A funny convo from freshman yr of college

Austin: "Kenny, who is better: Jesus or Tupac?"

Kenny: "hmm...I think they're even."

Austin: "Really? Why?"

Kenny: "Well for three reasons: First, both Jesus and Tupac's respective deaths brought reconciliation. When Tupac died it ended the East coast, West coast rivalry. Second, both leaders were killed by their enemies and their followers still believe they're alive and teaching. Finally, I'm pretty sure Tupac's 'To Live and Die In LA' saved my soul."

Austin: "So what does Heaven look like then?"

Kenny: "That's easy. Heaven is like Jesus, Tupac, the Buddha, John Lennon, and Mohammad sitting around a table drinking beer and eating fried chicken."

Austin: "That sounds like a Heaven I want to be a part of."

Kenny: "Me too, Austin. Me too."

Freestyle

I'm at a coffee shop just chillin. Coffee shops are for members of the "I'm a free spirit but like to conform to free spirit motifs". Everyone comes here looking the same, or at least attempting to capture that 'I belong in a 60s counter-culture movement'. Odd, if you look like other nonconformists you are cool, if you look like no one else you're crazy. Perhaps I'm just not cool enough to understand how counter-cultures or simply being counter-cultural works. But I assumed it meant you had to be different from everyone else. However, not so. Thick black glasses, v neck shirts, tight pants, coffee, and ironic t shirts are all part of the new youth counter culture. Yet I feel we are all trapped in the same cycle. Whether you wear and tie and go home everyday to a nice suburban home or live in the artsy inner city...we're all searching for meaning. I mean, what is an indie kid dancing in the rain like they read in a book or going to a local restaurant actually attempting to do? I suppose find meaning. Belonging. St. Augustine would say that they are searching to love and be loved. And isn't this the same as the person in the suburbs? The same search just with different clothes and language. We're all just fools, blind people searching for light. Our only hope is that somewhere along the way we find someone who understands. Who seeks to soothe our souls in this journey we call life. For me, I am learning to transcend the endless game of role creation. To understand that we are all the same, there is no difference. Whether you dance in the rain or watch a movie, all of us are simply searching for meaning. Our paths are diverse, but our search is the same. To love and to be loved.

Second thought

Is beauty in itself an attribute which emanates from God or is it when his energies are perfectly embodied? Does beauty exist on its own or is it found in the incarnation of God? Does beauty occur when heaven and earth harmonize? Do we recognize beauty when harmony is achieved among the energies of God or does it exist separately? In short, do truth and beauty radiate from God in the same way? Or are all attributes of God simply participatory on our side of heaven so that incarnation is the only medium by which we can experience them? In which case Christ is the highest expression of himself God can possibly make to humanity.

Random thought

Our concept of the proper relationship between scripture and tradition have always been pivotal in the history of Christianity. Indeed, the Protestant schism was founded upon the concept of Scripture as over and above tradition. I was thinking today that perhaps Scripture and Tradition should work hand in hand. I mean, whether you recognize it or not, tradition is often the lens through which we view Scripture. Although our heritage is "people of the Book" often tradition becomes pivotal. But we cannot allow tradition to become too overwhelming in what we do. Certainly this was the error of the religious leaders of Jesus' day and in our own. Ultimately, the teachings of Scripture and the practices of tradition are meant to be embodied. These things are meant to be incarnated. So perhaps as St. Maximus the Confessor would argue, the incarnation is a natural expression of God which must happen because according to his nature incarnation occurs. The incarnation of the divine attributes in Christ and reflected in our own process of incarnation is a fundamental principle of the universe.