My Favorite Christmas Song.

It's "O Holy Night," hands down. The ambiance is peaceful, the melody is dynamic, and aside from all the nostalgia the lyrics are incredibly dense with meaning. Here's one stanza that stuck out to me in particular, and how it explains exactly what Christmas is all about:

"A thrill of hope"
We tend to think of hope as wishful thinking, as in "I don't know for sure, but I hope." But the hope mentioned in this song isn't wishful, it's actually a confident anticipation of what we know will surely come to pass. You see, in the past, God revealed Himself through clouds, fires, plagues, floods, miracles, and disasters that all spoke of a distant and powerful God. But not this time. This time it wasn't a split in the sea, a fire in the sky, or a quake in the earth; not an untouchable burning bush, but a small, vulnerable child, needing to be held.

"and they will call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us)."

Unlike before, God isn't just presiding above. He isn't a far away ruler, God is with us. The thrill is that heightened excitement you get on a rollercoaster when your heart jumps to your throat. In a single new indescribable instance, God is with us, and we're thrilled with hope. Why?

"The weary world rejoices"
In the past, men tried arduously to build their way to heaven. This is not foreign to us, we still do it today with religion and good works. Ultimately every man will try to build his way to that elusive heaven. The world is full of weary people, tired hands piling up an endless amount of good deeds in search of peace for their soul. The Bible is distinct from religion -- not once does it ever say that being a good person will get you into Heaven. Yep, not once. Quite the opposite, all it took was one sin for Adam and Eve to be banished from the garden of Eden forever. It's no wonder the world is weary. But now, on this night, the world is rejuvenated. Because of this single solitary life, the world is rejoicing. Why?

"For yonder breaks"
Out in the distance, a tiny sparkle of light. Now breaking over the horizon, a faded, foggy glow. This is the Christian hope. This is the confident anticipation in what we know will surely come, because we see it -- because we see him. Our eyes turn to gaze over yonder. Why?

"A new and glorious morn"
Because this night is just the beginning.

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

We know Jesus won't stay a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. He will grow up to become a person that every history book would affirm as unlike anyone else ever known. And he will live, to one day die on a cross for the sins of men, where that aforementioned glorious morn will finally break into day and God's love will be fully revealed. Why?

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him, should not perish but have everlasting life."

Salvation isn't about your good works, it's about the work that was done for you on the cross. This is the thrill of hope, the rejoice of the weary world, and the glory of the yonder breaking morn. This is Christmas, and Christmas is unequivocally Jesus.

Pt. 4: Check Your Answers.

You ever have one of those moments where you give a really good comeback, only to have your moment of victory ruined because you forgot to proofread?

Interesting how a little flaw can ruin a statement. But sometimes the flaw isn't just some surface-level grammatical snafu. Sometimes it's something much deeper.

We love those profound one-liners. Short, sweet, and stimulating. Phrases like “It’s about the journey, not the destination” or “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” We find them all over the place: books, commercials, classroom posters, bumper stickers, profile pages, mini-blogs and status updates. When it comes to structuring our argument for truth, our beliefs about life, we often include these popular quotes and adages in our building. But in perusing these thoughtful sayings you should keep an eye out for “the suicide tactic.”

Commonly known as self-refuting views, these ideas defeat themselves -- or commit suicide. Take the following for example: “All English sentences are false.” The statement is about all English sentences, including itself. This is a suicide statement because in order for it to be true, it has to be false. Here’s a few more:

I never, never repeat a word. Never.
This page intentionally left blank.
Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.

Some say that all truth is relative. "Everybody is right in their own way." But if that’s true, then isn’t that statement itself relative? What if I don’t think that everyone is right, what if I think only a few people are right and everyone else is wrong…am I wrong for thinking that? If yes, then it’s not true that everyone is right in his own way. If no, then it’s not true that everyone is right in their own way. When statements fail to meet their own criteria of validity, they are self-refuting:

There is no truth. (Is that true?)
You can’t know anything for sure. (Are you sure?)
Nothing is at it seems. (Is that as it seems?)
No one can know the truth about religion. (Is that a truth about religion?)

You might wonder why anyone would believe self-refuting ideas. Very few people knowingly affirm contradictions, but when contradictions are implicit, embedded in the larger idea, they are harder to see. This is why people are taken in by them. Everyone is at risk for believing in false ideas, therefore everyone should take the same caution. The same way we review our writing for mistakes, we need to employ the same scrutiny in reviewing our thinking for mistakes.

As you continue to build your view of the world, be sure to check your answers.

This is part 4 of the "Do Your Homework" series

Pt. 3: Show Your Work.

I wonder what the two other pigs were thinking. I mean, they all had to have gone shopping together, right? It’s not every day you find three young, virile, independent male swine deciding to build their own houses, let alone on the same land at the same time. That said, there had to be dialogue amongst them discussing what material to use. How did they decide?

"My parents use sticks, so that means I use sticks" the first could have sternly reasoned. "It's how I was raised; It's part of who I am.” Perhaps the second assumed all materials are basically the same. “No material is better than the other…it’s all about what’s right for you.”

They heard the third pig’s warnings, but for some reason didn’t budge. Maybe one of them was comfortable with his materials, and saw no reason to change. Perhaps the other actually found reason in the third’s admonitions, but felt uncomfortable with change, saying “it's just really hard to use bricks when you haven’t grown up that way.” In any case, the time came when the quality of their building was put to the test. This all three pigs had in common.

An argument for truth is a specific kind of thing. Everyone has one. Think of an argument like a simple house, a roof supported by walls. The roof is the conclusion, and the walls are the supporting ideas. By testing the walls, we see if they are strong enough to keep the roof from tumbling down.

You may have recognized the utterances above. Many times these are the kinds of responses people give when asked about why they believe what they believe. They don't see the need to test the walls. Most often beneath their passive attitude is the conclusion that all truth is relative -- whatever works for you is right. These are the most unsafe houses to live in. Support for these conclusions is scarce at best (I'll elaborate more on this in the next post).

It seems silly to us that they didn't choose stronger material, doesn't it? They didn't take time to support their houses, and in the end met the consequences for that. It's important to question, doubt, and test the strength of your beliefs, because there are some things in life that don’t cater to your preferences and opinions. Rather than hoping reality will bend to your argument, it’s up to you to make an argument that holds up to reality. Otherwise, when reality hits hardest, it won’t hold up at all.

This is part 3 of the "Do Your Homework" series.

Pt 2: Critical Thinking.

They say there are two things you’re never supposed to talk about at the dinner table. I’m only going to mention one (hopefully you’re not eating). I sympathize with the hesitation many have with confronting tough questions about their thoughts on life. There is a lot of sensitivity to these situations, and unfortunately some people disregard the “handle with care” sticker and just throw it around like a mud pie. Pesky trolls have been no help, either. It’s no surprise then why more and more people are turned off to this stuff altogether.

For some, they feel such conversation leads to nothing but mindless yelling (which it often does). Others are intimidated by the idea because they haven't done much study and fear getting trampled by dense textbook jargon and highfalutin rebuttals. Some think it’s futile because they figure nobody is right, while others think it’s unnecessary because they figure everyone is right. Some aren’t touchy about it…they just don’t care. Here sensitivity isn’t the case, its apathy. "Just live your life."

Do you relate to any of these? No matter which ones you subscribe to, the verdict is usually the same:

"Just let people believe what they believe."

I’m relieved to know that there isn’t a single person who consistently holds true to this creed. A society where people never argue anything would be a world in which you couldn’t distinguish between truth and error. You would not be able to tell food from poison or friend from foe. You could not tell good from bad, right from wrong, healthy from unhealthy, or safe from unsafe. A scary reality that would be.

Have you ever seen someone you care about make a stupid decision? Do you throw up your hands and say “just let people believe what they believe,” or do you try to reason with them? Has a friend ever talked you out of a bad decision? Would you have preferred they didn't, and "just let you life your life?"

The ability to argue well is vital for clear thinking. Arguing is a virtue because it helps us determine what is true and discard what is false.

Some are happy to speak their mind, and spread awareness of their conclusions about life with boldness, but are still turned off to the idea of hearing other views or even defending their own. The issue here is something else: insecurity. To those who are healthy in talking but malnourished in listening, I offer this challenge: Truth is that which conforms to reality. And if it’s reality, then there’s no reason to be afraid, because it will ultimately speak for itself. Not wanting to talk about it, then, might be due to a bad feeling that the beliefs in possession are quite possibly wrong ones.

Indeed arguing is often hard to understand, intimidating, mishandled, futile, and injurious to relationships. But other times, arguing is beautiful, respectful, and inspiring. And those times, it’s just what we need to hear.

This is part 2 of the "Do Your Homework" series.

Pt. 1: True or False?

#1 Butter pecan is the single best-tasting flavor of ice cream known to man.

#2 Insulin is used to help control diabetes.

The first statement, of course, is false – cookies ‘n’ cream is the best, after all. Okay, okay, best for me. It’s really just a matter of personal preference. But the same couldn’t be said about insulin. What if I told my doctor that I didn’t care much for insulin, so I’m going to use butter pecan instead? Well I’d pretty soon die. Cookies ‘n’ Cream might work better, but still not good enough. There’s no preference in controlling your diabetes; you need insulin. period. I just expressed the nature of two types of truth:

Subjective truth - what’s right for me, but maybe not for you.
Objective truth - what’s right for everyone. period.

Pop Quiz: Ice Cream or Insulin?

1. That shirt is ugly: Ice Cream
2. That shirt is cotton: Insulin
3. R. Kelly can sing: Ice Cream
4. R. Kelly can fly: Insulin (meaning there's only one answer)
5. God is dog backwards: Insulin
6. God exists: ______

The last question is not so easy to answer. Many today might say ice cream -- it’s just a matter of what you believe. But consider this: If I believe God exists, then God created the world. If I believe in the Big Bang theory, then God didn’t create the world. We are certainly allowed to differ on what we believe, but only one of us can be right…because we both live in the same world. And either He created it, or he didn’t. Reality doesn’t alter to conform to the truth we create. Instead, truth is that which conforms to reality. R. Kelly may very well believe he can fly, but what happens when he jumps off the Eiffel tower?

“Americans think of God, religion, and morals like ice cream and not like insulin. They choose religious views according to tastes, according to what they prefer rather than according to what's true." - Greg Koukl, Stand to Reason

Sad to say even many Christians have come to believe religion is something that’s subjective – what’s true for you. This is not what the Bible talks about (and for good reason; if God depended on what I believed to be true…is He still God?). The Bible, like many things in life, is objective truth. So either it’s wrong, and is one royally unparalleled waste of time & money -- or it’s right, and is the inerrant, true word of God that demands we submit to an all-powerful Creator and be changed by the death & resurrection of His son Jesus Christ.

This is part 1 of the "Do Your Homework" series.

¡Vamos!

Chat Log #2

[15:05] Julianthecoolian: telekinesis
[15:05] Julianthecoolian: for suuure
[15:07] mikefr0mtheBAY: teleportation is verry appealing to me right now
[15:07] mikefr0mtheBAY: zero travel time
[15:07] mikefr0mtheBAY: *snap* im there
[15:07] Julianthecoolian: yeah but think about the consequences
[15:08] Julianthecoolian: what happened after you got a car
[15:09] Julianthecoolian: people started asking you for rides, and your parents started making you run errands
[15:09] Julianthecoolian: can you imagine being the only one in the world with a car?
[15:10] mikefr0mtheBAY: oh hey julian. u got telekinesis. help me move stuff
[15:10] mikefr0mtheBAY: yeahhhh
[15:10] Julianthecoolian: hahaha
[15:10] Julianthecoolian: touche
[15:16] Julianthecoolian: brb
[15:16] mikefr0mtheBAY: you'd be back faster if you had teleportation

[16:19] Julianthecoolian: you still there?
[16:20] mikefr0mtheBAY: yep
[16:20] mikefr0mtheBAY: im at work
[16:20] Julianthecoolian: me too
[16:20] Julianthecoolian: hahaha
[16:24] Julianthecoolian: if someone asks me to help them move
[16:24] Julianthecoolian: i can say "sorry, i'm not available"
[16:25] Julianthecoolian: if someone asks you to take them somewhere
[16:25] Julianthecoolian: what are you gonna say?
[16:25] Julianthecoolian: sorry i don't have 30 seconds to take you somewhere

[16:31] mikefr0mtheBAY: OK new scenario
[16:31] mikefr0mtheBAY: you have a time machine
[16:32] mikefr0mtheBAY: but u can only travel to a point in time and u cannot return
[16:32] mikefr0mtheBAY: do u go to the past or the future?
[16:32] Julianthecoolian: hmm
[16:32] Julianthecoolian: the past
[16:32] Julianthecoolian: that way you don't miss anything
[16:33] mikefr0mtheBAY: lol. make billions on gambling and sports cuz u know the outcome?
[16:33] mikefr0mtheBAY: "invent" stuff?
[16:33] Julianthecoolian: bingo
[16:33] Julianthecoolian: i'll invent bingo
[16:34] Julianthecoolian: befriend celebrities before they make it big
[16:34] Julianthecoolian: skip buying the gamebody advance because you know the sp is gonna come out like a month later
[16:34] mikefr0mtheBAY: lol
[16:35] Julianthecoolian: that's something i wish i saw coming

http://superuseless.blogspot.com/