My siblings and I didn't grow up with all the latest gadgets and toys, but we did have a Nintendo game console. My oldest brother was a video game fanatic always needing the latest system and the latest game. I was never a big gamer but there was one game that captured my heart on Nintendo and still has it to this day: Tecmo Super Bowl.
Tecmo Super Bowl was the NFL game for the 1991 season. The game had great colors and great music. Each game was played on the same field and each team had four running plays and four passing plays. And every defense played the 3-4 scheme. This game caused me to kick a lot of butt with the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. I cannot tell you how many times I had 60 to 70 yard runs with Otis Anderson of the Giants. One season I had 40 sacks by Lawrence Taylor, yes 40. He was so quick and easy to get around the offensive line. As Joe Montana, I threw countless full-field bombs to John Taylor and Jerry Rice for touchdowns. And it was always nice to kick a 60-yard field goal from time to time.
This game had character. When players would get injured they would show the paramedics come on to the field and carry the player off on a stretcher. Then would player would return it would show him leaving the hospital and the nurses and doctors standing outside waiting for him. Only offensive players could get hurt and each position had only backup, so you never had to worry about the backup getting hurt. If you won the division, conference, or Super Bowl it would show a still frame photo of your team celebrating.
Eventually are Nintendo would no longer work and with it was the lost the privilege of playing Tecmo Super Bowl. One day I discovered through my brother the ability to download it on my computer and I started playing it again. Unfortunately, my computer crashed two years ago and I haven't been able to find a way to re-download it.
Sure, I play the newest Madden from time to time. But its so complicated. You have so many plays, which you can audible out of all them, that its hard to choose some times what to run. Players get hurt all the time with various injuries and then their backups can get hurt too. You have instant replay challenges and you can play franchise mode, where you play season after season, re-signing and drafting players to create your own roster.
I know that the point and the future of video games is to become as realistic as possible. This does have some merits and can be cool at times. But give me simple, give me fun, give me something that is not real, because in the end I deal with reality way too much.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Storytelling
My favorite television show is Lost. I have seen each season countless times and will probably forever re-watch the show. I am currently re-watching the show from the very beginning to the very end, which will be my first time ever doing this. What I have found most fascinating is that as I re-watch each episode, I can remember the very place I watched the episode for the very first time. I can picture the room I am in and the people around me. I can remember the very feelings I had as I watched the show for the first time. I believe that this is so because of the power a story has in connecting with people's hearts.
Isn't this why Jesus used story? He told parables to teach people the principles of the kingdom of God. This is why a majority of the Bible is in narrative format. This is why movies, novels and comic books are so popular. This is why as people we constantly tell other people stories that happen in our lives. There is something about stories that speak to us as human beings.
Through stories we can mourn when the characters morn and we can rejoice when they rejoice. We can understand their actions and decisions. Most important, through stories we learn a little something about our self. Stories are a foundational element to communicating our lives with the people who surround us. So what is your story? And what are others learning from it?
Isn't this why Jesus used story? He told parables to teach people the principles of the kingdom of God. This is why a majority of the Bible is in narrative format. This is why movies, novels and comic books are so popular. This is why as people we constantly tell other people stories that happen in our lives. There is something about stories that speak to us as human beings.
Through stories we can mourn when the characters morn and we can rejoice when they rejoice. We can understand their actions and decisions. Most important, through stories we learn a little something about our self. Stories are a foundational element to communicating our lives with the people who surround us. So what is your story? And what are others learning from it?
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Spam
The easy open can is a great idea and one that all canned goods should go to. It would eliminate can openers but tabbed lids are so much easier. Spam is really greasy. I sprayed cooking spray in the pan but halfway through cooking the Spam I realized that there was no need for that, Spam generates enough grease on its own. I wonder what are the real ingredients of Spam. I know I could look on the can but that would take away all the fun in guessing and the mystery of the composition. Whatever the ingredients are, it looks like Spam has a long shelf life. So long that I feel that nuclear bombs could destroy every living creature on planet and radioactively contaminate all of our canned goods BUT Spam. Shoot...does this mean Spam will be served at the Great Banquet with Jesus? There goes my vow.
Monday, July 4, 2011
The Twilight Zone
One of my favorite 4th of July activities is watching The Twilight Zone marathon on ScyFy. I love this show for two main reasons: the plot twists and its in black and white. I know in a day in age where we have HD and 3D televisions its hard to watch something in black and white, but the lack of color adds to the mystery of the show.
The main thing driving The Twilight Zone is the mysteriousness of the universe around us. The Twilight Zone was written during the 50's. At this time we still lacked knowledge about the Universe that surrounds us. We had yet to land on the moon or send someone into outer space. There were hardly any telescopes or satellites at the time and the telescopes we did have were not as high powered as the ones today.
So in this show aliens come from Mars. There are astronauts who come back from space having gone nuts because sending them into space is such a bad idea. What it boils down to is during the time period of the show the Universe is so mysterious because we knew very little about it. There was much to discover and The Twilight Zone does a great job at capturing this mystique. It makes the world an exciting place to live.
And what I find is that this world with less knowledge and a lot to discover is a more exciting world and one that I am sad I missed out on.
The main thing driving The Twilight Zone is the mysteriousness of the universe around us. The Twilight Zone was written during the 50's. At this time we still lacked knowledge about the Universe that surrounds us. We had yet to land on the moon or send someone into outer space. There were hardly any telescopes or satellites at the time and the telescopes we did have were not as high powered as the ones today.
So in this show aliens come from Mars. There are astronauts who come back from space having gone nuts because sending them into space is such a bad idea. What it boils down to is during the time period of the show the Universe is so mysterious because we knew very little about it. There was much to discover and The Twilight Zone does a great job at capturing this mystique. It makes the world an exciting place to live.
And what I find is that this world with less knowledge and a lot to discover is a more exciting world and one that I am sad I missed out on.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Love Wins
So I finally finished reading Rob Bell's new book Love Wins. I know, I know three months behind the trend of writing book reviews about whether or not Rob Bell is a universalist and a heretic. I need to get with the times, but lets face it Seminary homework slows people down. But now that I have finished reading here are some of my thoughts.
Much to the contrary of thought Rob Bell does believe in heaven and he does believe in hell. However, Bell emphasizes heaven and hell here are on earth more than the future heaven and hell. I believe this is a good point and something that the Church needs to start re-emphasizing. We as the Church are called to eradicate hell from this earth and try to restore as much of heaven as possible on this planet.
Bell does have thoughts about heaven and hell after death. He teaches that heaven will be here on earth after death for humans and that the creation of the new earth will be our ultimate resting place. I agree. And really do not much more to say on this topic.
Hell is a different story. Bell believes that hell is only a temporary stop for people after death. He writes that it is a place of judgment and pruning. It is a place where God's love can still pursue people and they have the chance to accept this love and be redeemed from hell. Now he does leave open the possibility that while in hell people will still reject God. But at the same time he affirms that God's pursuit of people is relentless and if God is relentlessly pursuing people for eternity and if hell is a place of pruning then it seems logical to conclude that eventually all people while in hell will accept God's pursuit and be redeemed. This is not the traditional universalist approach when it comes to salvation (ex. all people when they die go to heaven). But it does fundamentally seem to be a universalistic approach.
As of right now, I do not agree with this view. However, in saying that, I hope that Bell's view is correct. As a Christian who has experienced the love of God I hope and pray that all people will experience the love of God even if this means that God pursues them after death in hell. After all, God is God and He can work outside any box or theological paradigm I try to place Him in; which means that if He wants to redeem people from hell after they have died then He can and I hope that He does because if not there will be a lot of people who are eternally punished and tormented.
There have been several people who have read this book and have been trying to brand Bell as a heretic. I cannot find any merits for those claims in this book. Bell still strongly affirms that all people will be saved through Jesus. He claims that some people will be saved through Jesus without even knowing that they were saved through Jesus, but yet He was still the one performing the work, He was still the Way. If Bell strongly holds to Jesus being the means by which everyone is saved, how can he be a heretic? Is it because he holds a different view on hell? Is it because he believes that God's love and grace are so big that He saves people after death? How is this such a bad perspective? How is this worthy of being deemed a heretical view? Why should we so harshly judge someone who has such a grand view of the One who created the Universe? If we can brand someone a heretic for holding a false view on hell then we need to start branding everyone a heretic who holds a false view on any theological doctrine. Therefore, I am a heretic because I know that I probably believe some false doctrine and so is anyone who reads this because no one has perfect theology. Therefore, I feel that it is too far based on the information presented in this book to say that Rob Bell is indeed a heretic.
Let me concluded with this, I feel that the main point of the book is that there is a God who loves us so deeply that He wants to redeem us from the hell here on earth and the hell that is to come. God will passionately pursue us all of our days both on this earth and in eternity. Why? Because God is a God of love and His love will always win.
And I am glad it does.
Much to the contrary of thought Rob Bell does believe in heaven and he does believe in hell. However, Bell emphasizes heaven and hell here are on earth more than the future heaven and hell. I believe this is a good point and something that the Church needs to start re-emphasizing. We as the Church are called to eradicate hell from this earth and try to restore as much of heaven as possible on this planet.
Bell does have thoughts about heaven and hell after death. He teaches that heaven will be here on earth after death for humans and that the creation of the new earth will be our ultimate resting place. I agree. And really do not much more to say on this topic.
Hell is a different story. Bell believes that hell is only a temporary stop for people after death. He writes that it is a place of judgment and pruning. It is a place where God's love can still pursue people and they have the chance to accept this love and be redeemed from hell. Now he does leave open the possibility that while in hell people will still reject God. But at the same time he affirms that God's pursuit of people is relentless and if God is relentlessly pursuing people for eternity and if hell is a place of pruning then it seems logical to conclude that eventually all people while in hell will accept God's pursuit and be redeemed. This is not the traditional universalist approach when it comes to salvation (ex. all people when they die go to heaven). But it does fundamentally seem to be a universalistic approach.
As of right now, I do not agree with this view. However, in saying that, I hope that Bell's view is correct. As a Christian who has experienced the love of God I hope and pray that all people will experience the love of God even if this means that God pursues them after death in hell. After all, God is God and He can work outside any box or theological paradigm I try to place Him in; which means that if He wants to redeem people from hell after they have died then He can and I hope that He does because if not there will be a lot of people who are eternally punished and tormented.
There have been several people who have read this book and have been trying to brand Bell as a heretic. I cannot find any merits for those claims in this book. Bell still strongly affirms that all people will be saved through Jesus. He claims that some people will be saved through Jesus without even knowing that they were saved through Jesus, but yet He was still the one performing the work, He was still the Way. If Bell strongly holds to Jesus being the means by which everyone is saved, how can he be a heretic? Is it because he holds a different view on hell? Is it because he believes that God's love and grace are so big that He saves people after death? How is this such a bad perspective? How is this worthy of being deemed a heretical view? Why should we so harshly judge someone who has such a grand view of the One who created the Universe? If we can brand someone a heretic for holding a false view on hell then we need to start branding everyone a heretic who holds a false view on any theological doctrine. Therefore, I am a heretic because I know that I probably believe some false doctrine and so is anyone who reads this because no one has perfect theology. Therefore, I feel that it is too far based on the information presented in this book to say that Rob Bell is indeed a heretic.
Let me concluded with this, I feel that the main point of the book is that there is a God who loves us so deeply that He wants to redeem us from the hell here on earth and the hell that is to come. God will passionately pursue us all of our days both on this earth and in eternity. Why? Because God is a God of love and His love will always win.
And I am glad it does.
The Wild Thing
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=6716984
Rick "The Wild Thing" Vaughan took steroids. Now I know most of you are probably thinking but he was a fictional character. Well don't go to downtown Cleveland and say that. I think most people hope and even wish that the players and story found in the movie Major League is true. Well now Charlie Sheen who played "The Wild Thing" in the movie claims that he took steroids for a six to eight week period while shooting the movie to help give him more juice on his fastball. You would think the Tiger's Blood would have been able to help him out with that, but I guess it failed him.
Question of the day: Will admitting to steroid use keep Rick Vaughan out of the baseball hall of fame?
Rick "The Wild Thing" Vaughan took steroids. Now I know most of you are probably thinking but he was a fictional character. Well don't go to downtown Cleveland and say that. I think most people hope and even wish that the players and story found in the movie Major League is true. Well now Charlie Sheen who played "The Wild Thing" in the movie claims that he took steroids for a six to eight week period while shooting the movie to help give him more juice on his fastball. You would think the Tiger's Blood would have been able to help him out with that, but I guess it failed him.
Question of the day: Will admitting to steroid use keep Rick Vaughan out of the baseball hall of fame?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Metta World Peace
Last week before the NBA draft I saw some news that made me did a double-take: Ron Artest legally changes name to Metta World Peace.
What?
Could you say that again?
Metta World Peace.
And we all thought Ochocinco was bad.
My first thought was: What does this even mean? I understand World, I understand Peace. What about Metta? So I did some research. The only definition dictionary.com has for Metta is this: lovingkindness, the Buddhist virtue of kindness. Okay, so Lovingkindness World Peace. Yeah this sounds like a guy who is ready to defend the top offensive threat of all 30 NBA teams any given night. Also does this mean Ron Artest is Buddhist?
Ron Artest at one point was one of my favorite Pacer players. He was a hot head but he was a great defender and can always slow down the top scorer of the other team. But Ron is going to be remembered for events like this. He is going to be remembered for going into Circuit City his rookie year with the Bulls and asking for a job application. He is going to be remembered for attacking that camera man in the hallway at Madison Square Garden. He is going to be remembered for quitting on the Pacers in 2005 and demanding a trade. Most importantly, he will be remembered for starting the Brawl in Detroit when he ran into the stands after fans and started punching them. Ron Artest will be remembered for destruction, never for lovingkindness or peace. What a shame.
P.S. Do you think He Hate Me is jealous right now or what?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)