Meow Meow Beenz

So right off the bat I am going to get right into what I am talking about, after of course a pictoral reference to Community.

This quote is from an episode surrounding the idea of a new social media app called Meow Meow Beenz. The app was based on rating people and very quickly people turned against each other and joined different groups based on their ratings. Not only does this reference have something to o with social media, I also think that it is a quite exaggerated view of how people use social media today.

People base their social status and their identity on how many likes they might get on an Instagram picture. In a Relevant Magazine article it said that social media has has caused people to become more "rude." We are creating people with split identities. One side is able to say whatever they want with the protection of some form anonymity. While the other side is not able to stand up for what they believe in.

All this being said, I don't think this "split personality" isn't necessarily permanent. I think that this is where culture is headed and we can learnt to adjust to this curve, especially when it comes to Christianity. Social media is a great way to reach people with the Gospel. Of course the church tends to be about 10 years behind on everything so that could be an obstacle but in due time I think social media can be used as a powerful tool in reaching the lost.

Here is a link to another Relevant magazine article that explains some ground rules for ministers on social media:
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/next/blog/6-main-slideshow/1264-7-ways-pastors-fail-at-social-media

God Bless,

Blake Anthony

Pop Pop!

So I'm back at it, and I genuinely hate to say it but I may be enjoying blogging. Not because I consider myself a deep person with really awesome thoughts that everyone should listen too. Instead it is because I consider myself a sarcastic person with some somewhat funny thoughts, and although I may sometimes hide behind the jokes if you really dissect the sarcasm there could be some thing to think about. Who knows?

So onto the homework assignment. As Magnitude once said,

There are probably two questions you're thinking right now. The first being, is this dude ever going to run out of Community references? The answer to that is a resounding NO! The second question being, what does this Community reference have to do with anything? The answer to that is that Magnitude, pictured above, is a one-man party. This means that I will be blogging about partying/drugs/alcohol today.

This blog is not going to be about my opinions on whether or not any three of these things are wrong, instead I want to ask, why do people do them? 

My thoughts were sparked by an awesome article that was written by Jon Foreman for Huffington Post. The link is here if you are interested in reading it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-foreman/when-we-come-alive_b_5793222.html

The article talks about what it means to come alive, to really live, to really breathe. From my perspective and observation many people do these things because they are looking for some sort of fulfillment in life. They haven't been able to find anything else that completes them so they turn to artificial fulfillment. A quick high, and fleeting moment of false completion. 

Society today is very self-focused, we can't seem to see outside of our little bubbles. We try and find wholeness within ourselves and/or with a substance because that substance might seem more real and genuine then anything else.

I think we need to turn towards Christ to find true fulfillment and to find never ending love and grace. We don't need to look at another empty bottle and reach for another thinking that "this one is going to be the answer, this one is going to fulfill me for good."

 Instead we can be filled with strength and love that not only fills us but overflows and spills out of our bubble and infects the people around us. 

God Bless,

Blake Anthony

Ha, Gay!

This is my very first blog post, and frankly I never thought that sentence would ever be typed by me. There are a few things I would like to be upfront about before I get into things. First, this is for a class so I'm doing this for a grade. Second, I will be talking about some pretty controversial topics and I will be talking about them through the point of view of a born again Christian. This means that I am basing my views on the Bible and the Biblical authors. Lastly, since this is for a class I am not going to be responding to any comments whether they are negative or positive.

So now that you've made it this far you are probably wondering what I am going to be posting about and I think Senor Chang said it best when he said

That's right I'm talking about Homosexuality. This topic has been a hot topic in society and a controversial one in the church. There has been a lot of division in the church because some people have taken the stance that the church should accept same sex couples, and on the other end of the spectrum there are people who want to bring back some of the Old Testament laws and stone anyone who happens to shop at H&M, because everyone knows that H&M is a gateway clothing line.

Besides these two groups there is a large group of people who probably fall somewhere in the middle, in the "I still am not sure about the whole thing" group. This is a topic I personally have wrestled with for a while so I would probably put my self in that middle group.

 I do have a definite opinion on the subject, but it is still something that I think and rethink about from time to time. This opinion being that homosexuality is a sin as clearly defined in the Word of God. I would however agree with the phrase "I was born this way" in the sense that according to the Bible all people are born into sin and in one way or another are subject to its grip. I don't think that this means that there is some sort of gay gene or that God made someone gay I think this means that we are all sinners and each struggle in our own ways with sin.

I think that the church doesn't really have any idea on how to properly handle the situation so they respond in the only way that they historically know how to do. With legalism, and I hate to say it but hatred and unfortunately this means that anyone and everyone who is part of the church gets lumped into this heaving mass of bigotry.

I want to be part of the church that responds in love, and when I say love I mean true Christ-like love. To be clear loving doesn't mean acceptance of a lifestyle that does not line up with the Word of God. God does not accept any form of sin, not even my own. This is why I want to love, because Christ first loved me despite my shortcomings and I want others to be able to experience this love.

This seems harsh, but the simple fact is we are all dirty, lousy sinners and without Christ we are lost.

I follow an awesome web-comic called adam4d.com and he made a response to a book that was recently written called "God and The Gay Christian" and I think that it beautifully sums up everything that I said or tried to say in a way more efficient manner, so check it out below:

http://adam4d.com/gay-christian/

Over all I think the church needs to take the necessary steps to true understand homosexuality and respond to it in the way that Christ would and that is all that I am going to say on the subject.

God Bless,

Blake Anthony