not be taken over by a murderer! It's not right! It's just not right! Come on!

Sorry, that got out of hand, I'll try to compose myself, I apologize. Any ways, second off: I understand that Osborn did save the world, but that one act should not put him in a position where he is in control of any one, and I think this will be the focal point of this post.

A few times in my life, I've seen people who have done some pretty bad things, not nearly Norman Osborn things, but bad still. These people have done something that's good, either renounced there bad deeds, asked for forgiveness, or something of this sort. Many times, these people are forgiven, which is great, as a Christian I'm all about forgiveness, but when these people are given some sort of reward for asking for forgiveness, that's when I have a problem. Now, this could be jealousy, because I hear more of people being rewarded for asking forgiveness than people being rewarded for never being good. And maybe this is very wrong of me to say, but I feel like if someone hurts you, you should forgive them, but based on the amount of hurt, you should watch them before giving any sort of reward. I do believe in forgiveness, but I don't think that one instance of good should make you forget a large amount of hurt. I guess what I'm saying is forgive, but wait before you forget, because if you immediately give some one a reward for asking to be forgiven, it's possible that they will misread this reward and misuse it.

Finally, please, if you think that this is extremely wrong, then let me know, I'll appreciate it.

In Response to Daniel's Question...

Proverbs 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge...

So in my last post, I asked for readers to ask me a question, give me something to write about. the first response was from one of my closest friends. To read his exact question go to my last post and read the comment from Dwhittingslow, but this is my response to that question.

About a year after I became a devoted Christian, I decided to work for a local organization called the Gathering Place over the summer. This organization is all about spreading God's word where I live, they have big gatherings called the Main Event where people from all over the community go to worship and here a speaker talk about Jesus Christ. My job was to do service projects in the community and help out at the Main Event. I also did daily devotionals with a small group where we grew closer to God as well as each other.

Two of the biggest things that I realized was that I did not have a daily discipline and that I really didn't know what the Bible said. I knew what I believed, I knew that Jesus had dies for our sins, and I knew the basic truths, but I really didn't know much else. That summer I read through the Gospels and most of the New Testament. I realized after that that I barely knew the Old Testament at all, so I made a plan: I was going to read one chapter of the Bible a night, starting at Genesis, until I had read through the entire Bible. As of today, after almost three years, I am at Zechariah 7, so as you can see, it's taking me a very long time.

So, why? Why wouldn't I just read multiple chapters a night? Set up a good plan and I could have read it in less than a year. So why do I only read one chapter a night? Great question! I have thought about this multiple times and this is what I've come up with:

Although my original goal was just to read through the entire Bible, I found another benefit: this is helping me build discipline. I actually have had a few nights when I have read multiple chapters, but every now and then that will lead me to think that I don't have to read the next night, which leads to a break in my discipline. So for right now, sticking with one chapter a night is great for my discipline.

O.K., so what about after you finish the entire Bible? Well, good question! After I'm done with my chapter-a-night plan, I intend to really dive into the Word. As I've been reading, I've also gone through different books to help me go into it a little more, and once I finish my reading, I plan to go through, with the superficial knowledge I have gained now, I intend to study the Word on my own. This will have been made easier because of the reading I've been doing over the pat few years.

So something that you can take from my experience is if you're a Christian you need to invest time in the Word, build up some daily discipline and really learn what God wants to say to you.

Writing: A Pleasant Outlet for the Mind

"The role of the writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say."-Anaïs Nin

So here's something about me: I like to think more into things then many people would. I take things that I see or do and I like to analyze them, much like you would analyze the symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye in high school. So with all these thoughts and analyses (is that the plural for analysis? Someone please let me know!) bouncing around my head, things got pretty crowded, which is why I started writing this blog.

Let me tell you, this was a great idea! I don't even know if anyone is really interested in what I'm saying, but it's just helpful for me to get all my thoughts out. It's very much like when you have tons of stuff in your trash can on your computer and it takes a year for things to download, but then you empty the trashcan and your computer runs super fast. I know a few others who have blogs and they all seem to have the same experience.

I think that a huge reason that writing a blog or any other published work is so beneficial is that you are able to say things to other people that you normally wouldn't bring up in conversation. I wouldn't normally go out and try to rationalize an 18 year old college student reading comics to someone who doesn't think that it's proper behavior, but here, I can and if someone is uninterested in the topic then they can simply exit the post without hurting my feelings. It's a very nice feeling, being able to say whatever I want without worrying about what someone will think about it.

Now, I love writing, and I'm truly hooked on the whole blog thing (which by the way, I found that blog is short for weblog, clever huh?), but I've been having trouble thinking of things to write about. So, if you would like to help me through this writer's block and want me to write about some topic or just have a question you think I could answer, then please post a comment with what you want me to write and I'll do my best to address it. Thanks for reading!

500 Days of Summer: The Necessity of Hardships

SPOILER ALERT!

The following post reveals parts of the plot, including the end of the movie 500 Days of Summer. If you have any interest in seeing this movie, I suggest you do so before reading this post.

"This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story." -Narrator, 500 Days of Summer

The movie 500 Days of Summer starts just like any other romantic comedy. The main character, Tom, is an architect major working for a greeting card company where Summer gets a job. A series of events brings them together and at one point they make out in the copy room, Tom falls in love, and Summer does not. Although Summer tells Tom that she does not believe in love and is really just looking for something fun and not any big commitment, Tom never seems to believe it. As the story goes, it skips around between two main parts of Tom's life: when Tom and Summer are together, and after Summer breaks off the romantic part of their relationship. The latter parts consist mainly of Tom crying, drinking, being a jerk to everyone he sees, and engaging in other depressing behaviors. One of the worst parts is that just as he's starting to feel better, he finds out that Summer is engaged.

In the end, Tom ruins his job, depresses his friends, and loses one of the things that he has believed in his whole life: his vision of love and fate. Finally, Tom decides to make use of his education in architecture and goes for a job, where he meets another girl interviewing for the same job. He learns that this girl often frequents one of his favorite spots and has noticed him even though he's never seen her. As he's called into the interview, he asks her name, she replies that her name is Autumn. I wish I could find the actual quote that the narrator says but it's something like this: Tom had learned that there is no such thing as fate, no such things as signs, that everything is just a coincidence. He had learned all these things...almost. Tom ends up asking Autumn on a date, and she accepts, and that's the end of the movie.

This movie has a profound message. It has such ups and downs that the viewer is emotionally exhausted. But when you start to think about it, the pains that Tom went through was vastly important, not just for Tom, but also for Summer. Summer had always believed that love was fake, that it was just made up and that there is not a connecting emotion that strong. And she probably would've continued to think that if she hadn't met Tom and had him teach her about what it was to truly care about someone. After Tom finds out that Summer is married Tom tells her that he was wrong about love, that he understood why she never believed in love in the first place. She laughs and replies "You weren't wrong, Tom. You were just wrong about me." If it hadn't been for knowing Tom and seeing someone truly care for someone else, she would not have ever thought about falling in love, and she probably would not have been truly happy.

But it also helped Tom. During a meeting at the greeting card company Tom worked at, Tom exploded, telling everyone in the meeting that what they did was terrible, that they didn't let people express their own feelings. He then quits his job. Later, he finally decides to make use of his architectural education and interviews for well-paying jobs that make use of his skills. Also, he ends up meeting another girl who may end up being the girl Tom always wanted. If it hadn't been for Summer breaking things of with him, he would still work at the greeting card company and squander his skills.

This is a great movie, and if you haven't seen it I would highly recommend it. The lesson it teaches is very true. No matter what hardships you're experiencing, learn from it. Push through. Meet new people. And NEVER stop believing in love.

The World Is Our Playground

"Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world"-The Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World"

In one of my earlier posts I shared my story of how I became a Christian. There's more to my testimony than that one story, there were definitely more instances that contributed to the fostering of my faith. I'm going to share one of those stories now.

The summer after my freshman year in high school, I got a phone call from my mentor Jay Hanson about going on a father-son camping trip in Moab, Utah with my 7:07 group. I was pretty excited about this because I had never been to a desert before and I thought it would be really fun hanging out with all my 7:07 buddies. The catch was that I had to organize it, I had to call the guys, find out where we would camp, what we would do, and how we would get there. Certain circumstances led to this trip from being a trip for the whole 7:07 group to being a trip with only me, my dad, my brother, and Jay and his son. It was still a lot of fun and really let me bond more with my dad and brother and Jay and his son.

During this trip we did a lot of man stuff. We hiked, we went canoeing, and we used the restroom wherever we felt like it. We also had Bible studies that we did and we were able to not just grow closer together, but also grew closer to God. One of my favorite memories was when we were hiking in Arches National Park. There was a large rock and Cole, Jay's son, asked if he could climb it (it seemed like the only three things Cole and my little brother wanted to do was eat, pee, and climb stuff). Jay answered with "that's why God put it there." Cole, my brother, and I immediately climbed that rock.

Jay's response has always stuck with me since then. Many times people believe that God has better things to worry about than them, that the Creator of the universe doesn't worry about a singular person. What if we're wrong, what if when God was creating earth he made a huge mountain in the Western part of North America and over the past billion years he made the wind pass over this mountain and had the rain hit the mountain so that by the time five people from Brunswick, Georgia made a trip to Moab, Utah, what used to be a mountain was a rock, small enough and with enough handles to climb, but big enough to be exciting for a certain child to climb. What if God made certain things in nature for us to enjoy?

How many times have you seen something and nature and said "Wow! That's so cool! But, I have something else to do, too bad." What if at that moment you missed out on something that God made just for you? I'm reminded of a time when I was working at a local grocery store as a bag boy. I was outside getting grocery carts when a lady came up to me. She said "Excuse me, but look at that!" She pointed to what may have been one of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen. She said "Doesn't it just look like it belongs in a western movie? I just had to show someone that." I was so glad she did too.

When you have an experience like this you have to take advantage of it. When you're outside and see something that you want to climb or look at, do it. Or just share it with someone else. Who knows? Maybe that's why God put it there.

Just Chillin'

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want."-Calvin and Hobbes

Have you ever had one of those days when there's nothing that needs to be done? When you have an entire day to do whatever you want to do and you can't think of a single thing to do? Many times people hate these kind of days. They feel bored and they try to think of something to do so they don't feel like they're wasting the day. What if doing nothing was exactly what the day was meant for? What if by doing something that you don't really want to do you are in fact wasting that day of nothing.

As a college student I often have homework to do or a test I need to study for, so when these days come up I start worrying that I'm forgetting something. That there has to be something I should be doing at that moment that I just can't think of. That's how the other day started for me. It was a weekend day and I woke up and immediately started to think about what I was supposed to do that day. As I brought up my mental day planner I drew a blank. I had done all my homework the day before, I didn't have any tests coming up, I hadn't made any plans with anyone, what was I supposed to do? I'll tell you exactly what I did: I went back to sleep.

An hour later I woke up and took a shower. After the shower I put on some very comfortable clothing and sat in my hammock for a bit. I didn't turn on the T.V., I didn't pick up a book, I just sat in my hammock, my mind was completely blank, it was nice. Why don't we appreciate these times more? There's plenty of time to get things done when they need to be done, but we need to take advantage of those days when we have nothing to do and no reason to do anything. I encourage you that the next time one of these days come around, don't force yourself to do anything, just chill, it'll be nice, I promise.

Valentine's Day Special

WARNING!

If you are one of those people who don't like Valentine's Day or stuff like that, you probably shouldn't read this post.

"All you need is love" -The Beatles, All You Need Is Love

All right, so it's a day late, but here it is: my Valentine's Day blog, dedicated to my Valentine, Mallory Taylor.

So over a year ago, I was at my high school's homecoming foot ball game. I bumped into someone in my Spanish class who introduced me to one of her friends. The next day I met this friend of hers again on my way to Chick-Fil-A. I had pretty much given up on finding a girlfriend while in high school so I thought we could be close friends. God had a different opinion though as I found myself wanting to be with her as much as possible and I felt like we were supposed to be more than just friends.

So on October 23, 2008, I took a huge chance and asked Mallory Taylor to be my girlfriend, and she said yes! I was so happy! We hung out every night and when we weren't hanging out we texted each other whenever we could. After that Christmas, Mallory went with me and my family to my grandparents' cabin in North Carolina. Every night while we were there we would just sit on the porch and talk to each other. I opened up to her more than any one else and I realized in those days that my feelings for her had grown from some immature crush to me falling in love with her.

This leads me to the main part of this blog. What is love? Around this time of year, love gets thrown around, but I feel like lately with about 50% of marriages ending in divorce (remember when 'till death do us part meant something?), I feel like people don't really understand what love is anymore. So, I'm gonna look up a couple of things about love and then I'll let you know what I believe love is.

So first, where do you go when you need an answer to anything? That's right folks, the Bible. So, what does the Bible say love is? I went on to www.biblegateway.com, which is a searchable online Bible and typed in the word 'love," I got 697 results, so when I find a definition it should be pretty solid. And here it is:

I Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Wow, do you think we follow that these days? In couples you see who say they love each other do they follow these guidelines? Especially the last sentence, how many couples let their love bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and especially endure all things? This is a pretty solid definition of love.

Next, it's dictionary time. The dictionary application on the MacBook defines love as an intense feeling of deep affection, a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. This is an all right definition of love, but, no disrespect to the Mac, I think it's too wimpy. Love isn't just affection or romantic/sexual attachment that can be broken, I think love is much deeper than that.

So, I'm sure you're wondering "Eli, what do you think love is?" Well, I'm glad you've asked. My definition of love is much closer to the Bible's definition. Love to me is an inseparable bond between two people. It is forever. You can't be in love with someone one day and not the next, love doesn't work like that. Also, I feel (and many will disagree with me) I don't think true love will occur unless it is two-sided, I don't think one can truly love someone without the other returning that feeling. Love is when both people want what's best for the other person, even if it might not be what's best for them. Love is not never arguing or always being happy, but it is knowing that no matter what feelings occur, love will still be sustained in the relationship. Also, love occurs only in a God-approved relationship. When love happens, it brings both people towards God, not just towards each other.

So that's what I think about love, if you have any questions or thoughts about love then please post a comment.

View from a Hammock, and Other Relaxing Stuff

"Ripple in still water/where there is no pebble tossed/nor wind to blow" -The Grateful Dead, "Ripple"

Psalm 23:1-2 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

My good buddy Ty from down the hall gave me a great idea last week that I was able to put into action this Sunday. I raised my bed up as high as it will go (the bed in my dorm is able to be bunked up to provide extra storage), and hung a hammock underneath it, giving me what I like to call a "no-stress cave." I could not have picked a better week to make it too. Homework's been piling up and I've got to start finding a place to live next year, my head has become so cluttered with "productive" thoughts that I have no room for the important stuff (this is way I have been slacking in the blogging lately, sorry). But now, thanks to my no-stress cave, I now have a place where once I sit down, my worries go away. I don't know, maybe it's the swinging of the hammock or the seclusion of the space under my bed, but there is just no room in there for all the baggage of productivity. Now, I make sure to get everything done before I enter my no-stress cave, so I am still being productive, but everyone just needs that space to just chill with your thoughts.

I love it when I can just get rid of all my stressful thoughts. One thing that always seem to do it for me is the song "Ripple" by The Grateful Dead (by the way, I am proud to say that I was able to see Bob Weir and Phil Lesh's band Furthur in concert last Saturday), perhaps it's because my parents are so unconventional sometimes that instead of singing a traditional lullaby, my mother sang this song to me. It's almost as if it's engrained into my psyche as a sort of relaxant. As soon as this song starts to play, I am instantly care-free. According to a book that my loving girlfriend gave me for our first Christmas together (The Complete Annotates Grateful Dead Lyrics), this song is supposed to be a sort of interpretation of Psalm 23, which would also happen to be my favorite Psalm, whenever I read this the same sort of calm comes over me. If you've ever experienced this phenomenon then you'll know how refreshing it is to just have one thing that triggers your calm. It's a great feeling and I really encourage you all to find something, whether it be a spot or a song or a book, that helps you forget all your worries and stress and gives you a way to just chill, and just chill for a while. It'll change your life.

Life on the Road

"Lately it occurs to me what a long strange trip it's been"

-The Grateful Dead, "Truckin'"

I just spent almost two hours driving from my dorm at Georgia Southern University to my home in Brunswick, GA. This is the fourth weekend in a row where I've spent a good bit of time on the road. I've grown accustomed to driving a good bit, whether it's to spend time with my best friends at other schools or to come home and spend time with my wonderful family and my loving girlfriend.

One thing I've noticed is the more trips I take the more familiar the roads become to me. I-16 and I-95 have become like close friends of mine and I have memorized all it's twists, turns, the places where it's crowded and the places where it'll be just me and my thoughts. I've driven through about every condition there is: sunshine, rain, day, night, hot, cold, alone, with a car full of friends, and even with a dog in the back seat.

I'm beginning to really love driving on my long trips. The times when it's just me on the interstate and the sun's shining are when I have some of my favorite driving experiences. I don't know what it is but the music I'm listening to always seems to fit and I don't have worry about anything except the speed limit (which on some parts of the interstate you don't even have to worry about that). Some times I think about where I'm going, sometimes I think about where I'm coming from, other times I just think about the drive.

It's during these times that I find real peace, that kind of peace where you just forget about everything and you just are (if that makes any since). Here I am able to sense God all around me, I feel so refreshed and relaxed that sometimes a two hour drive feels like it's 30 minutes. I feel like everyone has something that they do to feel this sort of peace, whether it's driving or reading or hiking, I even have a friend who runs to feel this sort of peace. I think that everyone just has their "thing" that they can engage in to feel this sort of worry-free moment and I just want to greatly encourage you to find yours.

Taking Woodstock: Perspective

"Everyone with their little perspective. Perspective shuts out the universe, it keeps the love out." -Carol (Christina Kirk) in Taking Woodstock

Ok, so another idea from another movie. The movie Taking Woodstock, based on a true story about Elliot Tiber, is about Elliot Teichberg is the son of a couple who own a failing motel. In an effort to make keep the motel in business, Elliot rents out the motel to the Woodstock Music Festival. If you can get past the extreme nudity and extensive drug use it was an all right movie, nothing to write home about (although I guess I got something out of it or I wouldn't be writing about it right?).

There was one quote, however, that caught my attention. After a huge argument with his parents, Elliot ran into Carol, someone who helped put Woodstock together (and who was most likely tripping on some sort of drug most of the movie), and explained that the argument was no big deal, to which she replied with the above quote saying that the argument could end up being the most important thing in the world.

Now, maybe I'm reading too much into this, maybe I've listened to too much hippy music, but I really think that this is a viable idea. What if everything that we went through was much more important than we think it is? What if something that could have turned out to be something great didn't because we didn't give it the attention it deserved? How many relationships have been ruined because what seemed to not be a big problem grew and grew until it was unbearable? What if we just ignored every problem because we thought it wasn't a big deal? What if we treated everything in our life like it was the most important thing going on? I really have no idea how it would work out, but try it sometime, whenever a conflict arises, don't let it pass by like it's nothing, examine it, talk about it, resolve it. I think that this could really help in every day problems and relationships, so try it out, it might be that whatever you're going through now is the most important thing happening in the universe.

The Book of Eli: The Bible As A Weapon

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

"It's not just a book-It's a weapon. "

-Carnegie (Gary Oldman) from The Book Of Eli

The Book Of Eli amazed me this weekend. This movie was not just a great film, but it was also an amazing example of what happens when a man literally stores the Word of God in his heart. I'm not going to ruin the movie for you so you're going to have to go see the movie to get the full effect of it. What I want to talk about are the above quotes.

In this movie Eli, played by Denzel Washington, is a man who has a divine mission to take the last surviving Bible West to an unknown destination through a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Eli had survived through many battles when he came to a small town ruled by a ruthless man named Carnegie, played by Gary Oldman, who is doing anything to find a certain book, which just so happens to be the Bible that Eli has in his possession. Eli was able to take out most of Carnegie's men to protect his book and when the leader of his militia asked him what was so important about a book, Carnegie responded with the quote above.

As a Christian, I had heard the Bible verse many times but I guess I had never really realized what it was saying until I heard this quote come out of a man who's idea of the Bible was a tool to use to command all of humanity to obtain his greedy purposes. Carnegie says that he needs the words from the Bible to inspire the people in the town so he wouldn't have to do the terrible things that he does for his authority. That if he only had the right words then his town would be a better place. Eli knows that all Carnegie will do is bring a distorted since of religion to the town and use it for his own greedy purposes so he does not give Carnegie the book.

I think this is what it means when the Bible is called a weapon. If someone knew the true meanings and really took it to heart they could do some amazing good in the world, and if someone really knew what it meant and how to use it, they could twist and distort it and do some terrible damage. The most disturbing part is that Satan knows that God's Word is the most powerful weapon of all and he will do all he can to distort the Word to you and he will succeed if you don't study the word yourself and really take it's meanings to heart.

So what can we do to effectively utilize this amazing weapon that God has given us? We read it, we study it, we pray about it, and we bury the message in a hearts and we use what we learn in real life. The Bible is The ultimate weapon, all we need to do is learn to use it and guard our hearts from the distortions of the ultimate evil.

My Testimony

So one of my friends has been going through a rough time lately. I was really worried about him until sometime last week. He begin talking about how God has been using him lately and I began to see a huge change in his demeanor as he began to get involved in ministering to his community and really listening to what God says to him. He now seems to be more empowered than ever and it all came out of a loss that left him with pretty much nothing. That brings up so many memories of people who've come out of a loss and have gone on to live their lives so much better than they had before. My story is one like that so I'm going to share it now.

My entire life I've been close friends to this guy named Joe (his name has been changed in this). I've never considered myself a "bad person" but he was the kind of guy who when you're around him you make stupid decisions. I had so much fun when I was with Joe that I would always look to him to see how I should act and talk, which led to a few problems seeing as he was definitely not a good role-model. I was so excited my freshmen year when I moved right across the street from him! I could walk over and do whatever we wanted to do whenever we wanted to do it, it was going to be awesome!

And that's where things went wrong. One night my family and I were coming back from my little brother's baseball game and my mom got a phone call. The police had come to Joe's house and arrested him for possession of drugs. When my mom told me this I was devastated. He was going to be sent to a sort of clinic in South Carolina for a couple of years. I was alone, 45 minutes away from all my other friends (when you're 14, 45 minutes might as well be 5 hours), and I had no other friends around me.

At this point, my life felt like it was coming apart. The guy who I had looked up to my entire life was a criminal and worse, he was leaving me alone. I didn't know what to do, I went to my room and sat. I tried to figure out why God did this to me, but I couldn't. My parents tried to tell me it would be ok, but how could it be ok when you're only friend has left you? I tried to just watch some T.V., but that couldn't take my mind off it, so I just sat in my room for a while, I didn't think, I just sat.

And that is when I heard it, real softly, more feeling than hearing. God was telling me it was going to be O.K. He loves both of us and this would work out for the best.

No, I didn't immediately feel better, I began to understand why God would do this for Joe, it was a way to help him get away from the people who influenced him to make bad decisions, it gave him a chance to start over, but why did God have to leave me alone? The next day I went to my 7:07 group where me and my friends would get together and be mentored by Jay Hanson. I realized then that I wasn't alone, I had a group of close friends who God put there for me, I was not alone.

Over the next year and a half, I began to hang out more with my 7:07 friends, I joined the church that Jay Hanson preached at and me and my friends got involved in its youth group. I became closer to God than I ever had been and it all started because of the loss I had to go through.

What happened to Joe? I am proud to say that he did get help and we are still close friends. However, I now try my best to look to God to see how I should act and try to be a good role model for him. Joe has joined the Marine reserves and is really excited about going out and doing good for our country and I couldn't be more proud of the man he turned out to be.

1 Kings 19:11-13

...And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind was an earthquake, but the lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave...

In this Bible verse Elijah, who I was named after, went through something similar to what I did. Elijah was waiting in a cave to meet God. All these catastrophes happened as God came to him that literally tried to bring the mountain on top of him, but God was not in them. And after the catastrophes when Elijah was still waiting, he heard a whisper. Elijah immediately went out because he knew that God had come for him. That's how it was for me, and how it happens for so many people. Catastrophe begins to shake your mountain's foundations, you try to find God in your own thoughts, the words of others, or you just give up. God is in the silence after the catastrophe.

I encourage you, if you're going through a rough time, just go to a quiet place and sit. Don't think, don't get distracted, just sit and wait for the soft whisper of God's voice to tell you that it's going to be O.K. and the all-powerful God loves you.

Children, Comics, and Captain America

All right, you're walking by a bench, you see a kid completely engorged in a comic, probably thinking about how cool it would be to be one of the characters, to have some sort of super powers or crazy awesome gadgets so he could fight crime, ward off evil, and protect the innocent. Then, you notice something odd, this kid looks like he's about 18 years old.That would be me and a couple of friends of mine. Last year (our senior year of high school) me and some friends of mine began reading comic books, which may sound lame to you, but we didn't care, we are just a few old kids reading our comic books and having a great time.

One particular character especially caught my imagination. Captain America is by far my favorite super hero. Every now and then I'll get asked "why Captain America? He's not that great, the Hulk could rip him to shreds, Iron Man could fry him with his lasers, he's got a shield but that's not that cool." Yeah, that's a completely understandable question, Captain America is really just a regular person who was given a "super soldier serum" that gave him the greatest strength, speed, and agility that any person could possibly get. So really an olympic athlete could probably get the job done physically. No, it's not his power as much as his ideals that inspire me. Steve Rogers was an artist who desperately wanted to join the U.S. military to fight off the Nazis in World War II, but unfortunately, he was small and all skin and bones, nothing impressive and the military recruiter said that they would be unable to use him in the fight. Desperate to do anything to fight the Nazis, Rogers signed up as a test subject for the super soldier serum created. The scientist who gave him the serum was killed so Steve Rogers was the only super soldier. He donned the stars and stripes from the American flag, and used a red white and blue shield as his weapon of choice. He led a group of super heroes called the Invaders during WWII, then later became a leader of the Avengers and New Avengers.

This is where it hits me: why was just a man, granted a very strong, fast, and agile man, able to lead these super-beings with powers unimaginable? It was his ideals. Captain America believes so much in the virtues of America such as patriotism, loyalty, and truth that it inspires others for good. He wears the symbol of his ideals to show that he will not change who he is even though ideas of patriotism may be a bit outdated these days, and he uses his ideas as a weapon to show that his convictions are strong and they will fight anyone who opposes them.

This amazes me! That a man can be so morally strong that he can destroy any opposition and inspire others who are much stronger than him to fight alongside him. What if we had this sort of moral conviction. What if I was so morally strong that I could inspire and lead others into almost impossible situations? What if I used my ideals as a weapon to break through any challenges? What if I wore my ideals so as I walked by people would know what I stood for? What if you did that? So that's what I want to do, and it's what I want you to do, I want us to look inside ourselves and contemplate our morals and use them to inspire others, lead those who need a leader, and to destroy any obstacles that we face.

Introduction

All right, so this is my first blog ever, so I guess this is just going to be an introduction. The name of this site has some special significance to me. One of my favorite bands of all time is The Grateful Dead and my favorite song by them is "Scarlet Begonias." I love this song mainly because of one line: "once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right." Throughout my life I can see that this line rings true. I was able to find God from an event that hurt me pretty terribly, I was able to find love when I had all but given up on it, and I have some of the deepest thoughts in the most mundane settings. So I don't know, I guess the whole point of the name is that some of the thoughts that I share might affect you in some way, that maybe this might be one of your "strangest of places," that some of my experiences can help you learn some lessons or that maybe you can just get a good laugh from them, but whatever you get from it, I just hope that my thoughts/actions/experiences can help you in some way. I plan on posting something new at least once a week so keep on reading and as the Grateful Dead said: keep on trucking.