Ok. So I have a lot to say. Bear with me.
First on the list is PETA; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Ok, so I like animals and all, but seriously if your life is devoted to saving chickens from being cloned for KFC then your life is wasted. PETA should stand for People for the Ethical Treatment of Africans *natives, that is*. People should be devoting their lives to saving people not animals. I can whip out a huge Biblical argument on how people are God’s image bearers and what-not but I don’t even need to because PETA’s purpose is clearly a waste of time considering the world we live in. Every day, people *that is human beings with intrinsic value* are dying of curable diseases and starvation. Last year PETA’s annual budget was $30 Million. Even with the soaring price of rice on the worlds market, PETA could have bought over 120,000,000 pounds of rice and given it to the starving nations of the world. According to my own calculations and research, that is enough rice for 480 BILLION meals. HOLY CRAP. That would give every person living in Africa 1.6 bowls of rice EVERY day for 1 year. So yeah, do we want to help save some animals from being in the circus or do we want to feed hungry people? That will conclude this rant of righteous anger.
*all of the figures in the above paragraph we’re taken from various websites and I did the math in order to come to the conclusions that I did. I checked my math and PETA does really suck that much.
Second on my list of bloggings is… Summer at UCF. So today I got up to UCF and realized that I am going to be without a lot of human contact for a while. I do have friends up here, no doubt, but 90% of my friends are back home and only a few will be up here. I love the people up here, but I did realize that they too have their own lives and won’t be able to devote all of their time this summer to hanging out with me. This leads me to the good part of being up here. I will finally have a lot of alone time that I never get when I am in south Florida or when school is in session. Today was nice. After I got unpacked I got to eat some food *Bubbalou’s woot!* and go to Barnes and Noble and read some magazines. After that I picked up an iced coffee from Mickey D’s and sat outside the Arena and read for an hour and a half. What? I read for an hour and a half? Yes, I did and it was glorious. When life isn’t hectic and I don’t have to jump around from person to person, I can get some good reading time in *something I need to allot myself even when I am home and with my friends*. Don’t worry everyone, I still love you, but I think that this summer will be very profitable for my mind’s expansion.
Third is 1 Timothy. That is what I read today when I had my free time. I got my awesome Reformation Study Bible that has some great notes in it to help me. Here are some of the main things I got out of my reading. Paul was pissed at the Gnostics and was doing all that he could to put them out. I approve of this. Most of the book was written to instruct Timothy on how to bring up leadership in the church and to fight against that false teachers that were infiltrating at a rapid speed. He [obviously] puts a huge emphasis on having good doctrine. It got me thinking about all of the crazy health and wealthers out there preaching their prosperity gospel… then I got really angry and kept on reading. In 1:12-17 Paul talks about grace again and how he is the least likely man to be an instrument of God and it made me smile again. I was also encouraged by 4:12-16. “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Yeah, Yeah, Yeah… I know, I know. But when you actually read this in context and don’t use it as your life verse because you want to ’stick it to the man’ its pretty powerful. As an aspiring theologian its very encouraging to know that their is a Biblical example of a young man in my same shoes. Timothy *although he was probably about 30 years old when Paul wrote this to him* was young in comparison to the people he was preaching to and lacked the seasoned credibility typical in this time period. Thats basically where I am, a kid stuck in a world where only PhDs are credible in ‘real life’ applications. So it’s nice to know that there is an example to follow and hope to look for. I guess that’s a bout it…….. for now.
Fourth, Shia LeBeouf was on SNL tonight and he was amazing as usual.
Fifth, I watched a show on musical savants today and it was amazing. I’m pretty sure they singlehandedly prove the existence of God.
this is probably my favorite post of yours so far.
good stuff
May 11th, 2008 at 8:49 amagreed. quality post.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:26 am
May 11th, 2008 at 2:10 pmAlright Ry, I have to preface this by saying that I love you very much. But since no one ever seems to lay the smack down on you or challenge you in any way, as your brother I feel semi-obligated to inform where information might be helpful. So here it goes…
1) You don’t hate PETA. PETA is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, and cannot–even if it wanted to–give its money to aid starving people in Africa. That would be in contravention of its organizational purpose, and I’m sure a lot of people would be pretty ticked if the money they donated to PETA was used for a cause other than that outlined in PETA’s organizational charter.
For example, wouldn’t you be mad if you donated money to the Red Cross, only to find out that it wound up in the hands of a gang of kiddie-porn peddlers in Southeast Asia? Sure, that’s an extreme example, but it’s akin to PETA taking your money and using it for a purpose you didn’t agree to (even if it’s a legitimate purpose).
In other words, you don’t hate PETA, you just dislike the fact that people give money to PETA. As an organization that is ultimately funded almost entirely by its donors, it really has no choice other than to use the donations to prevent cruelty to animals. So blame the suppliers (i.e. donors), not the entity or its “budget.” PETA only exists because its donors fund it.
But really, when it comes down to it, how do you know that PETA donors aren’t also donors of causes that you find noble? They very well might be. Sure, the PETA donors could technically give all of their money to what you consider “better” causes and keep it away from the extreme animal-lovers, but you could just as easily forego Venti Chai Watchamacallits at Starbucks and put that dough to better use too. Everyone can sacrifice more than they do–I’m pretty sure that’s almost a fact. Just because people don’t do it doesn’t mean they suck. It just means they’re human–and humans, by definition, are not capable of doing all the right things.
(Maybe we should just get a bunch of countries to enter into a multi-national treaty that takes one cent out of every working human’s paycheck, and uses it to fight poverty. Would it work? Who knows. But in the meantime, don’t be too hard on the animal-lovers, because you don’t know what other charitable activities they are involved in.)
2) Animals have, in my opinion, very high intrinsic value. They may not have “souls,” but the world would absolutely come to a halt without them. The ecosystem would be FUBAR, and people would go absolutely Dawn-of-the-Dead-crazy. While PETA members certainly are on the extreme side of things, I don’t believe it’s a waste of time to prevent animal cruelty as a general matter. People who harm animals, in my opinion (and that includes cock-fighters and dog-fighters, among other things), exhibit varying degrees of desensitization and empathy loss that is damaging not only to society, but also to individual well-being. Seeking to prevent behaviors (like animal cruelty) that exhibit insensitivity to the feelings of living things is an important step in teaching people to appreciate the frailty of life, which can be life-saving in and of itself.
Animals also bring joy and therapeutic stress-relief (not to mention–in the case of bees–pollination) that in many circumstances can be life-saving for depressed individuals. So try not to minimize the importance of our animal friends.
3) This isn’t in response to this particular blog, but to your tone in general. I would suggest avoiding the use of condescending and/or disparaging buzz-words (e.g. “Christian douchebaggery”) that refer to other peoples’ views, even if it’s pretty clear that those views don’t make a whole lot of sense to you. All it does is undermine your credibility with people who aren’t already predisposed to eating up everything you say. When you really think about it, most arguments–scientific or otherwise–can ultimately be traced back to “beliefs” as opposed to “facts.” No one knows for certain whether his or her world view is correct. Some people believe in God, some people don’t. No one knows for sure who is right. All you have is your beliefs–so act accordingly. Perhaps try framing things in terms of what you believe (as opposed to what is right or wrong), and give reasons to back those beliefs up. Because you will never know for sure if you are right. You can only believe you are, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Hope this helps…can’t wait to see you!
May 11th, 2008 at 11:25 pmYou and your law degree….
Thanks for the input though…. its not that I hate animals and want to have a dog fighting league hosted at my house… but you know what I mean. I also don’t expect PETA to give money to something that is not their cause, but I was just showing the difference in priorities… animals or humanity. I understand that people don’t believe what I believe and I don’t expect everyone to, but this is just a blog and if someone wants to pick my brain further and further they are more than welcome to.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:29 pmI kinda agree with Kris on some things. He makes some good points…
May 11th, 2008 at 11:42 pmYeah.. I know, Nick. lol
I re-read my PETA section and I sound pretty douchey… but oh well. I like animals and we need them. There I said it.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:49 pm