I love the Bleach anime. It's awesome for a few reasons --
1. It's samurai in nature -- from the garbs the Shinigami wear to the Society they live in beyond physical life.
2. Shinigami aka Death gods or Soul Reapers
3. Some interesting characters.
The one character that now catches my attention looking back is Aizen, the main antagonist in the first storyline. You see him at first and he comes off as this fair and very benevolent character -- very suave, graceful, gentle and kind. Then the random murders happen and all the chaos that ensues. You find out he's the villain all along. Each Shinigami has their own special ability. In Aizen's case, it's illusion. Every time he takes out his sword, whatever you perceive will be illusion. That means whatever conspiracy, whatever event, even whatever is presented to you (even victory), if he is behind it, you will only see whatever you want to see. He'll even make you perceive someone else's death as reality when in fact it is your own or of a person entirely different of the one you see.
With that said, I find myself in a similar dilemma with most people in life these days. I don't know if it's because I have little to no faith in people, wanting to protect myself or because people have really been reduced to a certain level of stupid. I make different people see different sides of me. It is rare that anyone sees all sides of me. At work, I'm the knowledgable, middle of the road guy that doesn't do office politics and has his mind on his job. In school, I was the quiet guy who just came to class and just did simply that. In fellowship meetings with Christians, I'm just the musician who has something to say once in a while, usually ignored and not leaving any curiosity behind. With my family, they just see me on my computer, playing guitar, video games, eating, laughing.
My friends? Oh they're my shrinks! They hear most of every last thing inside my head! I become this loud and maddening man-child that speaks out ideas and thoughts everyone else in my life wouldn't care to listen to me talk.
My wife? She discovers everything about me. My likes and dislikes, what brings me up, what drags me down, what gets on my nerves and what stimulates them, what imprisons me identity-wise and what calls me out from the shadows. I leave no stone unturned to my wife. If she sees something bothering me, she will know because I know I can tell her.
It's not ironic that to your closest allies and your significant other you can be totally yourself because you don't be judged. You can totally be you. It is ironic, though, that we're told to be absolutely ourselves to everyone yet because how you perceive the other audiences, you only let them see a part of it, which eventually they think is all of it.
One of my friends has friends that when they see me, they judge only by appearance and know so little of what's inside my head. Logic would tell you, "why not let them see who you really are" but reality will tell you that there are, in fact, people that don't always need to see the other side because if they judge you based on what they see and on their own mindset, you can't expect them to change their perception or mindset ever after they see the bigger picture of your identity.
I love Jesus. I love rock. I love metal. I love music. I love guitar, video games, comic books, movies of different kinds. I love sex, lots of it but I also love my wife for accepting me as I am, love my friends because they understand me and understand how I operate and how they can help me go beyond the usual. I love the artistry within tattoos. I also love crazy weird people. You know -- the goths, the satanists, anarchists and so on. Why? They're totally opposite of what I believe in and stand for.
This goes way back in high school. Here I was this typical well-mannered and sheltered Christian guy sitting 60-80% of the time with a table loaded with metalheads. We're talking guys and girls that were into Cradle of Filth, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Nine Inch Nails, Immortal, Venom, Celtic Frost, Rob Zombie and Motorhead. Mind you, to this day, out of those bands, the only band I have on my phone is Motorhead. These guys probably found it bizarre that I sat among them but I guess they saw I was with them the same reason why they were with each other -- I didn't exactly belong. I never felt like I belonged with my own Christian kind because I felt that 9/10 they were only interested in converting you and not so much getting to know you the way Christ wants us to come to know him.
I loved their company and yes, I laughed at some of the filthy jokes that went on for the simple fact that many times it was absurd. They weren't the demonic hellspawn they were painted out to be. I guess I never got ousted because I wasn't out to convert them but rather to get to know them as people and really get where they're coming from because everyone else only saw what they wanted to see or what they perceived as comfortable to see.
I think it's also the reason why sometimes at work or in fellowship I hold back from showing everything. It's the fear that if I showed them, I will either never hear the end of their judgments or I would be exploited and burned out by them to the point that once they got everything they could out of me, I'll be tossed out as nothing more than an expendable asset.
Thus I feed people an illusion and false perception of who I am unless their curiosity and personal interest drives them to see if maybe there's something else behind the curtain.
Blogs by Ron Gunz
5.30.2013
5.19.2013
In the Darkness
"For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness." - 1 Thessalonians 5.5 (ESV)
As a follower of Christ in my own right, I have struggled with this Bible verse. It is for a very solid reason -- the night is where my strength is drawn from. By day, I struggle to do things but as soon as night falls, my energy returns. On a day of no work (and no work the next day), I can prowl the night until sunrise. Even for sleep, I need darkness to sleep peacefully.
I find daylight irritating. Every time I see it, my first reaction is, "Where's the moon, I can't deal with all this light in my face". Every time I want to do things, it's always at night but most people are either sleeping or if not in bars or clubs, places I care less to go to. Let's also include that most places are closed after 9pm-11pm.
It's quite the struggle for me because when I do want to show up to church, I wish for them to be open at 1am for me to isolate myself from the world to pray. When I desire to write, draw or record, all of my energies kick in about 1:30am. The only reason I work by day is because all my pleasurable desire comes out at night and I don't want to spend my precious energy with work. As much as I love people, I hate being surrounded by endless droves of people by day.
So it comes down to one question, "Where do I, a self-professed Christian that has all his energy for everything at night, belong"? It's bad enough that I have that issue with those of my own faith because my political and social views don't coincide with their idea of the norm.
As a follower of Christ in my own right, I have struggled with this Bible verse. It is for a very solid reason -- the night is where my strength is drawn from. By day, I struggle to do things but as soon as night falls, my energy returns. On a day of no work (and no work the next day), I can prowl the night until sunrise. Even for sleep, I need darkness to sleep peacefully.
I find daylight irritating. Every time I see it, my first reaction is, "Where's the moon, I can't deal with all this light in my face". Every time I want to do things, it's always at night but most people are either sleeping or if not in bars or clubs, places I care less to go to. Let's also include that most places are closed after 9pm-11pm.
It's quite the struggle for me because when I do want to show up to church, I wish for them to be open at 1am for me to isolate myself from the world to pray. When I desire to write, draw or record, all of my energies kick in about 1:30am. The only reason I work by day is because all my pleasurable desire comes out at night and I don't want to spend my precious energy with work. As much as I love people, I hate being surrounded by endless droves of people by day.
So it comes down to one question, "Where do I, a self-professed Christian that has all his energy for everything at night, belong"? It's bad enough that I have that issue with those of my own faith because my political and social views don't coincide with their idea of the norm.
5.10.2013
Some things never change pt. 2
In my last entry, I introduced the concept of forgiveness while also speaking about how the political stigma of music genres and their acceptance factor in church life caused the alienation of young people in the faith. In this entry I want firmly state that it only leaves room for one more issue -- falling. Perhaps it may not relate to music itself at all but forgiveness is something to be read carefully on here.
How many people must we ask forgiveness to because we shunned them over something very minute yet overblown and in turn also caused them to distance themselves from the faith. Even if that pretense isn't the best means to distance from Christ, it does not leave exempt that in approaching the matter without etiquette, class and grace, there are sheep that may have gone astray from those rash actions.
Forgiveness also matters because these days, a lot of us Christian brothers and sisters are attacked with struggles, battles and sin left and right every day. Business is encouraged and artistry isn't given more sensibility and encouragement as a means to address struggles we may have with our identities, emotional and even sexual ailments. Identity because of desire to express, something that isn't common at all in business (since business is all about money), emotional because people sometimes may feel depressed, angry, in anguish or worry and therefore, music and art are a healthy means of expression and sexual ailment because sometimes people need to help themselves to not be consumed by sexual appetite because when you lust, it can lead to a lot of manipulation, infidelity, broken hearts and even a mess in a network of friendship and even work.
In the process, a lot of Christian brothers and sisters are falling due to temptation, frustration as well as isolation. Let's be real -- social networking has crippled the definition of friendship. Friendship once met gathering together outside of work or religious environment as a means of camaraderie and genuine love and fellowship. Now people think they know you just based on your social networking page. Every person has has experienced a falling moment are just being judged and stomped on. Fearmongerers feast on them like Dracula does on blood. Let me set something straight -- you do not need to further remind someone about a failure, especially if they are very aware that what they did is wrong. It's not that I don't believe in correction, it's just that you don't need to correct someone that knows what they have to do. If you're in the wrong about something, you don't need someone to tell you, let alone step all over you.
Furthermore, as the Body of Christ, we are to show a forgiving spirit. It is one thing if the person is trapped in something and need help to get out but it's quite different when the person knows what's wrong in their life. Normally, we as humans, when we slip up and slip up bad, we tend to drive ourselves into our own personal guilt trips. The very last thing we need are a group of people stepping on us, crushing us to bits, judging us on our past mistakes.
To those that I know or don't know that have fallen or are falling, hear me out because I've been in your position. I understand the guilt that stabs into you like venom, the depression from failure that torments every brain cell and the chills of condemnation that point the finger within. Remember what John said in 1 John 1.9 ESV, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." No need to hang yourselves over your shortcomings.
"I will not allow my past to dictate my future." - CM Punk
How many people must we ask forgiveness to because we shunned them over something very minute yet overblown and in turn also caused them to distance themselves from the faith. Even if that pretense isn't the best means to distance from Christ, it does not leave exempt that in approaching the matter without etiquette, class and grace, there are sheep that may have gone astray from those rash actions.
Forgiveness also matters because these days, a lot of us Christian brothers and sisters are attacked with struggles, battles and sin left and right every day. Business is encouraged and artistry isn't given more sensibility and encouragement as a means to address struggles we may have with our identities, emotional and even sexual ailments. Identity because of desire to express, something that isn't common at all in business (since business is all about money), emotional because people sometimes may feel depressed, angry, in anguish or worry and therefore, music and art are a healthy means of expression and sexual ailment because sometimes people need to help themselves to not be consumed by sexual appetite because when you lust, it can lead to a lot of manipulation, infidelity, broken hearts and even a mess in a network of friendship and even work.
In the process, a lot of Christian brothers and sisters are falling due to temptation, frustration as well as isolation. Let's be real -- social networking has crippled the definition of friendship. Friendship once met gathering together outside of work or religious environment as a means of camaraderie and genuine love and fellowship. Now people think they know you just based on your social networking page. Every person has has experienced a falling moment are just being judged and stomped on. Fearmongerers feast on them like Dracula does on blood. Let me set something straight -- you do not need to further remind someone about a failure, especially if they are very aware that what they did is wrong. It's not that I don't believe in correction, it's just that you don't need to correct someone that knows what they have to do. If you're in the wrong about something, you don't need someone to tell you, let alone step all over you.
Furthermore, as the Body of Christ, we are to show a forgiving spirit. It is one thing if the person is trapped in something and need help to get out but it's quite different when the person knows what's wrong in their life. Normally, we as humans, when we slip up and slip up bad, we tend to drive ourselves into our own personal guilt trips. The very last thing we need are a group of people stepping on us, crushing us to bits, judging us on our past mistakes.
To those that I know or don't know that have fallen or are falling, hear me out because I've been in your position. I understand the guilt that stabs into you like venom, the depression from failure that torments every brain cell and the chills of condemnation that point the finger within. Remember what John said in 1 John 1.9 ESV, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." No need to hang yourselves over your shortcomings.
"I will not allow my past to dictate my future." - CM Punk
Some things never change pt. 1
For some crazy reason, the message of forgiveness is constantly being reflected to me every day this week. Even while at work, it traveled deep in my mind. Perhaps it's because the resurfacing of my anger towards those who feed on the falling down of others.
Yesterday I was talking to a few customers and one of them was asking for a good distortion or overdrive pedal for a warm and rocky sound in church. Granted, I gave, as always, the best recommendations that came to mind. Behind him were two young teens with the most, "what the heck" faces I've seen in a while. The older man left happily with the Fulltone OCD Overdrive and the young guys came forward. They asked, "rock in church"? I felt the flashbacks as I felt just as they did. These were kids that, at the same age I was once, were feeling outcast because of their musical preferences. Ironically, they too were ex-Pentecostals, who left the church her mother went to because they were judged over their music genre preferences. These kids weren't looking for trouble, scoring with women or doping it up. Just two kids that love guitar, love rock like I do.
Apparently, they didn't get to see how the perception of rock changed in church as years went on. Perhaps because more church people realized that a sound modification didn't really make your music playing any holier or corrupt. I remember how taboo a touch of a Boss DS-1 was in churches. They looked at you like I summoned Satan, which I would've understood if they preferred a Fulltone OCD, a Boss OS-2 or a Hardwire Valve Distortion. All I was really doing was adding a layer of distortion while playing funky latin, reggae or calypso type of rhythms circa 2001. I never saw rock become less taboo until around 2006-2007. By then, hearing a Salsa/Merengue style of music in church was nothing new and actually was normal but a rock sound was just beginning to be welcomed.
Unfortunately, a lot of youth, like these kids, were alienated because of their sound preference. It was okay to hear Fred Hammond, Salvador, Third Day, Hillsong, Jeremy Camp, Todd Agnew and Steven Curtis Chapman but God forbid you gave ear to Demon Hunter, ReD, Oh Sleeper, The Showdown, Skillet, Narnia, Disciple or Switchfoot.
I couldn't help but while talking with these customers about how despite that, they can't just not like Jesus anymore. For crying out loud, if these old folk Christians met Christ today, they'd be in trouble. Jesus was always around anyone but religiously acceptable people. I also understand why these two kids felt the way they did -- because I was outcast the same way. I was that guy that pushed against the grain because I believe that if you are a man or woman that loves to worship God, worship Him or point to Him with anything you can. Whether it's rock, salsa, jazz, metal, reggae, tagging, henna or even with sock puppets, if the intent is to reflect God and his goodness, just do it.
Why am I bringing this up? This is due to this forever being something that will never be let go. Even if one day a music genre is no longer taboo, the damage that was done remains. The fact that many souls were alienated and enstranged by church people hangs there.
Yesterday I was talking to a few customers and one of them was asking for a good distortion or overdrive pedal for a warm and rocky sound in church. Granted, I gave, as always, the best recommendations that came to mind. Behind him were two young teens with the most, "what the heck" faces I've seen in a while. The older man left happily with the Fulltone OCD Overdrive and the young guys came forward. They asked, "rock in church"? I felt the flashbacks as I felt just as they did. These were kids that, at the same age I was once, were feeling outcast because of their musical preferences. Ironically, they too were ex-Pentecostals, who left the church her mother went to because they were judged over their music genre preferences. These kids weren't looking for trouble, scoring with women or doping it up. Just two kids that love guitar, love rock like I do.
Apparently, they didn't get to see how the perception of rock changed in church as years went on. Perhaps because more church people realized that a sound modification didn't really make your music playing any holier or corrupt. I remember how taboo a touch of a Boss DS-1 was in churches. They looked at you like I summoned Satan, which I would've understood if they preferred a Fulltone OCD, a Boss OS-2 or a Hardwire Valve Distortion. All I was really doing was adding a layer of distortion while playing funky latin, reggae or calypso type of rhythms circa 2001. I never saw rock become less taboo until around 2006-2007. By then, hearing a Salsa/Merengue style of music in church was nothing new and actually was normal but a rock sound was just beginning to be welcomed.
Unfortunately, a lot of youth, like these kids, were alienated because of their sound preference. It was okay to hear Fred Hammond, Salvador, Third Day, Hillsong, Jeremy Camp, Todd Agnew and Steven Curtis Chapman but God forbid you gave ear to Demon Hunter, ReD, Oh Sleeper, The Showdown, Skillet, Narnia, Disciple or Switchfoot.
I couldn't help but while talking with these customers about how despite that, they can't just not like Jesus anymore. For crying out loud, if these old folk Christians met Christ today, they'd be in trouble. Jesus was always around anyone but religiously acceptable people. I also understand why these two kids felt the way they did -- because I was outcast the same way. I was that guy that pushed against the grain because I believe that if you are a man or woman that loves to worship God, worship Him or point to Him with anything you can. Whether it's rock, salsa, jazz, metal, reggae, tagging, henna or even with sock puppets, if the intent is to reflect God and his goodness, just do it.
Why am I bringing this up? This is due to this forever being something that will never be let go. Even if one day a music genre is no longer taboo, the damage that was done remains. The fact that many souls were alienated and enstranged by church people hangs there.
4.30.2013
To Be Spiritually Challenged
I've been digging through my brain, heart and soul searching for an answer. It's an answer that perhaps most, if not all, of my fellow Christian friends have in mind now -- why can't I stay committed to fellowship in a church? The answer hit but it disturbs me.
I don't feel spiritually challenged. Before you get your stakes, crucifixes, holy oil and bibles ready, hear me out here. I was born and raised in a Christian environment all of my life. I was even held back from getting baptized at 12 and got baptized at 13 instead. My first challenge was getting baptized. We preach about Jesus coming soon but we slow down people from making the ultimate act of commitment? New Testament depicts many times that people that wish to follow Christ repented and got baptized (almost every time the very same day). I finally got baptized...twice. How? The first time, my face wasn't fully in. The second time, they thought I was going to drown when in reality, I was all in (and using the bathroom in the process).
Then came the fasting and prayers, the whole run about spiritual gifts and ministry. Within all of that, I pursued singing, playing guitar, poetry and writing were not far behind. I found myself starting a band back in 2001. I've preached in many churches, laid hands on people, seen blind people receive sight and have played in street parks like McCarren, played at Riker's Island, played before CCC's Senior Pastor A.R. Bernard himself back in 2005 when I was still green when it came to music itself. I've played in youth conferences, clubs, lounges and bars with all intent and purpose with bringing good music to everyone and just shining the light of goodness.
Where do you go from there? Apparently nowhere. All the hype about ministry is just that -- hype. They paint you this gigantic glorious picture and everything behind is, in fact, beautiful. The ugly side? Politics. The way Christians treat politics is every bit identical to show business. They see you, a potentially great vessel for God to use. They tell you to do all these things so that you can be used by God awesomely and have open doors everywhere. You do what's asked for "God's glory". In reality, you're told that's what it is but in reality, you're doing it to get noticed, to get famous in the church. They build you up and take you everywhere, sitting with pastors, bishops, apostles, ministers, chaplains and other musicians and preachers. Once you've sat among them and led on, you cannot stop. The second you decide to take time to put in order your personal life (since it's likely out of whack due to your excess time spent in ministry), guess what? They're looking for the next person to put in the gear! When you finally get back in, they don't look out for you anymore. You're not holy enough anymore. You're told of this "next level" of ministry that you're supposed to be in. It's like a carrot dangled in your face.
Then you turn around and realized that what God really wants you to do is be like his son Jesus -- reaching out to the alien, the fatherless and the widow. To show the love of Christ to a homeless person who got served unjustly after decades of slaving away for a living, to demonstrate to someone that may not share the same faith and lifestyle that unconditional godly love is real. Jesus spent his time, even ministry time, with thieves, sluts, tax collectors and liars. You would think that in leaving the pulpit, the stage and elite groups that you would be respected, honored and held in high esteem. Talk about delusional.
You are viewed as a backslider and corrupt when you don't see it their way. When you find out that music genre doesn't translate into lifestyle, that your apparel preference doesn't change your spiritual level at all and that being around non-believers with the intent of showing them unconditional love they may not always experience as a point of reference to Someone greater than themselves and this world doesn't affect you at all -- except your social status among your "Christian superiors".
You're now the traitor, the backslider, the hypocrite, the tainted cup, the heathen and told to youth in other churches that you're the wolf in sheep's clothing, seeking to lead them astray. As a result, you no longer want any part of those people because they now have unmasked themselves for the Pharisees they are -- false Christians. They treat their faith and congregations no different than cults, fraternities, sororities and cliques.
When you want to see what can you do when you want to re-congregate and see if you can experience spiritual harmony among them, you're no different than the next person that just became a believer/witness. You're not even remembered.You're a fragment of their memory. They have you sit and listen to everything you preached (and then some) for years as though you know nothing. You're not interested in square one. You're too old for milk or even potatoes. You're there to pick up here you left off. In frustration, sitting through meetings, studies and events, you leave in despair because you know that you will never be one of them ever again. Once an Outcast, always an outcast.
I don't feel spiritually challenged. Before you get your stakes, crucifixes, holy oil and bibles ready, hear me out here. I was born and raised in a Christian environment all of my life. I was even held back from getting baptized at 12 and got baptized at 13 instead. My first challenge was getting baptized. We preach about Jesus coming soon but we slow down people from making the ultimate act of commitment? New Testament depicts many times that people that wish to follow Christ repented and got baptized (almost every time the very same day). I finally got baptized...twice. How? The first time, my face wasn't fully in. The second time, they thought I was going to drown when in reality, I was all in (and using the bathroom in the process).
Then came the fasting and prayers, the whole run about spiritual gifts and ministry. Within all of that, I pursued singing, playing guitar, poetry and writing were not far behind. I found myself starting a band back in 2001. I've preached in many churches, laid hands on people, seen blind people receive sight and have played in street parks like McCarren, played at Riker's Island, played before CCC's Senior Pastor A.R. Bernard himself back in 2005 when I was still green when it came to music itself. I've played in youth conferences, clubs, lounges and bars with all intent and purpose with bringing good music to everyone and just shining the light of goodness.
Where do you go from there? Apparently nowhere. All the hype about ministry is just that -- hype. They paint you this gigantic glorious picture and everything behind is, in fact, beautiful. The ugly side? Politics. The way Christians treat politics is every bit identical to show business. They see you, a potentially great vessel for God to use. They tell you to do all these things so that you can be used by God awesomely and have open doors everywhere. You do what's asked for "God's glory". In reality, you're told that's what it is but in reality, you're doing it to get noticed, to get famous in the church. They build you up and take you everywhere, sitting with pastors, bishops, apostles, ministers, chaplains and other musicians and preachers. Once you've sat among them and led on, you cannot stop. The second you decide to take time to put in order your personal life (since it's likely out of whack due to your excess time spent in ministry), guess what? They're looking for the next person to put in the gear! When you finally get back in, they don't look out for you anymore. You're not holy enough anymore. You're told of this "next level" of ministry that you're supposed to be in. It's like a carrot dangled in your face.
Then you turn around and realized that what God really wants you to do is be like his son Jesus -- reaching out to the alien, the fatherless and the widow. To show the love of Christ to a homeless person who got served unjustly after decades of slaving away for a living, to demonstrate to someone that may not share the same faith and lifestyle that unconditional godly love is real. Jesus spent his time, even ministry time, with thieves, sluts, tax collectors and liars. You would think that in leaving the pulpit, the stage and elite groups that you would be respected, honored and held in high esteem. Talk about delusional.
You are viewed as a backslider and corrupt when you don't see it their way. When you find out that music genre doesn't translate into lifestyle, that your apparel preference doesn't change your spiritual level at all and that being around non-believers with the intent of showing them unconditional love they may not always experience as a point of reference to Someone greater than themselves and this world doesn't affect you at all -- except your social status among your "Christian superiors".
You're now the traitor, the backslider, the hypocrite, the tainted cup, the heathen and told to youth in other churches that you're the wolf in sheep's clothing, seeking to lead them astray. As a result, you no longer want any part of those people because they now have unmasked themselves for the Pharisees they are -- false Christians. They treat their faith and congregations no different than cults, fraternities, sororities and cliques.
When you want to see what can you do when you want to re-congregate and see if you can experience spiritual harmony among them, you're no different than the next person that just became a believer/witness. You're not even remembered.You're a fragment of their memory. They have you sit and listen to everything you preached (and then some) for years as though you know nothing. You're not interested in square one. You're too old for milk or even potatoes. You're there to pick up here you left off. In frustration, sitting through meetings, studies and events, you leave in despair because you know that you will never be one of them ever again. Once an Outcast, always an outcast.
4.29.2013
Greedy for Riches, where evil starts.
There's been a lot of talk lately about what causes violence, injustice, wrongdoing and evil. Some would say vanity, pride, lust, substance addiction among many things. Let's be honest with ourselves though, what is the root of evil's essence?
My best friend would say theft because the reason a lot of things are done can be due to being robbed of something -- dignity, a job, wife, husband, family, girlfriend, boyfriend, friends, possessions like a house, car, phone, wallet or even a smart device. A good observation and guess but even before theft, there has to be a leading motive.
What's the one thing people are always hollering for in order to have stability and control in life? Money. Now, money itself isn't wrong. It gives you access to a lot of things you could possibly want -- a license for vending practice, pay bills, get a phone, buy a new house, rent a new apartment, buy the next piece of gear for guitar. How about love for money? Now that is all sorts of evil. It opens the door to this little thing called greed.
What does greed do? It makes you want everything you can get your hands on with all intents and purposes being self-centered. Lucifer was greedy for glory, as though being God's favorite angel, even above Michael, wasn't enough. He wanted God's throne. He was greedy for glory. He'd be damned if he didn't equal himself to the Most High.
Even then, for greed to live in a person, there is yet another element that already took root in a person's soul -- pride and lust. Lust is an unhealthy desire for something, sometimes to the extent of personal enticement. You can lust for power, sex, money and fame. Greed is the element that says, "I want this so bad but just for me". Pride. Oh, how all that crave and desire is all about your ego, your needs and wants.
What do you get when you mix lust, pride and greed? "Vanity, definitely my favorite sin.", as the Devil says in The Devil's Advocate. Vanity is the creation of self-delusion that your self-centered, thoughts, wants and desires are the center of the universe and that you are unmatched, unrivaled and unequaled. There are people out there that are consumed by this disgusting thing. This quality, when welcomed by people, can become a beast that has an unquenchable thirst. It will drive you blind, delusional, mad and if left to its devices, it will certainly drive you to your death.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Paul, Philippians 4.8 ESV
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." - Paul, Galatians 5.22-23 ESV
Regardless if you, the reader and I have an agreement in spiritual or religious views, one thing is certain -- if we are to put evil out and welcome goodness in life, I believe what the Apostle Paul speaks of is something worthy to be taken into account.
My best friend would say theft because the reason a lot of things are done can be due to being robbed of something -- dignity, a job, wife, husband, family, girlfriend, boyfriend, friends, possessions like a house, car, phone, wallet or even a smart device. A good observation and guess but even before theft, there has to be a leading motive.
What's the one thing people are always hollering for in order to have stability and control in life? Money. Now, money itself isn't wrong. It gives you access to a lot of things you could possibly want -- a license for vending practice, pay bills, get a phone, buy a new house, rent a new apartment, buy the next piece of gear for guitar. How about love for money? Now that is all sorts of evil. It opens the door to this little thing called greed.
What does greed do? It makes you want everything you can get your hands on with all intents and purposes being self-centered. Lucifer was greedy for glory, as though being God's favorite angel, even above Michael, wasn't enough. He wanted God's throne. He was greedy for glory. He'd be damned if he didn't equal himself to the Most High.
Even then, for greed to live in a person, there is yet another element that already took root in a person's soul -- pride and lust. Lust is an unhealthy desire for something, sometimes to the extent of personal enticement. You can lust for power, sex, money and fame. Greed is the element that says, "I want this so bad but just for me". Pride. Oh, how all that crave and desire is all about your ego, your needs and wants.
What do you get when you mix lust, pride and greed? "Vanity, definitely my favorite sin.", as the Devil says in The Devil's Advocate. Vanity is the creation of self-delusion that your self-centered, thoughts, wants and desires are the center of the universe and that you are unmatched, unrivaled and unequaled. There are people out there that are consumed by this disgusting thing. This quality, when welcomed by people, can become a beast that has an unquenchable thirst. It will drive you blind, delusional, mad and if left to its devices, it will certainly drive you to your death.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Paul, Philippians 4.8 ESV
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." - Paul, Galatians 5.22-23 ESV
Regardless if you, the reader and I have an agreement in spiritual or religious views, one thing is certain -- if we are to put evil out and welcome goodness in life, I believe what the Apostle Paul speaks of is something worthy to be taken into account.
4.18.2013
Pursuing my real goals
For a long time, I've been sinking my teeth in retail and fitness with doing writing and music on the side. I even got the retail job every musician would think rocks and to a degree it is great because you meet fellow musicians and in the process crank up your knowledge with musical equipment and instruments. I enjoyed working in a fitness environment because you also learned better things when working out in the process and also unlearning bad fitness habits.
Lately, though, I feel as though I have been neglecting where my passion and energy should be zoned in on...art and music. I'll be blunt -- nothing would please me more than to make a living drawing, airbrushing, tagging and making music. Seeing my books sell would be even more awesome and yet I have been neglecting my talent the energy and power it deserves to be nurtured with.
I guess the question or questions I am asking are
1. Are you focused on what you truly desire to do with your life?
2. Has it hit you yet the reality that you've focused so much making money on something you're not truly passionate about?
4.14.2013
Sound in guitars! The factors touching your tone! Pt. 2
Last time, I spoke about how your sound scheme when playing guitar (at least mine) relies partially on the kind of wood the guitar is made of. This time, I'm going to go into strings.
At my job, I sometimes hear from the average newcomer to the world of guitar and bass that they never knew there was a difference between one brand of strings or the other. Thankfully, with experience and knowledge, I was able to endow upon them some good knowledge on how they can be different and how they can heighten a particular aspect of a guitar/bass' sound or alter things in something as simple as tone.
As far as material goes, for electric bass and electric guitar, once upon a time, by and large most electric guitar and bass strings were mainly nickel-wound steel. Naturally, this would give you a standard range of brightness. Brands like Ernie Ball, Fender, Daddario, Dunlop and GHS to name a few. Here's my experience with some Nickelwound strings I've used.
Daddario - the label says bright but for me they come off pretty neutral and let your guitar's natural tone sit right there. I also see them as "the gateway drug" of guitar strings. Fav sets were the Blues/Jazz Rock.
Dunlop - these strings have a tone that borders between mellow and dark. When I used the Zakk Wylde set on my Axstar years ago, it definitely gave it an extra pump on the bass and a slight punch on the mids. The Heavycore series are pretty good too.
Ernie Ball - There's a reason why I have been a faithful whore to Ernie Ball. Their durability certainly beats out Daddario and Fender. On top of that, they have a great feel and everything sounds very even and clear. It stands right in between bright and mellow. Fav sets consist of Hybrid Slinky and Skinny Top Heavy Bottom.
Fender - You thought your Strat or Tele were bright before, these make it a little brighter. Seems to bring up the treble and mids a tad. The Bullet series has a tiny bullet-looking end instead of the usual ball end.
GHS - There's something about GHS' line of strings that make me feel like they have some of DR's string feel but Dunlop's tone and durability. Out of this brand, my favorites were Zakk Wylde's Heavyweight Boomers.
In addition, you also have theline of strings that have coating. The first brand coming to mind obviously is Elixir. Sure enough, you get a brand like DR, followed by Cleartone.
Elixir - Endures like God but not keen on its tone. They sound sort of bland, lack brightness but also lacking some sort of mellow element.
DR - Black Beauties are the one everyone recognizes but if you remember when they started offering the coated strings, you may have recalled the Red Devils and the Silver Stars. With my old Squier bass, Red Devils gave it a nice punch for latin and funk music. They endure for a good while and possessing sound tone. On guitar, it gave my Strat a nice Hendrix tone. The Silver Stars gave my old PRS SE Custom 22 a good balanced tone.
Cleartone - They possess a nice grip when it comes to feel. They barely feel coated while having a nice balanced tone. I can honestly say after putting their Monster gauged strings on my Sinbiote, I can claim that they can rival Ernie Ball, even GHS. I currently use their Hybrid on my Axstar and thus far, as balanced as can be. It brought out some of the brightness the Axstar lacked.
It doesn't end with nickelwound or even coatings, much to my surprise. Daddario and a Jazz Swing brand decided to have the grand idea of Flatwound strings. What this meant was that you would surely get a mellow and dark tone while also having a more slick and flat feel. I haven't bothered with either because I like to take control of my tone to a degree but consider this -- if you want that smoother and softer feel and want to add more mellow tone to your guitar, go for it. IF you want to mellow a Fender/Squier guitar out, this could be your ticket.
There's also chrome. Not only did Daddario pull off the whole Flatwound thing on their line but made them chrome in the process. They look shinier but certain sound mellow due to the flatwound nature of the Chrome series. I wonder what they would sound like if they were roundwound instead.
Ernie Ball then had the grand idea of finally having a set of coated strings but not before changing the string material as well. They went ahead with making these strings out of titanium. You know for sure they have a thick and tough durability about them and the tone leaning towards mellow while still clear as can be.
DR also released their Pure Nickel series. Some people go for them for a clean and decently bright tone. Given my sensitivity with nickel, I steer clear from these.
Then it happened. Cobalt. Ernie Ball couldn't possibly get crazier. They have a line of their strings made with cobalt steel. I am currently using their Cobalt Skinny Top Heavy Bottom on my PRS Tremonti SE and let me tell you -- while the guitar naturally has strong mids and pretty neutral and balanced on Treble and Bass but these strings skyrocket your Mid frequency. There will not be any lack of presence in your sound and you definitely will find yourself needing to turn your volume down! They are powerful but a word of caution -- the strings feel tough. Granted, the STHB strings are 10-52 but they feel like regular Power or Not Even Slinky strings.
Stay tuned to Part IIB, where I discuss strings for acoustic instruments.
At my job, I sometimes hear from the average newcomer to the world of guitar and bass that they never knew there was a difference between one brand of strings or the other. Thankfully, with experience and knowledge, I was able to endow upon them some good knowledge on how they can be different and how they can heighten a particular aspect of a guitar/bass' sound or alter things in something as simple as tone.
As far as material goes, for electric bass and electric guitar, once upon a time, by and large most electric guitar and bass strings were mainly nickel-wound steel. Naturally, this would give you a standard range of brightness. Brands like Ernie Ball, Fender, Daddario, Dunlop and GHS to name a few. Here's my experience with some Nickelwound strings I've used.
Daddario - the label says bright but for me they come off pretty neutral and let your guitar's natural tone sit right there. I also see them as "the gateway drug" of guitar strings. Fav sets were the Blues/Jazz Rock.
Dunlop - these strings have a tone that borders between mellow and dark. When I used the Zakk Wylde set on my Axstar years ago, it definitely gave it an extra pump on the bass and a slight punch on the mids. The Heavycore series are pretty good too.
Ernie Ball - There's a reason why I have been a faithful whore to Ernie Ball. Their durability certainly beats out Daddario and Fender. On top of that, they have a great feel and everything sounds very even and clear. It stands right in between bright and mellow. Fav sets consist of Hybrid Slinky and Skinny Top Heavy Bottom.
Fender - You thought your Strat or Tele were bright before, these make it a little brighter. Seems to bring up the treble and mids a tad. The Bullet series has a tiny bullet-looking end instead of the usual ball end.
GHS - There's something about GHS' line of strings that make me feel like they have some of DR's string feel but Dunlop's tone and durability. Out of this brand, my favorites were Zakk Wylde's Heavyweight Boomers.
In addition, you also have theline of strings that have coating. The first brand coming to mind obviously is Elixir. Sure enough, you get a brand like DR, followed by Cleartone.
Elixir - Endures like God but not keen on its tone. They sound sort of bland, lack brightness but also lacking some sort of mellow element.
DR - Black Beauties are the one everyone recognizes but if you remember when they started offering the coated strings, you may have recalled the Red Devils and the Silver Stars. With my old Squier bass, Red Devils gave it a nice punch for latin and funk music. They endure for a good while and possessing sound tone. On guitar, it gave my Strat a nice Hendrix tone. The Silver Stars gave my old PRS SE Custom 22 a good balanced tone.
Cleartone - They possess a nice grip when it comes to feel. They barely feel coated while having a nice balanced tone. I can honestly say after putting their Monster gauged strings on my Sinbiote, I can claim that they can rival Ernie Ball, even GHS. I currently use their Hybrid on my Axstar and thus far, as balanced as can be. It brought out some of the brightness the Axstar lacked.
It doesn't end with nickelwound or even coatings, much to my surprise. Daddario and a Jazz Swing brand decided to have the grand idea of Flatwound strings. What this meant was that you would surely get a mellow and dark tone while also having a more slick and flat feel. I haven't bothered with either because I like to take control of my tone to a degree but consider this -- if you want that smoother and softer feel and want to add more mellow tone to your guitar, go for it. IF you want to mellow a Fender/Squier guitar out, this could be your ticket.
There's also chrome. Not only did Daddario pull off the whole Flatwound thing on their line but made them chrome in the process. They look shinier but certain sound mellow due to the flatwound nature of the Chrome series. I wonder what they would sound like if they were roundwound instead.
Ernie Ball then had the grand idea of finally having a set of coated strings but not before changing the string material as well. They went ahead with making these strings out of titanium. You know for sure they have a thick and tough durability about them and the tone leaning towards mellow while still clear as can be.
DR also released their Pure Nickel series. Some people go for them for a clean and decently bright tone. Given my sensitivity with nickel, I steer clear from these.
Then it happened. Cobalt. Ernie Ball couldn't possibly get crazier. They have a line of their strings made with cobalt steel. I am currently using their Cobalt Skinny Top Heavy Bottom on my PRS Tremonti SE and let me tell you -- while the guitar naturally has strong mids and pretty neutral and balanced on Treble and Bass but these strings skyrocket your Mid frequency. There will not be any lack of presence in your sound and you definitely will find yourself needing to turn your volume down! They are powerful but a word of caution -- the strings feel tough. Granted, the STHB strings are 10-52 but they feel like regular Power or Not Even Slinky strings.
Stay tuned to Part IIB, where I discuss strings for acoustic instruments.
4.06.2013
Sound in guitars! The factors touching your tone! Pt. 1
Last week, as I was recording some guitar tracks, while doing the EQs on my guitar, something caught my attention. When I turned on the Analysis part of the EQ setting, I studied my guitar's sound waves. Then it hit me -- like, it really hit me -- every guitar really is different.
As for EQs, there would be 4 sections: Low, Low Mid, Hi Mid and Hi. Naturally, the spectrum on keyboards are very much across the board, basses lean dominantly towards Low and Low Mid and vocals usually vary on the person. The variety on a guitar? Well, I am now convinced that truly, each guitar has a soul of its own. In this first part of this multi-part blog, I'll be breaking down the sonic characteristics of my guitars.
Ibanez 1985 Axstar - With the Basswood body and the Mahogany neck, this baby was built for blues, jazz, even some good old hard rock. It has a good Bass punch and the Mids are balanced. If you want some extra bite, you better crank up the Treble, especially if you want that primitive old Floyd Rose it has to use.
PRS Tremonti SE - The Mahogany body and neck gives you good balance across the board and the Rosewood fretboard gives your Bass and Treble an extra bite. You may want to crank up Treble and Bass a tiny bit more because the Mids on this guitar are fierce. Does me well for rock, blues, hard rock, metal and just about anything.
Squier '00 Affinity Strat - My first guitar. Alder body, Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. You definitely have a lot of Treble going around and even a decent punch on Bass, although the Mids could use a kick up. Always did me well with blues, rock, reggae, latin.
Washburn Sinbiote - Technically a King of the Blues singlecut w/24 frets, this model doesn't exist anymore. Matter of fact, so much so, my best friend and I sanded the original finish off and did our own custom hand-painted job. Maple neck, Mahogany fretboard and an Alder body, this baby happens to bite well in the Mid and Treble department. Crank the Bass up good and bring the Treble up a tad and you'll be sailing. I like bringing this one out for rock and metal.
Part II coming soon!
As for EQs, there would be 4 sections: Low, Low Mid, Hi Mid and Hi. Naturally, the spectrum on keyboards are very much across the board, basses lean dominantly towards Low and Low Mid and vocals usually vary on the person. The variety on a guitar? Well, I am now convinced that truly, each guitar has a soul of its own. In this first part of this multi-part blog, I'll be breaking down the sonic characteristics of my guitars.
Ibanez 1985 Axstar - With the Basswood body and the Mahogany neck, this baby was built for blues, jazz, even some good old hard rock. It has a good Bass punch and the Mids are balanced. If you want some extra bite, you better crank up the Treble, especially if you want that primitive old Floyd Rose it has to use.
PRS Tremonti SE - The Mahogany body and neck gives you good balance across the board and the Rosewood fretboard gives your Bass and Treble an extra bite. You may want to crank up Treble and Bass a tiny bit more because the Mids on this guitar are fierce. Does me well for rock, blues, hard rock, metal and just about anything.
Squier '00 Affinity Strat - My first guitar. Alder body, Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard. You definitely have a lot of Treble going around and even a decent punch on Bass, although the Mids could use a kick up. Always did me well with blues, rock, reggae, latin.
Washburn Sinbiote - Technically a King of the Blues singlecut w/24 frets, this model doesn't exist anymore. Matter of fact, so much so, my best friend and I sanded the original finish off and did our own custom hand-painted job. Maple neck, Mahogany fretboard and an Alder body, this baby happens to bite well in the Mid and Treble department. Crank the Bass up good and bring the Treble up a tad and you'll be sailing. I like bringing this one out for rock and metal.
Part II coming soon!
4.02.2013
Struggling with my Faith pt. 2
As time went on today, I found myself thinking more about this faith issue. Don't get me wrong, there are many things I care about but my faith takes a big chunk of who I am, why I am and how I am. It's kind of scary but also liberating because I never felt like I could always be totally open about talking about it due to a lot of worries about what people would say or how they would react but after realizing that I need to seek my overall health, it is best that I just let it all out. It just so happens that there's a lot.
Part of my heart breaks in knowing that what the tenets of Christendom are versus what is seen or demonstrated seem to clash an awful lot. The Bible, should you sit down and read the New Testament, clearly teaches that judgment belongs to God and that a person's state of salvation (or lack thereof) are not for us to pre-determine (or determine altogether) to begin with. The Bible (both Old and New Testament parts), whether it's in 1 Chronicles, 1 Samuel or even the Book of Revelation, it is very clear in saying that the Lord judges the hearts and minds -- areas of which we are not really able to truly determine. Let's be real, most of the time, we like to impose on others our ideas of what we think people have on their mind and sometimes, those assumptions are a projection of what we are thinking and feeling and therefore, my friends, we sometimes risk executing something we know as mental or emotional abuse or manipulation. A bulk of this has a lot to do with how we were raised, how those that raised us were raised and how they influence those that try to impose themselves on us.
As far as justice or injustice in the Bible, there's two sides to the coin. Sure, Israel was flat out guilty of murdering people they didn't have to murder although in some of those cases, some of them were people that stood by and watched them suffer and did nothing. As I once said in a Facebook status, "By standing by and doing nothing in the face of injustice, you are thereby choosing to support injustice, for if you were against it, you would act against it". Surely, some of these that were killed off knew damn well about Hebrews enslaved by Egyptians but instead of standing in the face of cruelty, they did nothing and thereby catering to the Egyptian bully's power streak. It only made sense that they got hit for standing by and doing nothing in the face of what was going on. However, we also find that not all of those slain by Israel were slain. If we look back, God gave the option of those who wanted to be spared to join alongside Israel. Let us also include that every time Israel strayed from God's commandments with their selfishness, consistent doubt and rebellion in light of seeing how powerful God is, God would strike them down and plague them with slavery and threat of death yet again.
Some may wonder what happened later on. It's simple -- Israel got so drunk in their power and promises that they even tore on each other, adding rules God never added, using abuse of spiritual authority to oppress people. With rules set to not only keep them in line but to also help those in need, Israel still showed something we've always known about mankind -- greed and selfishness and how those qualities can lead into excess, corruption and much unnecessary violence. Remember tithing? That was money used as charity for Levites (musicians) as well as orphans, widows and the impoverished. That's not going on in today's churches are they?
Fast forward to the Jesus era and we find Jesus flipping tables and whipping butts because of how you got people using the temple to conduct monetary business when the temple was designed to be a house of worship -- where people band together as brothers and sisters to seek the presence and love of a God that desires to make our souls rich because trust me, Israel had hardened their hearts so much against God with their lust for all things material that there was no way in hell He was going to restore their kingdom again.
Jesus was all about forgiveness and as I said in a previous entry, "go and sin no more" attitude. IT was as though he was saying, "Look, I'm not stupid and neither are you but I forgive you. Whatever you were doing that wasn't pleasing to God, just move forward on a clean slate and don't do it again". Now, do I believe in divine punishment? It's kinda tricky but I tell you based on my personal experience, as well as an eyewitness of others -- whatever you view to be God's punishment on you is actually nothing more than the end result of the screwups either you or others have done. Some things we go through are a result of things we shouldn't have done but did anyway, thinking that no consequence would come from it. Some things, though, are due to others conspiring to do wrong and you just happen to be a casualty in the process. Then there are also things that happen due to the chain reaction of things we do in conjunction or opposition of the actions of others, of which, in the end, not only affect you but also others.
As for correction, I still believe that in correcting the errs of others, good things can come to both ends, however, how you approach the correction is a whole other thing. I have learned that if you are tactful with your open rebukes or "stand to the side" rebukes, you can make a huge difference but if you are just brash and mindless about it, you will only create a monster or worse, open the door to abuse of some sort. I can put it this way, "a love unrestrained is a lustful monster not apprehended".
As for the question of Hell and punishment? Back then, it was easy for me to say yes without proof but now I am actually beginning to wonder. Also an argument I heard also made me wonder if in sending people to Hell with Satan instantly, wouldn't that insinuate that God and Lucifer are in cahoots and therefore there is an attempt of balance at work? We know the wage of sin is death. If we look back, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they saw physical death, not just a spiritual death in the severing of ties with God. Even that can make you wonder because it didn't seem like Abraham was so spiritually dead that he didn't hear God call him out, which is interesting because after the Garden exile, Adam, Eve and their family didn't hear squat from God and the first to do so out of them later on was Enoch and then Noah. Most of what we know of Hell is mentioned in the New Testament, hardly any reference in the Old and in the places referenced in Psalm, they were places where dead souls lied with no distinction on whether souls were devout to God or not.
The other conflict with this Hell business is this -- what logic is there for someone to die, burn in Hell, come back to life to face the Anti-Christ to resist or just burn again anyway? Theoretically, it makes far more logic to die, your soul wake up to confront the Anti-Christ and, with the knowledge and everything the soul knew and learned, decide whether to succumb to Satan's pet or to refuse with the intent of being ultimately saved. Even that process sounds like a mess of a cluster to me.
As for Israel still being God's baby, I can no longer agree or support this. My reason for this is due to Christ's crucifixion. Clearly, a man who shows through His life, attitude and work that He is the Son of God, the one you were looking for, yet you crucify Him? That's like God choosing to place his last ace in the hole to spare you of losing your bet with someone and then slapping His hand away, saying, "No! I can do this myself!", only to lose the bet now that you threw that one offer out the window. As a result, as Jesus said, the Temple of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed at the hands of the Romans and the fact that Paul was sent to the Gentiles. Let's also include that the promise of Christ was not exclusive to Jews -- it was for everyone. Now this may be quite a stretch but holy crap I'll say it anyway -- it seems to me that as a result of rejecting His only begotten Son -- God made it his point to make them pay for the rest of their existence. The Inquisitions, the Crusades -- all done by pagan men who paganized the Church with a ton of baloney -- of which Frank Viola goes in with Pagan Christianity, made it their business to make them really feel how messed up they were. It didn't end there either. You would think that after God knows how many times God would send off Israel into slavery, in the face of death and even under rule of empires, that they would learn to own up and who knows, I don't doubt that some may have -- except for that one idiot who told Hitler that he sucked at art and that he would amount to nothing. That one Jew set Hitler off onto a very evil tantrum.
Now does that mean that I support the Inquisition, the Crusades and even the Holocaust? Hell no! Jesus taught to love one another and even the early Church of the 1st Century taught us well enough to love and correct lovingly, to pray and to help within reason. The point I wanted to make about Israel's disobedience is the same point I made earlier about punishment -- your actions can chain react suffering unto others and even the actions of a group can affect a future generation. If you want to really get down to it, what Hitler did was wrong. What the Catholic Church did was absolutely wrong but what Jews did to God, in spite of all the things they proclaim Him of doing for them, was also wrong. It just so happens that certain agents came into play and a chain reaction of violence was the result. In the process, you have those who have forgotten how disobedient their ancestors were to God and you also have the teachings of Christ utterly ignored by people that oppose Christians as a result of the corrupt pagans that decided to tweak Christianity to their political and dictatorial gain.
Yes I know, this was a lot to read but this is a lot of many more thoughts that lay deep in the iceberg!
Part of my heart breaks in knowing that what the tenets of Christendom are versus what is seen or demonstrated seem to clash an awful lot. The Bible, should you sit down and read the New Testament, clearly teaches that judgment belongs to God and that a person's state of salvation (or lack thereof) are not for us to pre-determine (or determine altogether) to begin with. The Bible (both Old and New Testament parts), whether it's in 1 Chronicles, 1 Samuel or even the Book of Revelation, it is very clear in saying that the Lord judges the hearts and minds -- areas of which we are not really able to truly determine. Let's be real, most of the time, we like to impose on others our ideas of what we think people have on their mind and sometimes, those assumptions are a projection of what we are thinking and feeling and therefore, my friends, we sometimes risk executing something we know as mental or emotional abuse or manipulation. A bulk of this has a lot to do with how we were raised, how those that raised us were raised and how they influence those that try to impose themselves on us.
As far as justice or injustice in the Bible, there's two sides to the coin. Sure, Israel was flat out guilty of murdering people they didn't have to murder although in some of those cases, some of them were people that stood by and watched them suffer and did nothing. As I once said in a Facebook status, "By standing by and doing nothing in the face of injustice, you are thereby choosing to support injustice, for if you were against it, you would act against it". Surely, some of these that were killed off knew damn well about Hebrews enslaved by Egyptians but instead of standing in the face of cruelty, they did nothing and thereby catering to the Egyptian bully's power streak. It only made sense that they got hit for standing by and doing nothing in the face of what was going on. However, we also find that not all of those slain by Israel were slain. If we look back, God gave the option of those who wanted to be spared to join alongside Israel. Let us also include that every time Israel strayed from God's commandments with their selfishness, consistent doubt and rebellion in light of seeing how powerful God is, God would strike them down and plague them with slavery and threat of death yet again.
Some may wonder what happened later on. It's simple -- Israel got so drunk in their power and promises that they even tore on each other, adding rules God never added, using abuse of spiritual authority to oppress people. With rules set to not only keep them in line but to also help those in need, Israel still showed something we've always known about mankind -- greed and selfishness and how those qualities can lead into excess, corruption and much unnecessary violence. Remember tithing? That was money used as charity for Levites (musicians) as well as orphans, widows and the impoverished. That's not going on in today's churches are they?
Fast forward to the Jesus era and we find Jesus flipping tables and whipping butts because of how you got people using the temple to conduct monetary business when the temple was designed to be a house of worship -- where people band together as brothers and sisters to seek the presence and love of a God that desires to make our souls rich because trust me, Israel had hardened their hearts so much against God with their lust for all things material that there was no way in hell He was going to restore their kingdom again.
Jesus was all about forgiveness and as I said in a previous entry, "go and sin no more" attitude. IT was as though he was saying, "Look, I'm not stupid and neither are you but I forgive you. Whatever you were doing that wasn't pleasing to God, just move forward on a clean slate and don't do it again". Now, do I believe in divine punishment? It's kinda tricky but I tell you based on my personal experience, as well as an eyewitness of others -- whatever you view to be God's punishment on you is actually nothing more than the end result of the screwups either you or others have done. Some things we go through are a result of things we shouldn't have done but did anyway, thinking that no consequence would come from it. Some things, though, are due to others conspiring to do wrong and you just happen to be a casualty in the process. Then there are also things that happen due to the chain reaction of things we do in conjunction or opposition of the actions of others, of which, in the end, not only affect you but also others.
As for correction, I still believe that in correcting the errs of others, good things can come to both ends, however, how you approach the correction is a whole other thing. I have learned that if you are tactful with your open rebukes or "stand to the side" rebukes, you can make a huge difference but if you are just brash and mindless about it, you will only create a monster or worse, open the door to abuse of some sort. I can put it this way, "a love unrestrained is a lustful monster not apprehended".
As for the question of Hell and punishment? Back then, it was easy for me to say yes without proof but now I am actually beginning to wonder. Also an argument I heard also made me wonder if in sending people to Hell with Satan instantly, wouldn't that insinuate that God and Lucifer are in cahoots and therefore there is an attempt of balance at work? We know the wage of sin is death. If we look back, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they saw physical death, not just a spiritual death in the severing of ties with God. Even that can make you wonder because it didn't seem like Abraham was so spiritually dead that he didn't hear God call him out, which is interesting because after the Garden exile, Adam, Eve and their family didn't hear squat from God and the first to do so out of them later on was Enoch and then Noah. Most of what we know of Hell is mentioned in the New Testament, hardly any reference in the Old and in the places referenced in Psalm, they were places where dead souls lied with no distinction on whether souls were devout to God or not.
The other conflict with this Hell business is this -- what logic is there for someone to die, burn in Hell, come back to life to face the Anti-Christ to resist or just burn again anyway? Theoretically, it makes far more logic to die, your soul wake up to confront the Anti-Christ and, with the knowledge and everything the soul knew and learned, decide whether to succumb to Satan's pet or to refuse with the intent of being ultimately saved. Even that process sounds like a mess of a cluster to me.
As for Israel still being God's baby, I can no longer agree or support this. My reason for this is due to Christ's crucifixion. Clearly, a man who shows through His life, attitude and work that He is the Son of God, the one you were looking for, yet you crucify Him? That's like God choosing to place his last ace in the hole to spare you of losing your bet with someone and then slapping His hand away, saying, "No! I can do this myself!", only to lose the bet now that you threw that one offer out the window. As a result, as Jesus said, the Temple of Jerusalem was utterly destroyed at the hands of the Romans and the fact that Paul was sent to the Gentiles. Let's also include that the promise of Christ was not exclusive to Jews -- it was for everyone. Now this may be quite a stretch but holy crap I'll say it anyway -- it seems to me that as a result of rejecting His only begotten Son -- God made it his point to make them pay for the rest of their existence. The Inquisitions, the Crusades -- all done by pagan men who paganized the Church with a ton of baloney -- of which Frank Viola goes in with Pagan Christianity, made it their business to make them really feel how messed up they were. It didn't end there either. You would think that after God knows how many times God would send off Israel into slavery, in the face of death and even under rule of empires, that they would learn to own up and who knows, I don't doubt that some may have -- except for that one idiot who told Hitler that he sucked at art and that he would amount to nothing. That one Jew set Hitler off onto a very evil tantrum.
Now does that mean that I support the Inquisition, the Crusades and even the Holocaust? Hell no! Jesus taught to love one another and even the early Church of the 1st Century taught us well enough to love and correct lovingly, to pray and to help within reason. The point I wanted to make about Israel's disobedience is the same point I made earlier about punishment -- your actions can chain react suffering unto others and even the actions of a group can affect a future generation. If you want to really get down to it, what Hitler did was wrong. What the Catholic Church did was absolutely wrong but what Jews did to God, in spite of all the things they proclaim Him of doing for them, was also wrong. It just so happens that certain agents came into play and a chain reaction of violence was the result. In the process, you have those who have forgotten how disobedient their ancestors were to God and you also have the teachings of Christ utterly ignored by people that oppose Christians as a result of the corrupt pagans that decided to tweak Christianity to their political and dictatorial gain.
Yes I know, this was a lot to read but this is a lot of many more thoughts that lay deep in the iceberg!
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