A few random thoughts...
Writely>
I found a neat website the other day. It's still in Beta mode it's that new.
I understand what it is (sort of) but can't really think of how to use it myself. The way I understand it is, is that it's a sort of word processor online that you can have multiple authors edit. A sort of blend of a blog, word document, wiki, message board. It might be neat to have a certain topic to start a written dialogue on with other users. If anyone has any ideas post them in the comments area.
Check out the website here:
http://www.writely.com
PS> If you are on a mac with Safari, you'll need to switch over to firefox.
neat website>
I just found this website today that looks pretty cool.
http://collisiondetection.net
(edit 2_9_06: The above image is a polished ball of dirt. Read about this Japanese process here )
Religion>
Why did God rest on the 7th day? Was it because he was tired? (which insinuates there are limits to his power).
Is it "rest" more as in "taking a break" like an artist who stops painting to step back and look/admire/critique his/her work?
And why did it take 6 days? Why didn't he just snap his finger and "poof" it all into existence?
(I don't expect answers to these, just things I like go say "hmmm" about ;)
On another religion question:
One of the miracles that Jesus did, where he healed a blind person... he picked up some dirt from the ground, spit in it (ewww) rubbed it on the guy's eyes, then told him to go down to the river and wash it off, at which point the man could see. Why all the "magic tricks" to this miracle? Again, why didn't He just snap his fingers, and "poof" his miracle? It makes me think that there is a connection to the dirt-spit-water. How many of Jesus' miracles involved this sort of parlour trick? (I'm not putting this down by any means... I'm just curious why the sort of "magical" elements to his miracles).
Oscar Movies>
I got in a good discussion the other day with a friend about this.
Of all the Oscar nominations, I have only seen about 12 of these movies.
When we looked up the top 100 box office numbers from 2005 I was surprised to see some of the titles. The Dukes of Hazzard made it to #25. Just this past weekend, Big Mommma 2 was the tops for the weekend. So I'm not blaming Hollywood anymore... I'm blaming the people.
Finally, I decided to post to comments in the comments section. If you've posted a comment before, I have responded. :)
Have a good Wednesday
3 comments:
Came across this during a search. Concerning your religious thoughts about what you might think as "tricks"... Christianity is based on faith. It is typical for Christ and others who performed miracles in the Bible to require a person to have faith in order for a miracle to work. Much like the story of the woman who touched the hem of Christ' garment. It was her faith that Christ cherished.
This continues in the principle that in order to be saved, one must have faith in Christ. And it is by God's grace that we have been given this gift. Faith is the key to all of God's miracles.
The notion of omnipotence is not a biblical concept. St Aquinas came up with it in the 13th century in order to solve a theological question he had which resulted in Aquinas concluding that in order for God to exist, God had to be the best at everything. For Aquinas, this meant God had to have the greatest amount of power.
One glimpse into the limits on God's power is in the healing stories of Mark's gospel. Jesus has the power to heal, cast out demons, quiet storms, but never any power over human beings.
In Sunday's upcoming text, Jesus heals a leper and implores him not to tell anyone. But the man immediately goes out and tells the world what Jesus has done.
Process Theology lifts up the relational power of God--in which God and humans mutually influence one another based on our relationship.
In his reflections on Process and Preaching for this week, Rick Marshall writes:
"And what power does Jesus embody? What is the nature of God's power? It's not coercive, but persuasive. . . . It's not controlling or manipulative or forced, but is freely given out of a divine desire toward well being for all."
Thanks for the comment Randy. Sure, I have no doubt that faith played a role in the healing/miracles. I also thought of the 'hem of the robe' miracle and this too caused me to wonder why. Did she actually have to touch the robe for the miracle to happen? Would not prayer have been sufficient rather than for her to make an arduous journey just to touch his robe? I'm wondering if that in addition to prayer, we also have to DO something to show or prove our faith? Again, I'm just pondering these thoughts out loud. I'll also restate that by referring to Chirst's miracles as "tricks" was not meant to suggest they are nothing less than a miracle.
Your last comment has me wondering again (not always a good thing ;) You said Faith is the key to all of God's miracles... I wonder if Jesus ever performed a miracle on a non-believer - just for the fun of it :)
I am ashamed to admit I don't know my bible as well as I should, so if anyone has an example of a miracle being performed on a non-believer I'd be interested to hear of it. (I'm also not referring to a "curse" either - like a plague of frogs).
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