"Oh, how He...

...loves us."

-John Mark McMillan

I received this as an email from my dear grandmother. I really don't usually like reading these things, but I actually enjoyed this one. hahaha.

'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.' The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. 'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?' 'Yes sir, 'the student says. 'So you believe in God?' 'Absolutely.' 'Is God good?' 'Sure! God's good.' 'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?' 'Yes' 'Are you good or evil?' 'The Bible says I'm evil.' The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!’ He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?' 'Yes sir, I would.' 'So you're good...!' 'I wouldn't say that.' 'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.' The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?' The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?' 'Er..yes,' the student says. 'Is Satan good?' The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.' 'Then where does Satan come from?' The student falters. 'From God' 'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?' 'Yes, sir..' 'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?' 'Yes' 'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.' Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?' The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.' 'So who created them?' The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them?' There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?' The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.' The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?' 'No sir. I've never seen Him.' 'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?' 'No, sir, I have not..' 'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?' 'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.' 'Yet you still believe in him?' 'Yes' 'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist... What do you say to that, son?' 'Nothing,' the student replies.. 'I only have my faith.' 'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.' The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?' 'Yes.’ 'And is there such a thing as cold?' 'Yes, son, there's cold too.' 'No sir, there isn't.' The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.' Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer. 'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?' 'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation.. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?' 'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?' The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?' 'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.' The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can you explain how?' 'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains.. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of lif e is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor.. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?' 'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.' 'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?' The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed. 'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?' The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all d ue respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?' Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I Guess you'll have to take them on faith.' 'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in The multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.' To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.' The professor sat down. PS: the s tudent was Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein wrote a book titled God vs. Science in 1921... So there you have it. Enjoy your day. :) peace.

This is truly great.

A friend of mine posted a video on facebook that I felt needed to be shared with everyone. Even though I don't think anyone else other than maybe two people read this blog, I feel it is my civic and cyber duty to do my best to spread this greatness. So watch this. It is...SO MOVING.

I, for one, get goosebumps for every single reaction every single time I watch this video. Or any time the goal is replayed on the television. Landon Donovan, you are my HERO! And whoever made this video, you are also my hero. Well done.

So now that we've conquered our bracket in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we're onto bigger and better and more challenging things! The Round of Sixteen. Whooo! This should be interesting. Especially since we will be matched up against Ghana - who, in the 2006 World Cup knocked us out of the tournament. But I think it's safe to say that not only Donovan, but the entire USA Men's soccer team is more mature and prepared for this challenge. Come on boys, make us proud(er)!!

WE HAVE FAITH! Go get 'em.

On another note, a few friends and I decided it would be fun to wake up at 6:30am this morning to watch the Brazil/Portugal game. Naturally, we assumed that it would be a super riveting game, as Brazil & Portugal are two of the best teams in the world. But I guess what it actually means is that since they are two of the best teams in the word, they already defeated the other teams in their bracket (Ivory Coast & North Korea). And since they already did so well with so many points, I guess what that means is they don't have to worry too much about this game because they're already moving on. And so I guess what that means is they decided to just play an easy game against each other because they're both moving on anyhow (not a confirmed fact, just speculation). And that in turn, means nothing exciting happening in the entire game. And I guess what that means is that some people fall asleep during the second half. And I guess that all of the previously stated inferences end up in one simple equation:

Brazil + Portugal = waste of time and sleep

Therefore, I would have to still say...GO USA! And I'm excited to see the next games coming up in the Round of Sixteen. Not to mention that neither of the nations from last tournament's championship game, France & Italy, will be represented. Whew! Imagine that. And Ghana is the only team to represent the African continent at this point? I guess we'll have to see how it all goes. Tune in to the USA/Ghana game tomorrow, Saturday, June 26, at 2pm ET, 11am PT and support our country in this tournament soccer match!

peace. :)

"This magic...

...MOMENT." - The Drifters

WOW. So...I'm a big soccer fan; my whole family is. And as any slightly abnormal American family, we all got up early to watch what could possibly have been the last USA game of the FIFA World Cup this year. And let's be honest - things were looking grim. So many chances, all denied and rejected. Even though the offsides call was slightly bogus. It was a pretty fair game, until near the end when drama and flopping started picking up in a race to the finish.

but OH. MY. NOLA. Landon Donovan...he never fails! JEEPERS. Really, though. I was screaming for at least two minutes. I can barely swallow without feeling the sting of a sore throat. hahaha.

In the ninety-freakin'-first minute. IN OVERTIME. He came through! (Like he always does.)

try and tell me that THAT^^ is not amazing. So calm...so humble...with so much FINESSE!

What a great man. Seriously, with all the missed opportunities earlier in the game with over-blasting shots and mistouches...none of it matters anymore. Because we WON! Plus, this is awesome because I chose the USA & England to move on from that bracket. Haha.

US Men's Soccer Team: you guys are impressing me and surprising me. Don't stop now. :)

On another note, I'm done with high school. Therefore, I win. WOOP! :D

"Imma letchu...

...finish, but..." - Kanye West
I just have one quick thing to make a public declaration to the internet world of vast cyberspace as I am deep in thought during my homework time.
I LIKE PEOPLE.
PEOPLE NEED HUMAN INTERACTION TO SURVIVE.
THIS WORLD JUST KEEPS GETTING MORE RIDICULOUS. haha.
sorry...I got a slightly discomforted when I read this article:

lalalalala. I'm an article and I'm ridiculous! hehehe. ;)

take it in, people. Now, don't worry. I realize this is also slightly ironic since I am writing this online on a blog where I never see or interact with humans face to face. But you get the idea. hahahahaha.

And I'm not saying this is a horrible idea, I just don't think it should become a very large enterprise...for the love and sake of humanity. This was just my initial, blown out of proportion reaction. :)

peace.