Angry Christians

If someone is shouting, spitting in your face and gesturing wildly, I would expect one to become defensive. But there is a point when yelling back is not going to make the attacker listen.

Brother Jeb, Jed, whoever he is, decided to visit campus Monday.

In all fairness, Brother Whatever-His-Name-Was had a valid point. Yes, we are all born sinners in the eyes of the Christian religion. He had the Bible verses memorized to a T, his heart was in the right place, but the words he was using were doing more harm than good.

One student threw sticks at him. Another stood up and waved his arms back, shouting that sex before marriage was not a sin. A group of students ran by in hot dog costumes.

I felt like I was at the circus, watching the ringleader attempt to tame a bunch of lions. Amid all the chaos, what offended me most was that the true Biblical message of Christianity had been drug through the mud, beaten and hung up to dry. He never explained what the truth was. He never gave the gospel of Christianity. He only appeared as an angry bigot.

f one were to actually read Biblical scripture, they would find that the messages contained inside are focused primarily on love, faith and hope. Specifically in the first Corinthians chapter 13.

Maybe he keeps coming back because he gets a reaction. Maybe he feels this is his eternal mission (Paul always called himself a slave of Christ…) Either way, he’s not helping anyone. He needs to go back to Kansas or wherever he’s from and take a nice long nap.

Revisiting Global Warming and Student Ignorance

I’m well aware that global warming and the need for renewable energy is being shoved down someone’s throat somewhere right now. Unfortunately, the truth is hardly as pretty. I took Geography 520 autumn quarter and have never felt more ignorant. From water vapor, green house gasses, temperature changes, to melting ice shelves. All of these specific infrastructures and natural processes are being interrupted by our burning of fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels get burned, carbon dioxide is increased as well as water vapor, and this leads to increase in surface and air temperature, which make up the energy budget. There are physical factors to determine climate change, all of which that point to Anthropogenic Heating

If physical evidence isn’t enough, maybe examining the long-term effects would help. Other than food shortages caused by the hustle of using food for fuel, there are 2 billion people who will starve so 60 million auto drivers can fill their 25-gallon SUVs with ethanol. There is also the food chain to consider. 

Here’s the worst part: As our climate warms in milder domains, ice caps will melt and ocean levels will rise. Not to mention disease-ridden insects and other critters will migrate northward to the United States. This means more cases of Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, scorpion bites and fire ants. Viruses also survive and travel better in warm weather.

I’m not pointing any fingers at our politicians, researchers or global advocates. There’s been enough blame-shifting as it is. But sometimes they do have a good point. Al Gore wasn’t completely full of crap when he decided our world had a problem, that each individual in the U.S. has a fossil-fuel addiction. 

Sure, I’ve been accused of being a hippie. But when I hear someone say “I can’t wait for this global warming stuff to kick in so we can golf outside more often,” I’m disgusted and a little depressed. The first step to fixing this is to be aware of it, and as college students I’d hope some of us would have some sort of idea as to what’s going on in the world.

Love is all you Need

Newest column for the Lantern, released today.

You can find it in its original context here: http://media.www.thelantern.com/media/storage/paper333/news/2008/04/09/Opinion/Love-Is.All.You.Need-3312608.shtml

Spring is finally here. There’s Frisbee on the Oval, people soaking up as much Sun as they can, horrible music blaring from the open windows of someone’s car and the inevitable spring fever.

For anyone familiar with Disney’s “Bambi,” spring is that magical time of the year when all species become “twitterpated” and hit the dating scene. It might be the local meat market, one of our humble bars, someone you notice in class or that special someone you had your eye on all winter. The outcomes are inevitable, but for the not so faint of heart, you just might end up ensnared in that mythical trap known as puppy love.

Love in all measures of the word is far too heavy. Definitions extend to every facet of our cultural spectrum.

Scientists used to avoid the subject and some blame chemistry. Could such an outstanding idea, which affects our entire person, really rely on a few simple hormones?

We often see love exemplified in the media under the “sacrifice” umbrella, but this concept makes a great movie. Who would pay to see the hero and the heroine settle down and argue over something domestic or realize it was all lust and split up? Real-life stuff only looks good on reality TV.

The point is there are more facets to love than its safe dimensions, which have been combed through by more doctors and psychoanalysts than necessary. The best way to get grips of it is to ask: Is love a feeling or an action?

When viewed as a feeling, I immediately think of the tingles and sweaty palms. One begins to wonder if this potential partner will fulfill their needs and what they can get out of the relationship. Attitudes like this can break up the relationship, because this is a selfish way to look at it. But if there are no grounds of attraction or desire, it can be difficult to care for someone else. The feelings part can be crucial, and this is only because as humans we are ruled by our perceptions and analysis of the things around us.

As for the second half, the action part, I consider this more important than feelings five times over. There is a saying, “character is what you do when no one is looking.” This is just as applicable here. Culturally, different religions consider specific acts (whether religious rites or otherwise) tokens of love and these hold high esteem. Think of chivalry or simple gestures. They often impact a person’s entire day and stick with them.

Love is one of those abstract ideas that will never be completely tangible. Perhaps when robots take over the world, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist will finally find the answer and inject it into a little pill. I think of the word “love” in the same way I think of “hope,” a word misused to the point the real meaning might be lost. But Voltaire put it best: “Love is a canvas furnished by nature and embroidered by imagination.”