Saturday 11th August, 2007 @ 9:31 am
This week I’m gonna be away on a Scottish Scripture Union camp with a bunch of 13-18 year old kids/youth/young adults/whatever, singing some songs, doing some sport and outdoor activities and discussing some theology.
This means I’ll be unable to do any KDE work, as it’s my one week of the year when I am completely internetless and computerless all week and far too busy to use one even if I had one to access! When I get back I have two days till the end of Summer of Code and seven days till the KDE-PIM feature freeze on the 25th, also the same day that I need to drive about 500 miles down to Ipswich in a van with all my worldly possessions!
For those in Edinburgh, I’m having a party on the 22nd for my 23rd birthday/goodbye so I hope to see some of you there. For those in KDE, I hope I’ll see you plenty on IRC as I work frantically to get some of these features into the tree.
Before the freeze I’m planning on getting attachment and category support for journals working, attachment support working for my blog kresource so you can e.g attach an image to a journal, reference it inline and have it uploaded when the blog post is uploaded (needs MetaWeblog or better), and get a WYSIWYG HTML editor working for journals and POSSIBLY for all incidences e.g. also events and todos.
Better get my kit packed for the 150 minute drive up to Altnacriche (near Aviemore). See you in a week, Internet!
Posted in Christianity, My Life
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Saturday 2nd June, 2007 @ 2:50 am
I recently discovered a project in and around the Edinburgh region called The Lighthouse Bus.
Basically a church bought up an old double-decker bus, decked it out with nice kit and now use it for youth and adult outreach. I was reading about how recently they drove it into the centre of Edinburgh and gave a quiz and free alcohol to a bunch of students and then explained why.
No preaching, no judging, no pushing the image of “boring” Christians who can’t have a good time. I read about this sort of outreach and it makes me really happy. To often I feel Christians can completely fail to actually connect with people about why they have their faith, instead seeming a bit wierd or alien and as if they no longer can have a good time.
To those involved in this project: hats off to you and good work!
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Saturday 14th April, 2007 @ 3:18 am
People lately seem to like talking about “religion” being really dangerous, pointing to September the 11th as an example, then painting Christianity with the same brush and going “ooo, remember the Crusades!”.
It’s a bit ridiculous. The current anti-religion movement headed by people like Dawkins is basically anti-Islam but without the balls to say it.
Recently I read a GREAT comment on Slashdot about this very issue, so I’ll quote it.
Martin Scorsese releases a film that was mildly heretical to Christianity. Some Christians stand around with placards protesting. Some boycott his movie. Most yawned and flip the newspaper to page two.
The very same year Salman Rushdie publishes a book that is mildly heretical to Islam. He received death threats and had to go into hiding. Noted peace activist turned Mulsim, Cat “Peace Train” Stevens, affirms that Rushdie should be killed. A fatwah was issued against booksellers (I was one) selling the tome. To this day, Rushdie remains in hiding.
Over a decade later another movie was released that was mildly heretical to Christianity. A bunch of Christians boycotted it. A few sermons were preached from a few pulpits. That was it. Dale Brown and Tom Hanks made a lot of money.
Near the same time, a Danish newspaper publishes some cartoons, a few of which were mildly heretical to Islam. The Islamic world threw a shit fit, and engaged in violent protest for weeks. People died. Newpapers around the world tossed out principles held since the dawn of the Enlightenment and refused to print the cartoons.
An opera that is planning to portray the severed heads of religious leaders is cancelled out of fear of violence… not because of the head of Jesus, but because of the head of Mohammed.
Are you beginning to see the picture? Certainly Christianity has a checkered past, but it embraced the Enlightenment and Reformation. It has moved past its sins. But Islam remains rooted in a violent medieval mindset.
I used to think it was just a small group of fanatic extremist Muslims that were the problem. But then I started to realise that mainstream Islam was not condemning the fanatics. They were being awfully quiet. Where was the outcry from mainstream Islam over suicide bombings? Where was the outcry from mainstream Islam over Hamas and PLO thuggery? Where was the outcry from mainstream Islam over Wahabism? Over female genital mutilation? Over “honor” killings? Over the torture and murder of homosexuals?
Western Civilization needs to STOP pretending that Islam is a religion of peace. It needs to stop sheltering Islam in the blanket of political correctness. It needs to stop pretending that the camel isn’t in the tent. It needs to take a break from bashing Christianity and recognize where the real danger lies.
(by BrandyBruck)
Now, the latter paragraph I think is going a bit far.
I wouldn’t say Islam is a danger but instead I do agree the focus should be taken off Christianity. If people want to accuse world religions of being dangerous they should instead talk specifically about events of the last 10-20 years rather than ancient history and lumping other all faiths into the basket of terrorism. Modern Islamic terrorists seem to be more politically and racially motivated rather than religiously, the religion is just the tool used to brainwash them into suicide attacks. Without religion they’d still be killing innocent people they might just be less likely to sacrifice their own lives in doing so.
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Tuesday 16th January, 2007 @ 3:07 am
Someone asked me how I was today, and I actually had a long think, due to the encouragement of my pastor for Christians to answer honest, and answered honestly.
“Fantastic.”
I don’t know when I realised how happy I am, but I am truly blessed. I have a very heavy workload, but I’m on top of it, I made huge grounds with my project today, including doing something my supervisor reckoned I wouldn’t be able to accomplish in a month. I’ve got two flatmates who I get on really well with. I’ve got great friends at church and on my course. Most of all though, I’ve got the two best friends a man can have, Jesus and Lindsay (my beautiful girlfriend and soulmate).
People think it’s funny talking about having a relationship with Jesus, and, to be honest, if you aren’t a Christian, I full on give you permission to call me a wierdo for it, because it does sound strange. Since becoming a Christian almost 4 1/2 years ago now, my life seems to just get exponentially better each year, and I become more fulfulled and satisfied with my life today, rather than looking forward to some future event or relationship or job or possession I need to make everything right in my life.
Things are right now. Things are great now. My project may not be done, but it’s in progress. I’m far from perfect, but I’m growing and improving as a person each year. I’m a dick, but I’m becoming less of one. I’m not married to Lindsay, but, I hope, I will be one day. This doesn’t matter though because I’m happy now. Thank you to all my friends, my family, Jesus and Lindsay for making my life what it is. I wish as I go to bed is that more people might be as lucky as I am.
Night.
Posted in Christianity, My Life
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