Warning:The following post is perhaps not for the faint of heart.
If you ask most people what they are thankful for having you are going to get a massive generalization. They will tell you the run of the mill things that will not be a surprise or at odds with most everyone that you ask. I'm going to go against the grain with this post. If you didn't find me strange before you might decide I'm insane after this, so it was nice knowing you.
I'm thankful for the ability to raise,kill, and eat my own food. There is a massive chasm in what we eat and how it gets to our plates. I've been blessed with the ability to close that gap a little, and hopefully will be able to do it more. So in the future essentially most everything I eat will be grown or raised at my house, by my hands. I never thought I'd be someone who was thankful for being able to kill anything, then I butchered my first chicken. (I don't count hunting/fishing because those animals are wild and are not raised by hand). It might be messy business but it is interesting to say the least. People would look at food much differently if they could have a hand in the entire process that it takes to go from tiny creature to ready to eat or tiny seed to producing plant.
At this point we go to a grocery store grab some cellophane wrapped meat and we go home. There is no knowledge of what you are eating or where it came from, it's essentially like grabbing fast food without the preservatives. I understand that the thought of killing an animal on your own makes plenty of people squeamish. But, from personal experience there is both a sense of pride and accomplishment at knowing what you are eating and how it was raised. I'm not talking about the sticker on a package, but full knowledge of what that animal ate,where it slept, how it was cared for and how it was killed. Most people don't want to know that but I think if they did that they would eat differently. Not that I'm encouraging you to become a vegetarian (I like meat and am looking forward to the day when I can butcher my first pig,cow, and sheep). It is just far more enjoyable to know that what you are eating has had no hormones or chemicals pumped into it and was not raised in a cage roughly the size of a shoe box and you can be sure of it because you raised it yourself.
Understand I'm not trying to guilt anyone or shame you because I still eat food from the grocery store. I don't own the land or the animals required to feed myself at this point. I just happen to know what it is like to raise an animal for the purpose of eating it. There's a startup in Seattle called Crowdcow that is allowing buyers to see the cow they will be eating before it is killed. That is a big deal,especially in this day in age where buying a cow for someone to raise isn't the norm. If you can't raise the cow knowing where it came from and how it was raised is important. It also connects you to the animal you are eating in a way that you aren't go to get by going to Mcdonald's or Burger King.
I told you I was going to go against the grain. Most people wouldn't think about killing anything to eat it, certainly not in a way that prompts gratitude. I am not most people. I'm grateful to have the opportunities that I do.
(Irrelevant to the fact of killing animals but I also greatly enjoy my garden and it is usually more labor intensive than raising animals except on days I'm cleaning pens. Animals require food,water,shelter, and making sure they are alive. Plants require so much more, especially if you plant a lot of things)
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
The Sokovia Accords and Persecution
Spoiler Alert: This blog post is prompted by the plot of Captain America:Civil War. If you've not seen it then I'm breaking down the main plot but if you've seen the trailers it is nothing that you don't already know.
You've been warned.
I'm not the type of person to just go and see a movie. I dissect it. I'm a writer and I read into things when I experience them. This includes movies. I pick apart plot lines and dialogue and let it roll around in my brain until ideas are formed. If you've read this blog for awhile you will have seen the results of this in the form of posts on takeaways from 42:More Than a Simple Baseball Movie , It Means Hope: My takeaway from Man of Steel , The Hero Complex and the Common Man (The Amazing Spider-man 2) , The Good Lie, American Sniper. When I saw Captain America:Civil War last Thursday night all this filled my head.
The basis of this new movie (the best superhero movie I've ever seen) is that the Avengers have caused massive amounts of damage and very high civilian casualties. The result of all of it is the powers that be have decided that super powered beings needed to be registered and controlled. This idea becomes the Sokovia Accords and essentially gives various governments control of where these men and women can help and how they can employ the gifts they have for the greater good of mankind. Therein lies the problem, Captain America and his gang are against the idea (the guy fought Hitler and saw what happened when government had too much power) and Iron-Man and those who side with him agree with the Accords and they sign. It becomes an us against them fiasco etc etc and you get awesome fights because of it.
Now, this is where the persecution part of the title comes into play. It is no surprise that our brothers and sisters around the world do not have the freedoms we do when it comes to worshiping and sharing our faith with others. But, as laws are quickly changing here in the states that do not in general favor the Christian faith (we are quickly becoming a minority). The idea that something like the Sokovia Accords could be put into practice isn't altogether outlandish. You need only to look at the Chinese state sanctioned three-fold patriotic movement and the 'churches' that have come from it to see that. These are places that are controlled by the government. What is taught is not God's word but propaganda that cannot be disputed. Daring to teach the actual gospel is asking to be thrown into prison or worse.
A law being passed that would require Christians to identify themselves and worship in specific places with rigid sermons and not evangelize etc is not actually out of the realm of possibility. The Church would no doubt look much different because it would show exactly who the true followers of Christ are akin to the Secret Churches around the world. Much like the Avengers and the Sokovia Accords it would likely rip churches and families apart. Some would agree and register, others wouldn't bow to the law and would be by the eyes of the law, criminals.
I actually attended our youth choir's musical tonight that dealt with this exact scenario, Christianity was outlawed and what was happening in the musical was the result. A bunch of teenagers and families who loved Christ far more than their own freedom,lives, and reputations and faced the consequences because of their choice to break the law.
While I'm not saying all this to try and convince you that we are all going to be considered criminals in the coming times I am pointing out that it's a possibility. After all, persecution is a promise.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death."-Matthew 10:16-22
Persecution is the best way to weed out those who simply say they follow Christ. Those who endure it will do so by hanging on the promise of Christ that it is identifying them with Him and His sacrifice. When things get hard or scary it will get easy to just fall away and be like everyone else. That is easy now, it will be even easier when the threat of prison or death is tacked onto the name 'Christian'.
If such a thing were to happen there is no doubt in my mind that the Church would flourish in America. The proof of that is in the places were such evident and outspoken faith gets you killed. These are the places where the gospel is changing lives, where there is risk, where faith costs more than harsh words. Take away the perfect buildings and traditions we've built and give us only the gospel and it isn't hard to imagine a people that cling to God because He is all they have. Worshiping him comes with risks but it also comes with rewards, more of Him.
Like I said I read into things. I'm sure that the Russo brothers didn't intend for this to be the message of Civil War. But, fiction is scariest when it is tinged with just enough reality to make it possible.
You've been warned.
I'm not the type of person to just go and see a movie. I dissect it. I'm a writer and I read into things when I experience them. This includes movies. I pick apart plot lines and dialogue and let it roll around in my brain until ideas are formed. If you've read this blog for awhile you will have seen the results of this in the form of posts on takeaways from 42:More Than a Simple Baseball Movie , It Means Hope: My takeaway from Man of Steel , The Hero Complex and the Common Man (The Amazing Spider-man 2) , The Good Lie, American Sniper. When I saw Captain America:Civil War last Thursday night all this filled my head.
The basis of this new movie (the best superhero movie I've ever seen) is that the Avengers have caused massive amounts of damage and very high civilian casualties. The result of all of it is the powers that be have decided that super powered beings needed to be registered and controlled. This idea becomes the Sokovia Accords and essentially gives various governments control of where these men and women can help and how they can employ the gifts they have for the greater good of mankind. Therein lies the problem, Captain America and his gang are against the idea (the guy fought Hitler and saw what happened when government had too much power) and Iron-Man and those who side with him agree with the Accords and they sign. It becomes an us against them fiasco etc etc and you get awesome fights because of it.
Now, this is where the persecution part of the title comes into play. It is no surprise that our brothers and sisters around the world do not have the freedoms we do when it comes to worshiping and sharing our faith with others. But, as laws are quickly changing here in the states that do not in general favor the Christian faith (we are quickly becoming a minority). The idea that something like the Sokovia Accords could be put into practice isn't altogether outlandish. You need only to look at the Chinese state sanctioned three-fold patriotic movement and the 'churches' that have come from it to see that. These are places that are controlled by the government. What is taught is not God's word but propaganda that cannot be disputed. Daring to teach the actual gospel is asking to be thrown into prison or worse.
A law being passed that would require Christians to identify themselves and worship in specific places with rigid sermons and not evangelize etc is not actually out of the realm of possibility. The Church would no doubt look much different because it would show exactly who the true followers of Christ are akin to the Secret Churches around the world. Much like the Avengers and the Sokovia Accords it would likely rip churches and families apart. Some would agree and register, others wouldn't bow to the law and would be by the eyes of the law, criminals.
I actually attended our youth choir's musical tonight that dealt with this exact scenario, Christianity was outlawed and what was happening in the musical was the result. A bunch of teenagers and families who loved Christ far more than their own freedom,lives, and reputations and faced the consequences because of their choice to break the law.
While I'm not saying all this to try and convince you that we are all going to be considered criminals in the coming times I am pointing out that it's a possibility. After all, persecution is a promise.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death."-Matthew 10:16-22
Persecution is the best way to weed out those who simply say they follow Christ. Those who endure it will do so by hanging on the promise of Christ that it is identifying them with Him and His sacrifice. When things get hard or scary it will get easy to just fall away and be like everyone else. That is easy now, it will be even easier when the threat of prison or death is tacked onto the name 'Christian'.
If such a thing were to happen there is no doubt in my mind that the Church would flourish in America. The proof of that is in the places were such evident and outspoken faith gets you killed. These are the places where the gospel is changing lives, where there is risk, where faith costs more than harsh words. Take away the perfect buildings and traditions we've built and give us only the gospel and it isn't hard to imagine a people that cling to God because He is all they have. Worshiping him comes with risks but it also comes with rewards, more of Him.
Like I said I read into things. I'm sure that the Russo brothers didn't intend for this to be the message of Civil War. But, fiction is scariest when it is tinged with just enough reality to make it possible.
For what it's worth #TeamCap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)