Syncretism

Posted on April 19, 2008 by Steve Picray

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I get really irritated when someone tells me they believe in syncretism. I mean, believe what you want, that’s your right, but for goodness sake, PICK something and commit to it already.I had a patient last night at work, very sweet older lady who had broken her hip. She came to the hospital to get it fixed. I was taking care of her during her rehabilitation. At one point while I was in her room, she was watching the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox. Mr. O’Reilly was talking about how Bill Maher was making jokes about Catholicism. The patient made the comment that she didn’t think it was right to make fun of other religions. I agreed with her.

She then launched into an expression of her belief in syncretism. “I think God is like a tree,” she said. “There are many branches, but it’s still the same tree.” Up to this point, I really liked this lady. Imagine you meet someone, are getting to know them, you think the two of you could be friends, and then she says, “I loathe children,” or maybe, “All Republicans are flaming idiots,” (and you happen to be a Republican).

Syncretism. Syncretism is “the combination of different forms of belief or practice.” To syncretize is to “attempt to unite and harmonize especially without critical examination or logical unity.” (Merriam Webster’s Dictionary)

I especially like the part of the definition that says, “without critical examination or logical unity.” People spout their belief that “all roads lead to God,” or “God has many names.” The patient last night used that last one. I told her that I believe the Bible, and the Bible says that there is one God, and that He is not to be identified with other religion’s gods. She said, “Yes, there is only one God, and different religions worship him in different ways.” At this point I wanted to scream because her illogical and “feelings based” belief was making my head hurt.

I told her flat out, “The Bible says that there is one God, and that we are to worship Him alone. The Bible doesn’t state that all gods are summed up in our God. The Bible states that people who do not worship the God of the Bible are worshiping a “false god.” I gave her the example of a co-worker of mine. I said, “My co-worker is a Muslim.” Does she have the right to believe what she wants? Yes. Does that make her belief right? No. According to the Bible, if she dies, and she doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, she is going to Hell. I know it doesn’t feel good, it doesn’t sound fair, etc, but that’s the way God operates.” You cannot Jeffersonize the Bible. Either accept all of it’s teachings, or move on to some other (false) belief.

The Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias wrote a book called Jesus Among Other Gods. This book will make your head hurt, because it is so profound. In chapter one, he states, “All religions are not the same. All religions do not point to God. All religions do not say that all religions are the same. At the heart of every religion is an uncompromising commitment to a particular way of defining who God is or is not and accordingly, of defining life’s purpose. Anyone who claims that all religions are the same betrays not only an ignorance of all religions but also a caricatured view of even the best-known ones. Every religion at its core is exclusive.”
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Shaking Indiana

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Steve Picray

Well, they have been forecasting that “the big one” is imminent. This morning it finally hit. Except it was in the midwest instead of California.

Ok, I know, it was only 5.2 on the Richter scale. But it was the first time I have ever experienced an earthquake. It wasn’t impressive in scale, but for a first-timer, it was big enough.

I was at work, on the fifth floor of St Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. I was standing at the nurse’s station when the floor started to “bounce.” I described it to someone as “that feeling you get in a bad elevator when you reach your floor.” Except it went on for about thirty seconds. I remember wondering at the time if there was a problem with our generator or something. Then I thought, “is this an earthquake??” My next thought was, “If this is an earthquake, I should get under a doorway for safety.” Then I thought, “I’m on the fifth floor. If this building collapses, it doesn’t matter where I stand.” And then it was over. The news people took five minutes to figure out that this was an actual earthquake.

Some people will look at this earthquake and say, “See, God’s judgment is coming! It’s the end times!”. I’ll tell you, though; the return of Jesus Christ is no closer or farther away because of this earthquake than it was yesterday. What I mean is this: there is a specific point in time when the Lord will return. God has a timetable, and this earthquake may or may not be a sign of the imminence of His return. What do I see in this earthquake? A display of God’s awesome power.

Psalm 77:14-18 You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. You have by Your power redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows flashed here and there. The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

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Grandma’s Brownies

Posted on April 5, 2008 by Steve Picray

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Ok, so my mom makes these great brownies. I started making them for people at work, and everybody always wants to know how to make them. Here’s the recipe:Grandma’s Brownies:

Buy a box of brownies (I use Duncan Hines). Bake the brownies as directed on the box. When the brownies are done, pull them out of the oven and cover them with miniature marshmallows. Put them back in the oven for 3 or 4 minutes (until the marshmallows are soft). While they are softening, make the frosting. Pull out the brownies and cover with the frosting.

Frosting: Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in saucepan (I do this while the brownies are cooking). Add 1/8 cup milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1 tablespoon cocoa. Bring to slow boil on medium heat. When boiling starts, remove from heat, mix in 2 cups powdered sugar until smooth. Pour immediately over marshmallows. Allow to cool completely before serving. I mean it. Don’t eat any until they are cool. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Oh, and these brownies are addictive. And they will make you fat as a pig, but very popular.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Going Down with the Ship

Posted on March 24, 2008 by Steve Picray

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I watched “Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End” with my wife last week. I had been waiting for a long time to see this movie (since about 5 seconds after I finished watching “Dead Man’s Chest” in 2006). I was hoping for the same swashbuckling, romantic adventure comedy that the first two movies delivered. I was disappointed to say the least.The main problem with the movie was that there was way too much mysticism and obscure religion in it that had nothing to do with the story. The whole “Calypso” plotline was in there only to bring the “council of pirates” together. The whole goal of the pirates setting her free was so that she would crush their enemies. What did she do when they set her free? Started talking even more unintelligibly (as if that were possible), and then grew another 40 feet. Then she turned into a swarm of crabs who (mostly) fell overboard into the ocean. We are left to presume that she caused the worthless whirlpool (it was just eye candy, had absolutely no effect on anything in the movie…the sailors all ignored it.).

So, we are left with the question of: how does everyone end up? What is the end story for each of the main characters from the original movie?

    1. Captain Jack Sparrow: absolutely no progress. He started the first movie in a dinghy, looking for his ship/treasure/etc. He ends up the third movie in a dinghy, searching for his ship/treasure/etc. I guess this means that it’s par for the course for ole Jack Sparrow.
    2. Captain Barbossa: sailing on the Black Pearl, same as POTC, but without the curse. Actually, this is a pretty good ending for him.
    3. Will Turner: Starts the series as a blacksmith in love with a woman he can’t touch and working in a thankless job. He ends up the movie in love with a woman he can’t touch for ten years and bound to a job with a horrible vacation plan. He has to work ten years for every day off. Let’s see, that’s 3,650 days working, one day off. And that wife isn’t getting any younger. The fourth day he spends with her she will be 60 years old.
    4. Elizabeth Swann: Father’s dead, has no property, no livelihood, no friends, no prospects. Only asset: a husband who she gets to see one day every ten years. Actually, she doesn’t even have a husband, since he died right after they got married. “Til death do us part” applies, so she is a widow (even though he is “alive” again). Hopefully for her sake that “one day” with Will was enough to get her pregnant so she has somebody else, because she has nobody else.
    5. Norrington: dead.
    6. Governor Swann: dead.

One more miscellaneous point: as often as that eye popped out of Ragetti’s eye socket, you would think Barbossa would have hid it somewhere else, if it was so important.

Overall, I would say that this movie had some swashbuckling action in it, but it failed romantically, comedically, and in every other way I can think of. The main characters didn’t end up well (except for Barbossa, arguably). The two people you wanted to get together (Will and Elizabeth) did finally, but it was basically a one night stand, and then they are separated. I really enjoyed about 25 minutes of this movie (most of it having to do with Johnny Depp), but when a movie is 168 minutes long, 25 minutes just isn’t enough. Kim and Steve review? Two thumbs down.

EDIT: Kim tells me that I forgot to put in her opinion that parts of the movie made her feel like she was in a psych ward (what with all Cap’n Sparrow’s duplicates, being in jail with himself, eating his own brain, being in Davy Jones’ locker, licking rocks, etc). I said it was surreal, she said crazy.

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