war games

For family movie night this past weekend, we watched War Games.  I have always credited this movie with getting me interested in computers.  Now that I’ve seen the movie again, I’m not sure what my motivation was – learning how computers work or saving the world?

So yesterday, in some parking lot, my 7-year old starts this conversation:

my son – are nuclear warheads real?
me – yes
my son – have they ever been used?
me – yes
my son – when?
me – during world war II, the United States dropped 2 nuclear bombs on Japan
my son – what happened?
me – lots of people died and soon after the war ended
my son (pause) – so it’s good the war ended, right?
me (longer pause) – it was good the war ended, but I don’t think it was good nuclear bombs were created or used
my son – has anybody else used them
me – they have been tested, but not used against anybody
my son – who has nuclear weapons
me – mostly the United States and Russia, but some other countries do as well
my son – will anybody ever use them?
me (oh boy) – remember the point of the movie war games was that if nuclear bombs were used in war today, the outcome would be that nobody could win because the destruction would be too high, so most countries say they have nuclear weapons as a way to ensure they don’t get used against them (try explaining the concept of deterrence to a 7-year old, it doesn’t even make sense to me)
my son – are we making more?
me – no, I think we are trying to get rid of some because we finally figured out we had too many
my son – where are they aimed, Russia?
me – I guess most of them used to be because we thought Russia was our biggest enemy, but they probably aren’t anymore
my son – so where are they aimed?
me – I don’t know

So, it turns out ignorance is not bliss – maybe that’s why I didn’t sleep well last night.  Time to do some research – here I come wikipedia.

Filed in: thoughts

Word to blog

Being married to a geek is tough.  Especially when you’re a geek wannabe.  No really, I think I’m pretty geeky, but I can’t compete with the hubby.  Anytime I think I’ve found some cool tool or techie tip and I share it with the hubby, it’s old news to him.  I think the only time I’ve scooped him is on this category thing, but then he doesn’t blog so what does he care.  Now I’m trying Word to blogger – thanks honey!

Filed in: blogger

trying delicious bookmarklet

I'm liking the categories. Now I'm trying out the Super-Fast Delicious Bookmarklet to make tagging faster.

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perseverance

In Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz, he describes one of his aha moments vis-à-vis a lecture he attended about the power of metaphor. The example the professor starts out with is cancer. When we think about cancer, we think about war metaphors like battling cancer or fighting cancer. Apparently this has an unhealthy affect on cancer patients who can feel more burdened and frightened than they should because they feel "that they have been thrust into a deadly war… because of the war metaphor, the professor said, we are more likely to fear cancer when, actually most people survive the disease."

I think the war metaphor is also overused in the context of Christianity. Last week we heard about from Ephesians 6:16-17 to "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." How about the lyrics "Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war", or the Christian Coalition tagline "defending our godly heritage". And don’t even get me started on the anti/pro language thrashing around out there. Sometimes the war metaphor is hidden under the guise of saving souls for the kingdom.

My problem with the war metaphor is two-fold. First, I find it frightening and not at all appealing. I think it can cause people to feel more burdened and frightened than they should feel about Christianity. But what I want to focus on here is that it implies winners and losers. You know you are a Christian – way to go, you are on the winning team. Not sure, so sorry – you lose. Oh and did I mention, you are now the enemy.

This week the transformation journal theme is Jesus and Perseverance. So, it’s not about winning a war, it’s about staying the course, doing your best, moving forward. It’s not about defense or offense, it’s about humility, leading by example, learning. And while there is a prize to strive for, it is not at the expense of someone else nor is it exclusive - it's available to everyone.

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained."

- Philippians 3:10-16

Filed in: thoughts quotes

loss

Originally posted by me @ plchurchtj.blogspot.com on July 8, 2005.

I found this week's tj difficult to get through. Like Job 2:7-10 - So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said."

I recently read Sarah Laughed by Vanessa Ochs and I appreciated her take on Job's wife.

"Job's wife encourages you to give God a piece of your mind. Speaking the truth when what you have to say isn't nice shouldn't weaken your faith. It should sustain and if necessary, transform it, for it has kept the conversation - which might have been shut down - open. The alternative would be to cease conversation altogether, to hang up on God. That is the dark, lonely place you don't want to be."

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