King of Lies, Lord of the Flies

Last night I guided my teens through a Bible study on Satan. It is the first time I have ever broached the subject with them, because it is simply not any concern of mine. Many Christians have this terrible fear of Satan and his power and being possessed by him, but the fact of the matter is that he is not God and he is not what we are told he is.

And the odd thing is that some believers cling to this theology of evil as if it were fundamental to our overall faith! People want this dualistic enemy that we war against, almost like we have no purpose otherwise! Here Henry Ansgar Kelly says that without Satan "the fight between good and evil isn't an authentic part of Christianity." Could anything be more ridiculous? How about the good and evil that are in my heart? How about the love that we try to show people in contrast to the evil that they have been shown? How about the natural chaos in Creation that God subjugates in his work of redemption?

I agree with many of the things that Kelly says about Satan in the interview (except there is a surprising silence on the import of apocalyptic literature and the evolution of angel theology), but I do not like his presentation. Most importantly, Kelly is deluded into thinking that removing this Adversary neuters God himself, again betraying a severe reliance on dualistic thought.

Maybe I will write more later on the passages our group studied last night, but for now I will just share our point. Satan is not God's equal, and he (as well as anything else, for that matter) has absolutely no power over you that you do not give him.

So what is our response, then? My reaction is: forget him. Philippians 4:8 says to fill our thoughts (and thus our life) with whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. This is God. Be full of God and nothing else.

Quickie Updates

1) After getting back on the horn today, I think that package is slowly making its way through Arkansas's state capitol and will find the proper office.

2) One of my former students just stopped by the office to talk about girl issues and he brought me ice cream.

3) I officially and inexplicably do miss Searcy.

4) I did not mean to end my last entry (feeling "cross" with God) as a double-entendre. If I had, it would have been the darkest and most disgusting joke I've ever made. Hope it wasn't taken that way.

5) I learned with certainty that relationships are nothing more than decisions. That and nothing more.

Rant

I am absolutely furious.

I overnighted some documents to Little Rock to get a seal that I need for visa applications. They arrived after business hours, so the online tracker said that they left a notice. I called to make sure someone was going to pick up the package to learn that the freaking State Police gave me the wrong address.

I made ten more phone calls and was directed and transferred about thirty when finally I was able to speak to a supervisor about possibly sending someone to the Post Office (one lady sounded scandalized that I would ask them to do that) to get the package, but the supervisor was out. When he called me back, my phone died.

When I called back, the lady had just left for the Post Office, and so I was unable to give her any details to find my stupid package.

The advice given to me:

"Call back tomorrow."

So maybe I'm not going to Europe. It seems that our bureaucratic clowns are almost as inept as Spain's, and apparently God doesn't want me to go over there.

I'm being facetious with that last sentence, but I am feeling very, very cross toward him right now.

It's Getting Better All the Ti-i-ime

In spite of my last entry, things are starting to look up.

I hiked Hanging Lake, which is something that every human should see (according to the internet).

The couple I live with invited me to sit down with them and have an actual meal for the first time this summer (even though it was on the couch. . .watching the Simpsons).

I am in the process of getting my visa so I can go to Spain.

My plane ticket over there may be as cheap as $400 (one-way).

And I read the Great Gatsby once again.

What a life.

Stormy Weather

So I haven't written in here lately because I haven't felt like it. It's been a tough several days. I'll leave it at that for now.

Please keep my friend Lena in your prayers; her father passed away this week.

And it's been raining like crazy.

Two Things I Have Been Hearing A Lot Lately

"You are too hard on yourself."

"You wouldn't believe the truth if I told you."

A Vague Movie Review!

I watched "Juno" for the first time last week at the behest of one of my teens out here and was mildly entertained but worried nonetheless. I feel that it is continuing a dangerous and bothersome trend that I noticed a couple of years ago while watching "Little Miss Sunshine" of films that blur the line between indie and mainstream.

Keep in mind there is no innate benefit or problem in being either of the two, but each category of cinema brings with it certain expectations. One such expectation for independent offerings USED to be a lack of formula and a general sense of excitement for exploring different realms than you would see while watching Will Smith fart and dance on a huge screen.

(I still kind of hate Will Smith)

I've heard a lot of criticism for Juno's ridiculous dialogue, but I saw in it a hint of surrealism that I felt lent itself well to the larger overwhelming ordeal of teenage pregnancy as well as helping the audience look at events through the still-childlike perspective of the child protagonist.

More troubling in my mind was the sense I got that the movie was a variation on a theme, perhaps an innovative paint-by-numbers. It was even complete with quirky supporting characters and intentionally eclectic music that is too low-fi for radio but pop enough to let morons still like it and bop to it on their iPods.

It is just a shame, I feel, to reduce the possibilities of independent art by aiming for the pop side of the spectrum and following directions and formulae. Even if it is a hit like Juno, it still feels like a hollow accomplishment, like making a baking soda volcano that outshines all the other baking soda volcanoes at the science fair.

I coined a term for this while on my bike this morning, but googled it to find it already in use. Go ahead and propogate it as seen fit: trindie.

Get it? Trendy + indie = trindie!

. . .not as impressive as I had hoped, eh?