tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78183693896256020602011-09-22T21:17:09.090-07:00Shadows can look different to different people and many times we stare at them to try and figure out what it is. Life is full of shadows and each person has his/her own idea of what those shadows are, and that is what makes life great!!Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-2007625831117633452011-05-20T18:33:00.000-07:002011-05-20T18:36:55.706-07:00

My own background used to teach similar ideas, and probably still does. I have moved on from thinking this way and have redefined my thoughts on "the end" which I would like to share. I would say that I am a Christian, even though when I say the word, I immediately think "someone who is going to heaven when he dies" which, for all intents and purposes, I do not believe is biblical. I also do not

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-37536242336976514302011-05-20T18:31:00.000-07:002011-05-20T18:35:23.488-07:00

Ok, I know it's been a long time since I wrote last but I feel that in light of all the recent talk about the end of the world tomorrow (May 21, 2011) I thought that I should offer my own perspective. Whenever people talk about the "end" there are different reactions, generally it's either "Wow! These people are nuts!" or "They might be right, so let's get our shit together." I would say that I

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-56698910371650696572011-03-06T16:05:00.001-08:002011-03-06T16:39:11.927-08:00

I've got a few things to think about, my mind has been wrestling with this fear and doubt. All of my worries are now magnified and when I ponder I find I'm terrified. Everything will be alright. Life will not slow, even for a single thought. I think my brain has begun to rot. What happens if I do nothing and move on? Will new thoughts come with tomorrow's dawn? Everything will be alright

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-45563693791641747582010-08-20T10:14:00.000-07:002010-08-20T10:14:38.771-07:00

If you have any contact with society I'm sure that you have heard about President Obama's thoughts on the Muslim community building an Islamic center around "ground zero" in New York. I have heard a lot of people outraged at this action and the fact that the President does not condemn this is causing even more problems and anger. I understand why many people do not like this idea -- Islam has

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-32995692509385006742010-08-16T17:05:00.000-07:002010-08-16T17:17:42.414-07:00

For those of you that follow my blog, I wrote on peace and violence a while back (click here to read the post that started the series). During that four part series a few questions were raised: God's "violence" in the First Testament, Jesus mostly nonviolence, etc. Since then, I have been trying to work through those issues with friends and mentors, and although I do not have all the answers I

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-12057838751795557582010-06-27T10:21:00.000-07:002010-06-27T10:21:13.936-07:00

Drops of joy form these tears, comforting words blanket fears. The life we know must now shift, as it passes I'm left to drift. I do not float silent and alone, there are many friendships I have sown. I see a wave moving fast, I pray that it will go right past, because I fear it's awesome might, I cannot move or take flight. I hold fast to what I've sown, remembering how far we've grown, and as

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-26831977902228546982010-04-21T11:27:00.000-07:002010-04-21T11:27:02.295-07:00

Jesus message worked, although not in the way the people wanted with peace instead of violence, to deal with evil, and we can learn a whole lot if we follow that framing story instead of our own... Jesus entire kingdom message was/is counter intuitive. Instead of Jesus "picking up a sword" and fighting (which is what some read when they read Revelation, but is what I believe to be an inaccurate

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-18441822676281992352010-04-05T21:31:00.000-07:002010-04-05T21:31:41.036-07:00

I came across an interesting video on Brian McLaren's blog today that deals with issues that I have been discussing with friends for a while and in my Sociology class while working on my undergrad. You can watch this video and Brian's response here. I feel that I need to respond to, so here is my response: I'm a Social Justice Christian because I believe that the Gospel is more than just my

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-62839666054133025502010-04-04T00:30:00.000-07:002010-04-04T00:30:40.655-07:00

Over the last few weeks I have heard people talking about loved ones that have died, some of whom have died recently. My heart goes out to those people because it is very difficult to lose people that have been so very close to them. What does someone say to someone that has just lost a loved one? This is what I heard: "They are in a better place", "They are happier", "They no are no longer

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-22314735697032497892010-03-08T21:12:00.000-08:002010-03-08T21:12:12.594-08:00

Once we re-frame the Hebrew Scriptures it is time to re-frame the New Testament thought... My last post, which has generated quite a few responses through my Facebook post, has prompted me to open up this post with a response that I had to a friend of mine. If you have not yet, you can read my last post and the responses here. As I see it if we are to understand God, the Bible, and our role in

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-67251290257199228162010-02-17T10:36:00.000-08:002010-02-17T10:36:44.939-08:00

Recently I was discussing with a friend the concept of war/violence with regard to peace and he asked me if there was war in the Bible and I said that there was, but that too needs to be re-framed. When we view the Bible, generally people split it into two parts with the first part being referred to as the Old Testament and the second part being referred to as the New Testament. This in turn

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-27086336506821465412010-02-16T10:14:00.000-08:002010-02-16T10:21:45.571-08:00

People fascinate me, which is good because I got a degree that deals with people. One reason that I both enjoy and am frustrated with people is how we frame things. Let me explain this concept briefly: framing is essentially how we see the world and the people, places, and events within it. Generally no one has the same framing view as another person, your framing view is your own will continue

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-20669920225227212882010-01-05T23:49:00.000-08:002010-01-05T23:49:38.805-08:00

*NOTE TO THE READER* I know that my thoughts on life and religion are controversial but I do not write my words so as to cause dissension within the church or cause my fellow believers to stumble. I write to spur people to think critically about their beliefs and make them feel uncomfortable with where they are because that produces true beliefs instead of believing in tradition. I have never

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-70262701823668267212009-12-27T12:38:00.000-08:002009-12-27T12:39:38.684-08:00

I have been listening to some Christmas music and thinking about what meaning they have for us. One song in particular has caught my attention. Before I tell you the song I find it interesting that we can sing about peace one time a year and then pursue violence as a means to an end the rest of the year. Perhaps we should be praying for a less hypocritical spirit instead of us winning a unjust

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-45694909597946875532009-12-08T22:12:00.000-08:002009-12-08T22:12:48.732-08:00

Heaven has widely been thought of as the place where good people go when they die. I say good people because many religions talk about heaven as the place where good people go, although it has been associated the most with Christianity. I have many thoughts about heaven, but for the sake of time (and people's sanity) I shall discuss my thoughts based off of a recent status update that I had. The

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-58180543503088976462009-10-13T13:10:00.000-07:002009-10-13T14:01:17.806-07:00

A friend of mine actually spurred me to write this because of what he wrote. I totally agree with what my friend said, however I would still like to weigh in with my own thoughts. Living in a city were there is some sort of church or religious establishment nearly on every corner, I hear all sorts of talk about "end times" and that we are there now.In reality people have thought that they were in

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-35933430301283926322009-08-21T10:04:00.000-07:002009-08-21T10:36:52.273-07:00

It's been a while since my last entry, so you may be wondering what has been on my mind. Well let me tell ya, not much, actually a ton of things have been running through my wee little brain. A few week ago I posted a status update on Twitter/Facebook (modern technology for anyone who just thought that I was speaking in another language). The post went as follows: "Sin has been viewed as

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-12511571774111188362009-07-16T17:06:00.000-07:002009-07-16T17:08:08.438-07:00

In my 22 years of life I have come across many people, some of whom are still friends today and some whom are no longer directly in my life. It is funny how we use a term to justify our actions and treatment of others. I have heard a few people in my life say "Don't do that, that's what 'sinners' do" or "you can't hang out with them, they're 'sinners' and will bog you down under their 'sinfulness

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-73973393539071153012009-07-10T11:03:00.000-07:002009-07-10T11:05:26.318-07:00

I enjoy a good theological book, particularly any N. T. Wright books, and it always astonishes me that people begin to freak out when they see me reading something like that. I have had people come up to me and tell me to be careful because the theology in these books is not sound, which is a bunch of crap but that's for another time). Why are people so afraid of these views? The answer is simple

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-22351123776322911122009-07-10T08:47:00.000-07:002009-07-10T10:46:15.275-07:00

A while back I was having a discussion with some friends of mine about justice. It was a very interesting dialogue in that we all have different views on what that term looks like in action. In our discussion on justice, I brought up the notion that humanitarianism is a form of justice. Unfortunately the term has a certain connotation about what it actually means. Many people think that justice

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-54282613282782103382009-06-12T09:04:00.000-07:002009-06-14T21:13:00.379-07:00

Over the past couple of weeks (neigh in actuality about 2 months ish, but weeks makes me appear less like a nerd :-) I have been thinking about judgment, partially in line with my recent blogs on resurrection and those forms of concepts. The gospel, which contrary to popular belief, is not about heaven/hell/afterlife. Rather it is the proclamation that the King has won, Jesus the Messiah is ruler

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-7293623930834188762009-05-20T22:57:00.000-07:002009-05-20T23:00:28.187-07:00

Sociologists are people who look at society and see how it works, how the people within that society interact with each other. After analyzing, we understand how to make the world the way it was intended, with humans being stewards over creation, and people looking out for other people. God never intended there to be class distinction, sexism, racism, or any other ism. God is not, contrary to

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-41831738883263044792009-04-14T16:59:00.000-07:002009-04-15T22:37:41.673-07:00

Easter is an interesting time, usually a time when people, whether Christian or not, go to church. It is for that reason, that many church leaders talk about salvation.The other day was Easter and as most Easters go, or at least the ones that I have been to, there was talk of salvation in the sense of going to heaven or judgment in the sense of going to hell, yet there is usually no talk of

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-22029183661076061362009-04-06T21:53:00.000-07:002009-04-11T20:26:08.137-07:00

Through out my life I have always had other Christians, friends, family, even people I do not know, the lot of them offering answers to life's questions with simple Bible passages. Harmless and considerate, yet misunderstood! It was not until recently that I have been pondering over these inquiries, and have come to understand that when people use what they think they know, they are doing the

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-55454691608675278482009-04-05T16:12:00.001-07:002009-04-05T17:19:09.817-07:00

This morning was an interesting morning as most Sunday mornings are, but today was different, it is a week until Easter. In the midst of a chaotic rush of customers and drinks, I heard a group of people whom I assume had either just come from church or were on their way to church start talking about "how great it will be when this world is done and we are in 'heaven'". This thought is usually the

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-31127113942354800212009-02-25T11:52:00.000-08:002009-02-25T11:55:07.814-08:00

The other day, I had the chance to partake in a conversation about Justice with some friends. It is for that reason that I would like to open up the conversation to others, and then I will post my thoughts on the topic.1) What is your definition of Justice?2) What is our role in doing Justice, if we can?3) What is God's (or any other deity that you believe in) role in doing Justice?We cannot come

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-48099721738576122102009-01-29T13:55:00.000-08:002009-01-29T14:40:48.400-08:00

I found it appropriate that my first blog of 2009 should be on that deals with context. So many people made resolutions to change their life, whether that be weight loss, cut back on some pleasure, organize, etc. and another great way to change your life is to look at different aspects of the world around you in a new way. I have heard many people say that context is important, yet many of us do

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-58460900974670895462008-12-27T17:08:00.000-08:002008-12-28T20:07:36.118-08:00

This Christmas season has been a very interesting case of good will and charity in the midst of an economic crisis that has come to affect not only the poor and middle class, but also the rich. The story that I am about to tell gives me hope that we as a race, that is as humans, are not as bad as I thought that we were, especially here in the United States.My story begins about six months ago

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-66335087499153609772008-12-19T11:33:00.000-08:002008-12-19T17:45:41.298-08:00

For anyone that does not know me all that well, I enjoy watching movies, and because of the way my mind works, I cannot just look at movies simply for the joy of the movie itself. When I watch a movie I see parts that talk about Karl Marx's Conflict Theory, or Emile Durkheim's Functionalist Theory. I see how theology can be applied in a real world application, I know, I am a nerd!Anyway, on to

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-9301283104563627092008-12-01T19:41:00.000-08:002008-12-01T20:20:08.948-08:00

Last week was Thanksgiving, a time when friends and family members come together to celebrate how thankful they are for what they have and who is a part of their life. I am thankful for the people in my life, friends and family, who have journeyed with me through thick and thin and will continue down the road of life with me, for the memories that we have created, and for the laughs that we have

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-29806870553591572652008-10-04T16:57:00.000-07:002008-10-08T16:08:01.526-07:00

I need to start this with a note: this is only for me, I am not saying that anyone has to vote the way that I am going to vote, I will not push my opinion on you, and so please do not push your opinion on me.I believe that the United States needs to do something different in order to regain the respect of the world and make sure that we have a future. I believe that Barack Obama is the person who

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-6280320595254703402008-09-23T12:40:00.000-07:002008-09-23T13:38:51.427-07:00

In the past few weeks, I have heard and even participated in different conversations about women, and their roles in society. These conversations stem from many different places, concepts, and beliefs, of which I will try to address. Some words that we use have a negative connotation, like the word "feminism," which has come to mean something totally different than it was ever intended to mean.

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-14382261081084886442008-09-15T10:31:00.000-07:002008-09-21T21:16:45.916-07:00

Movie Review: First off, the movie The Dark Knight totally rocks! If you have not seen it yet, you should, even if you have seen go see it again!I have seen it twice and have enjoyed it both times! It is a powerful movie that will take you to places you never thought that you would go, that is if you will let you mind go there. It is a long movie so be prepared to sit for a long time but it is

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-31395723521409818062008-09-09T13:08:00.000-07:002008-09-09T13:10:10.184-07:00

If what we knew to be true was not would we still believe that which is wrong because it's easy or would we search for something new? Think about it for a moment. Recently I have been struggling with a few questions that will form into later blogs/notes, but for now I would like to discuss just one of those questions (sorry Mike, it's not the one about the Batman movie, I'm still letting my

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-91120218517644399732008-09-09T13:07:00.000-07:002008-09-09T13:08:49.912-07:00

Recently in my wanderings, I have been thinking about boundaries and more precisely the power of the thought of boundaries. We all have boundaries (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, sexual, etc.) and it is easy to see the affects of these boundaries by how people act and think or rather how they do not. There are boundaries that are imposed by others, mainly those in control, that keep

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-87792507593743021772008-09-09T13:06:00.000-07:002008-09-09T13:07:37.438-07:00

Recently in my Deviant Behavior class we have been talking about different kinds of abuse. Many people have heard of physical abuse, mental abuse, and emotional abuse, but not many people have heard of spiritual abuse. This is something that seems to be a fairly new concept and one in which I believe can be just as damaging as the others and even more so. A friend of mine gave me this website

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7818369389625602060.post-39944167081382393442008-09-09T13:03:00.000-07:002008-09-09T13:06:00.613-07:00

Alright for those of you who read my blogs may know that my titles have been very, umm, starbucks. I have been struggling with changing the titles of my blogs for a while so I think I'm going to stick with this one. I chose "Staring at Shadows" because shadows can look different to different people and many times we stare at them to try and figure out what it is. Life is full of shadows and each

Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09113930797898599098noreply@blogger.com0