Welcome to the Views on Life by yours truly page. You have entered a zone where the tough questions can be asked and examined without fear of causing offense or getting flamed. (not by me anyway) I have organized this section into several different sub-sections and I hope it will prove to be helpful to you and me as we tackle the issues of life together. Please visit all the sections and let me know ( ) what you think, especially if you disagree with anything ;-) Oh, and you ought to know that I am quite opinionated but perfectly willing to acquiesce to superior arguments.
Everyone has a world view...
"A world view is a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic make-up of our world... A world view is composed of a number of basic presuppositions, more or less consistent with each other more or less consciously held, more or less true. They are generally unquestioned by each of us; rarely, if ever, mentioned by our friends; and only brought to mind when we are challenged by a foreigner from another ideological universe."
-from The Universe Next Door by James Sire, Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 1988, 1st published 1976), pp.17-18.
Well with that preface let me start things off with mine, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This statement of my faith summarizes my world view. Nearly 2000 years ago Jesus asked Peter who he thought he was "and Simon Peter answered and said, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.'" -according to Matthew 16:16 of the New Testament.
Depending on your background and world view what I have said above will either make perfect sense, sound like rubbish, or invoke any number of reactions in between. Because of the diversity of those who may happen upon this page I thought it would be most effective to start with the nutshell and subsequently work into to details. That is where the rest of this section comes into play. I have already had some really excellent interchanges with good friends of mine several of whom don't share my world view. With their permission I hope to get some of those included here soon.
Often, I have found it difficult to have rational and intelligent discussions about religion and politics because these are such passionate subjects. Believe it or not these topics can be discussed rationally and openly without trashing people's egos, it just takes a little trust and effort but it can be done and when it is the results are really satisfying.
I haven't done as much reading as I know I should have. I have made it an increased priority in my life in the past few years. I've always been the type to catalog and collect things and that is why I have a list of the books I've read and when I finished them. After reading some of them, I was so compelled to share what I learned that I ended up writing down what I thought about them and that is how this sub-section got started.
Book Reviews >>
One of the greatest blessings we have is the ability to learn from those who have come before us. Can you imagine how far we wouldn't get without the head start we've been given from our ancestors? It's very easy to take this wisdom for granted and I hope this page can, in some small way, aid in preventing that from happening. Of course, not all that has been left for us bears the same message and it will always be our job to sort through it and find the gems of truth. I have included quotations that I believe are sound and uplifting. I have also thrown in a few thoughts of my own on this page so please don't think that I am somehow equating my tidbits with the rest, I mean I'm egocentric but not that bad.
Quotes >>
As I mentioned in the introduction, this sub-section will be a place where we can discuss tough and interesting questions about life. When I get it operational it will support multi-threaded discussions and allow you to create your own identity with password protection. I think it's going to be really cool so please be patient while I get it set up.
Ozone Asylum >>
When I was in 7th grade I had a writing teacher that I absolutely despised. Did I hold him in this regard because he was mean or stupid or an all around bad guy? No, he made us think!!! How dare he do such a terrible thing to young minds. I complained to my mom about this guy and I can remember very clearly what she said, "The teachers you hate the most in school are the ones you will thank the most later in life." Ok, Mom, I'm sure you'll be very pleased to hear me admit that you were right. Mr. Francisco, thank you so much for challenging me and making me write all those blasted essays. Mr Francisco, thank you for giving me those terribly low grades in the beginning that made me so angry that I worked all the harder to prove to you that I could do better. Mr. Francisco, thank you for having the strength to forfeit being liked by me in order to induce the improvement of my mind.
I used to detest writing essays and now I do it in my spare time, go figure...
- Reflections on the Lives of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana September 12, 1997
- What's with the Fish? January 24, 1998
- Saving Private Ryan: A Sobered Review August 10, 1998
- Censorship or Responsibility? March 23, 1999
- Caught Between Family & Freedom August 10, 2000