Conflicts

Yep, I am actually turning to the Bible for blog posts now.

So today we were reading Colossians
Colossians 3
Rules for Christian Households
18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

Colossians 4
1Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

I think this was one of the passages used in the antebellum period (before the American Civil War) by Christians to justify having slaves and it really made me sad. A friend explained to me that it was telling the slaves to endure and work for God instead. It just frustrates me that we're being told to endure and just live with all the evil in the world, I mean currently there are still human-trafficking (modern day slavery) going on and people don't seem to care. It


Romans 7:
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

It seems that we do indeed have a dichotomy of a struggle between good and evil.

Too Idealistic?

So yes, I had a marathon of "Heroes" this weekend (all 23 episodes of season 1 and skipped around in season 2). So season 1 sort of lived up to expectations, I would have to say that the people I relate to the most would be the Petrelli brothers. I relate to Nathan because at one point he is told that he acts like he doesn't care because he cares too much and I can relate to Peter because he's a nurse and also able to love unconditionally. Though that might be a too biased view of myself (wait, how can we have an unbiased view of ourselves?)

Anyhow, I think I'm being idealistic of wanting the world being a better place. Like the old vanguards of the heroes group (with Lindeman, Petrelli and Kaito etc) it all turns into personal gains later and the world goes kaboom unless you had the skills to go back in time. Distrubingly, I realized what Lindeman said was true about how people usually united in grief/mourning/shock after devastating/unexpected disasters (9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Sichuan earthquake etc). This tendency for cohesiveness through suffereing is a rather interesting phenomenon.

I am probably too idealistic with my socialistic leanings of wanting a greater authority taking care of the people, perhaps that's one I'm so spiritual, I really wish that there was a greater authority watching over us. I want there to be justice and love in the world. I really liked how Charles in heroes said that it had to be Peter because in the end, love is all that matters and I liked what Peter said about at the end of our lives we realize that it is how many people we've touched in our lives that makes our lives great. Thus, when I die I hope it is going to be a big funeral. (I'm being morbid). That seems like a good place to end this post as any although I'm not sure it really was about idealism.

Heroes

Watching "Heroes" first season, you know that episode with Mr. Lindeman saying that people are usually united after tragedies.
Also in episode 23