So they found the body of Jesus?

I will preface this with saying that I am not one of those believers who blindly follows because others say so. I do not merely walk away from a challenge to my faith as if it doesn’t matter. Christianity’s relevance to the world depends on the believer’s ability to be relevant to the world that surrounds them. Philosophers sometimes use the term ‘Spiderweb’ which refers to that a person(s) life can be refered to as a web. A web finds it strength in the way everything is interconnected, each point along the structure is connected to and depends on the other points for the ability to keep is shape. This means that if ever one point in the web is weakened or broken the whole web is affected.

Religion…Faith…Beliefs…take a significant amount of space on an individual’s web. Let’s say that if for some reason they are able to prove without a doubt that Jesus did not rise, what affect would a revelation like that would have on a web. It would unravel before everyone’s eyes. See the beautiful thing about a web is that it can be rebuilt, especially if the person is prepared and already actively working with what they know and what new is being learned in reference to that knowledge.

Unfortunately for many people who believe in the resurrection their belief structure is more like a brick wall. Which is unmoving and when a brick is removed the wall is compromised and as such when it falls it is not as easy to rebuild as you first have to clear the debris. The crazy thing is that amongst that rubble would be good ideas along with frivolous ones. Faith needs to be a living one one that engages the world and the individual.

Now back to the issue at hand, the evidence has been presented in some way or another. It would appear that this is another challenge to Christiantity that rivals in severity as that of the DaVinci Code. While many believers have jumped up and joined the loud shouts of outrage. I look at it as another chance to learn and continue to develop what i believe. I must say that the first thing that leaps to mind is how they are able to prove genitically through DNA that the corpse is indeed Jesus. Where did they find the DNA to compare it to. Is there some box somewhere with hair folicles and viable blood samples that have somehow been preserved and that are directly linked to Jesus Christ.

This may end up being the debate of the year, but as science once again is used to disprove Jesus, than what are we to do, what should be our response as believers. First, begin to work on your spiderweb, reinforce it around potential frailties that may lie in wait. Secondly pursue faith like never before, take the time to read what scholars on both side of the issue exclaim and discuss it with people who are also interested in the subject. Christians should not need to retreat and dissapear everytime there is a challenge in the way, It is in these time that we need to stand up and share what we believe and why.

Proverbs! by James Suttar

My nephew recently just wrote this essay for one of his classes I thought it was good enough to share here. Feel free to tell me what you think:






Proverbs!-James Suttar

Proverb: Actions speak louder then words. People are more impressed with out sincerity if we act on out beliefs than if we merely talk about them.

Many say, “Actions speak louder then words.” But the question is do they really, how can this be proved? Some may agree while others disagree, so what is your opinion? In the world of today, you see many samples of the proverb “actions speak louder then words” but as the same time there’s many examples that prove otherwise. In the Following couple paragraphs, “actions speak louder then words” will be analyzed so that you can make your own personal conclusion to whether or not this proverb should be believed for.

“Actions speak louder then words” in many ways. Not only do your actions impress a certain someone, our actions can also symbolize an idea, an action, a thought, an emotion, or even all of the above at once. Many examples of this are people of today, whenever someone is talking, when do you ever see their hands not moving? Or if their hands aren’t moving, is what their saying really making the same impact as it would if their hands were moving showing their ideas. The reason one uses their hands is to show feeling and emotion to what they are saying. The (modern day persona) humans go mostly by visual content rather then just by words; many of us are visual learners meaning we have to see it in order to learn about it. We learn by visuals cause we’re lazy, many don’t want to admit it but it’s true. If you asked someone to explain something using numbers or balloons, they would pick balloons cause they would be scared there will some sort of mathematical master mind needed to explain. In the following the proverb will be explored into further more detail that will represent how life in general our actions speak louder then our words.

Throughout our lives we see that our actions do speak louder then our words. When you are out and about, something will capture your eye through are and imagery. If the choice was given between a word and a image or sign… It’s proven that many would much prefer and further more understand the common bench sign. First of all, I was on my way home on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) when something caught my eye. It wasn’t a word, wasn’t a person, it was a bench sign, what first caught my eye was the really big cute baby that was displayed right across the sign, but then I read what it said. It read, “you just proved bench signs work.” From that point on I believed that “Actions speak louder then words.” If it weren’t for the huge cute baby on the sign, my brain would have just ignored all the other signs that I passed which surrounded me. Secondly, when you are in love with someone and you want to show him or her your emotion you have for him or her, you don’t sit there for six hours explaining, you jump in there and give him or her a nice big wet one on the lips. Through physical contact, you represent many feelings that words most of the time can’t replace. Lastly, a great example is your communication through touch and action with your pet animal. Your pet can’t talk unless you have a parrot or some sort of fairy tale pet, which would be pretty cool, but highly unlikely, your pet will communicate with you through touch and action. When a cat for example is hungry, what does it do, it does say “yo, dude get me some food:” it enters the room, looks at you and do a meow cry, jump up and down, run to the kitchen, fly across the kitchen floor at a million miles a minute crashing into everything in front of it, and eventually stop at the food bowl, they do that to show you they want something thus showing you they are hungry, as they can’t speak

Anyone person can benefit from this belief of “Actions speak louder then words.” First of all, if you are ever looking for a way to represent feeling for someone and can’t why not let a rose do all the sweet talk for you? Hell why not even a box of Belgium chocolate? My point exactly. Secondly you or a friend could benefit from this; this is due to the fact that its true, words just can’t speak as loud as an action would. Actions are what make’s people do the sane or even insane things they do in life. Last of all, actions are the “in” thing right now; words are known to be cheesy, cowardly, or even just plain stupid. If a person was to explain something to someone else of the opposite or same sex, and couldn’t, and the words just weren’t arranged right coming out, how else could you communicate with that person. I bet a nice big painted picture would help your situation a lot. The proverb “actions speak louder then words” benefits many individuals in the corporate world, personal and public world.

In closing, there are obvious reasons why “actions speak louder then words.” Think of your own life and how many times you have been stuck in the most awkward situation where even the best joke in the world couldn’t get you out of the disaster you were bound to hit. In that situation, didn’t you just think to yourself, if I just “shut up for once” I wouldn’t be here right now. You could think that or you could find some sort of action whether it’s with the boss’ laptop (I don’t suggest that) or its with a pencil of the desk, you could escape that disaster. Also think of how many times you have started to speak and even though you don’t think its happening, your either walking back or fourth, or your hands are flying up and down as you talk, and or, your doing something like nodding, winking, twitching as you talk to represent your thoughts. The next time you are going somewhere, doing something, or talking, look at your hands as you talk, walk, or even jump, where are your hands?

Grey's Anatomy (A Crash Course)

Recently, Shauna and I decided to watch a show that everyone was talking about, some show about doctors or something like that. Well, we dove into the fictional world of Seattle Grace Hospital and was overwhelmed by what I found. A well casted show about life and death and love and relationships. Although it is frenetic and sometimes far fetched, viewers will find shows that test there beliefs and views from same sex relationships and matters of euthanasia. What I found were characters that I could relate to and people who in their roles were extremly believable.

In the course of a few weeks, exact time frame indeterminable, we watched from the beginning of the show and caught up to were they are right now. I have to say that I wish we could watch all the stories that they have in store for us now, but impatiently we will wait.

If you don’t realize each of the episodes find their title from either the name of a song or from a famous lyric line. Each episode also takes a theme or motif and develops it through not only the relationships but also through the surgeries they perform. Although at times the show can suffer from predictability, it seems to rise above this and say things that bring great meaning to the topic at hand.

Like any show on television, you have to sort through the good and the bad and allow yourself to see the conversations that can arise from quality shows like this. Although Lost is a great show in itself, where it thrives on mystery and shock. Grey’s finds it strength in the familiar and the emotions that drive us to make the decisions that we do.

When Izzie goes to such extreme measures to hopefully save the man that she loves…

When Burke proceeds with surgery when his hand is incapable of the fine strokes needed…

When Derek struggles with the infidelity of his marriage and the effort it takes to try to make it work again….

When Alex is faced with failure and his attitude to those around him increases…

When Addison makes the attempt to rebuild and to raise the white flag…

When George loses his father…

When Christine says “she’s my person” (refering to Meredith)…

When Meredith wants to give up because she is told that she is ORDINARY…
…you understand.

That’s what makes the show great, although there is stuff hidden in amongst the characters, there is nothing hidden for the audience. Every though word and emotion are there for the viewer to interpret and to ponder. We do need more shows like this, where the attention to detail is second to none and they understand the material that they are presenting.

Things I Learned from Spiderman Part One

Spiderman 3 comes out this summer and I know that there are many people who are looking forward to it. I am one of those people but not for the reasons you may think. Yeah there is the complete geek out factor, to get to see characters come to life on the screen. However to me it is more than that, I have a deep found love for the character of Peter Parker and Spiderman. Each represent two sides of a coin, a person who on one side seems powerless, for years he could not get the girl and then the other using his wits and powers to defeat sometime impossible odds. Yet there is a dichotomy found in the coexistence that serves to inspire and empower the other. Where as the strength in Spiderman gives courage to Peter, and Peter's humanity that gives Spiderman his heart.

Arguably Spiderman is up there with the likes of Superman and Batman, but it is Spiderman's empathy that sets him apart from the other two. Where as Superman cannot always understand the emotions and pain of those around him; Batman doesnt seem to care at all, although he has a heart he tends to keep himself removed and unattached, Spiderman cannot divorce himself from the choices he makes and the impact that they have on villain and friend alike.

"...with great power comes great responsibility!" Peter's uncle told him when he was young and those words still haunt him. They serve as a warning and a charge for Peter. Do not take choices that you make lightly...for they will impact you and those around you. Power and what we do with it will define us and what others think of us. So when those opportunties present themselves work to change the world a day at a time.

Peter until recently (I am referring to events this past summer in the comics) has always had a secret identity. He hid his alter-ego for fear of what would happen if friends and enemies found out. Would they no longer care for him, would the ones he love be in danger from enemies that would go to his weakest link. The times that Peter has shown the most anger is when those around him have been hurt, and has walked the line sometimes in terms of revenge and murder. As of yet Peter has not killed anyone in the comics directly. He has not crossed that line and it will be interesting if the comics ever decide to explore it. The majority of the time Peter does what he does because he has no other choice, he understands his place in the world. There have also been times where Peter has attempted to walk away from it all. To shun the responsibility and to ignore the power. Alas, it is to no avail and he cannot run fast enough as he is faced with the evil in the world around him.

I share this today because...a long time ago now I lived in Scotland and discovered Spiderman for the first time. At the time Marvel was releasing only a select few titles Xmen, Secret Wars and Spiderman. I started collecting them for three years and anticipated the arrival of the next issue like it was food and I hadn't eaten for weeks. It was here that I learned how to write and fell in love with the beauty of story. There is something very different about reading an ongoing comic as opposed to a novel. (although I definitely love novels as well) In comics the story is rarely complete it is just another page in the life of the characters. Wouldn't it be great if you could find out what happens after the pages are complete.

Spiderman started my thinking of the human condition, morality, ethics and matters of the heart. I have only started to understand this connection. I will reflect more on what Spiderman has done for me since I was only 8 years old in weeks to come. (don't worry I'll share other stuff too!"

"This is my gift...it is my curse." Peter Parker

What to do? What to do? What to do?

What to do, what to do, what to do???
I am sure you have all had days where things are either going so great or so awful that you just freeze in your spot. Although we may face trials and celebrations on a daily basis but what do we do when a decision has to be made and we don’t know which way is up because our head is spinning with the apparent weight of the world around us. It can severly limit the direction that we take if we take any action at all. The truth is we all go through seasons and sometimes we just break under all that stress.

I remember when I was in grade 11, I found out that I had a heart problem a birth defect that needed to be addressed because I was deeply fatigued and would fall asleep quite easily. My heart had what is called a coartation of the aorta (it was narrowed) so my heart was pumping blood inconsistently and my heart beat was irregular. I remember making the decision to go ahead with the surgery quite clearly (but thats a story for another day). If I had not had the surgery the doctors said that I would not have lived to be 25…I just recently celebrated my 31st bday…for this I am thankful and believed that it was a blessing.

Heres the crux! I had lost my voice and 30kg as a result of the surgery and had my head shaved a few weeks before (more stories for another day). I really looked like I was on my deathbed, not a pretty sight.I had my surgery September 1st going into my grade 12 year, for which I had been elected to Student Council’s VP (very good memories). School started back up on the 8th of September and I was back to school as of the 21st. I felt fine (sure I had 38 staples in my back holding me all together) as I so needed to be part of the team and the goings on at my favorite place at the time. Many friends at the time were concerned and kept a watchful eye at that time.

I was foolish to go back so soon, it is a decision I regret now…not because I am unhealthy which I am not but because I did not realize that even when you are overwhelmed your body mind and soul picks up everything that is happening to you. When I had my surgery although I was sleeping and on serious medication, my body was registering every cut, tug and stitch as it was being violated. Trust me I know it sounds weird but it is true. Ihad not given my body enough time to recover from the shock and trauma that it went through. I had not given enough time to grieve. Although I was healed and had a full recovery physically my heart was still sick…I just did not know it yet.

Fast forward to February the following year, I went through one of the darkest seasons of my life during that month. I became depressed more so than normal although I never let on…there were quite a few sad watery nights. The strange part was that I was aware of what was going on and apparently seemed incapable of doing anything about it. This went on for sometime until I realized that I had to do something, anything that might get the wheel moving because I had grinded to halt. I’ll be honest with you the only thing that seemed to make a difference was prayer and my relationship with God. The more that I spent time reading and having solace instead of filling my head with noise to try and drownout the other noises that were threatening to cave in on me the clearer my head became.

The reason why I share this today is that I have to remind myself to continue to do what works for me…all too often it is easy to get distracted by more noise and as a result when we face those monumental decisions we freeze and stop. Every decision that we make influences the next, even what clothes we choose to wear can drastically change our day. For those who may read this and do not believe in God…that is ok…but maybe you should try some solace for a few moments everyday…I believe that if you do decisions that you must make will become easier.

“I can be changed by what happens to me. but i refuse to be reduced by it.”-Maya Angelou