Looking for hope in a dying world.

With the stronger trend towards secularism and moral decrepitude in the United States, as well as a weakened church, I find it easier to understand just why so many people think that Jesus Christ will return in their lifetime. Namely, that this conclusion can be attributed to wishful thinking. I attribute my own recent feelings of anxiety both to this decline and the fact that my own personal moral weaknesses act not only as a reflection of America's moral decline, but also a possible indication that even Christianity might not be capable of saving it.

The modern church is shallow and the modern Christian is uneducated at best. We can already see the tole that this is taking on the American people. Recent surveys (http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/260-most-american-christians-do-not-believe-that-satan-or-the-holy-spirit-exis) have shown that most Christians do not understand what Christianity actually is. Many critics of Christianity have little understanding of what they criticize, but how is this to be of any surprise when its proponents don't have an understanding of it either?

Our modern society relies too much on pleasure and not enough on thought. When someone with as much of a poor understanding of logic as Richard Dawkins is being lauded as great intellectual giant, it is safe to say that we are in serious trouble. Having read much of the God Delusion, I can say that if that man ever had a meaningful thought regarding religion/philosophy, it died of loneliness.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to get at in this message, because I see no solution to our problems. I've tried to make an effort towards the cause of Christ through online debate, but I'm coming more and more to the realization that arguing with idiots over the internet doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. Over the past month I've drifted between anxiety, shame, and nihilism. I'm feeling somewhat better after this diatribe, but have little comfort as I know I'll likely feel just as bad in due time.

Disneyland Photoblog - Featuring the Submarine Voyage

Hi all! Over break I made a day trip to Disneyland and spent part of my afternoon photographing the submarine lagoon in Tomorrowland. Those pics as well as a few others are included below.







That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed them!
T.H. Excellence

Immediate reflections on the debate.

Ummm.....what the hell was wrong with Christopher Hitchens? Was he hung over? This was not the debater who flipped off the audience on the Bill Maher Show. This was not the debater who said of of the late Jerry Falwell, "Give the man an enema and you could bury him in a matchbox." The man who debated William Lane Craig tonight was a slow, stupid, timid blob with the presence of Richard Nixon during the Nixon/Kennedy debates.

Of the five arguments that Craig put forward, Hitchens only addressed three. Sort of. He responded to the cosmological argument by saying that scientists were unsure of something that Craig demonstrated they clearly were. Of the fine-tuning argument, Hitchens only made non-sequiters about things that he perceived to be examples of bad design in the universe, ignoring the scientifically supported examples that Craig put forward. Finally, Hitchens was incapable of even understanding the moral argument that Craig put forward. Hitchens seemed to be under the impression that Craig was arguing that Christianity automatically makes a person behave more morally, when Craig was really arguing that objective morality can only come from a God. Despite the many times that Craig explained this, Hitchens never really understood. This was all rounded out when Hitchens decided to waive his final rebuttal time, deliberatly leaving Craig with the last word.

I don't see how anyone, athiest or otherwise, could possibly think that Hitchens did not lose. As much as I hate to say it, I really don't think that is a good thing. An athiest watching will likely only get the impression from this debate that Hitchens is wrong, not necessarily that Craig is right. The desired victory here was one of the defeat of a powerful oppenent. This would truly show the strength of Christian Apologetics. As it turned out, however, the battle just seen was an incredibly unremarkable one. Hitchens was obviously not on his game, and the atheist can easily see that. This was not a challenge for William Lane Craig, and christian apologetics looks all the weaker for it. I dunno, maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

Gods Among Us?

Just after submitting my last post here, a friend forwarded this video to me. The technology is very remarkable, and what is shown here is quite amazing! However, it also scares me a little bit. I'll explain why after the video.



So what do you think? Very cool? Very strange? Are you a little scared like me? I don't know what your thoughts are, but I think this could be too much power for mankind. Though the limits of the device aren't specified, it clearly has the potential to bring a seemingly unlimited amount of knowledge to the individual. Could we become gods of information? And amidst all this knowledge, is there any wisdom?

Tim Higley

The Future Has Arrived

"There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
And tomorrow is just a dream away!"

Such are the words sung throughout Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, a lasting tribute to the technologies borne out of man's efforts throughout the 20th century. Rotating around the unique theater, the audience follows an American family as they progress through the years and highlight the brand new inventions of each era. Each slow rotation brought the audience to a younger era in which life was a little simpler and easier thanks to the latest technology.

The show captured Walt's enthusiasm for tomorrow perfectly. He was a firm believer in progress, that is, the development of new technologies and ideas. He also recognized the sorry state of our world and believed that progress was the key to making the world a better place to live. With this dream in mind, Walt foresaw an advanced world, unified in peace. Had he lived a bit longer, he would have been able to complete his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or Epcot for short, an experimental city that would have served as the testing ground of new ideas for better societies.

So what exactly was Walt's vision for tomorrow? Better, easier lifestyles so mankind can slow down and enjoy himself more as well as the company of others. In the Carousel of Progress, the Mother of the family makes this evident throughout the different periods. When we first see her at the turn of the century, she is doing the laundry, a task that used to take two days but is now reduced to but five hours thanks to her new "wash day marvel". As progress moves on, however, exhausting chores such as this are reduced greatly by the new technologies being created every day. By the time we reached the 1940's, Mother has much more time free from chores and is able to perform extracurricular tasks around the house, such as creating a "rumpus room" for Father. Finally in the present day she is free from all work and joins Father at last to showcase progress in the modern age. Technology has made her life much easier and much more relaxed so now she has time for the things she enjoys doing.


Progress has moved on since Walt's day, and there is no doubt that mankind has an even easier, more relaxed lifestyle today. Digital technology has done for us what electricity did for the inhabitants of the early 20th century, and thanks to computers and the Internet we now have easy access to unlimited resources. We can quickly look up a piece of information thanks to Google, chat with friends whenever and wherever via Facebook, and order almost anything we need or want through Amazon.com. These tasks have never been easier than they are today. An easier lifestyle? Certainly. A better world? I'm not so sure.

Part of Walt's vision for tomorrow was world peace and unity. Not only did he hope man would have more time to enjoy himself but also to enjoy others. Where was Mother when she was finally free of all work? Right next to Father. Yet more and more progress seems to be encouraging us to do the opposite. Digital technology helped things move a lot more quickly partly by removing the middle man. You don't need to go to a library and deal with a librarian any more. You just need access to Google. The technology that has made our lives easier so we have more time with others has merely made us more alone, though we are all somehow more unified through the world wide web.

Is this a problem? You betcha! Humans aren't made to function alone. We all need the companionship of others in order to survive emotionally. Yet this companionship is becoming less and less practical every day, and in a world that's moving more and more quickly, anything that's not as practical as the next thing is quickly cut. Rest assured the human race will survive for a long time in the midst of digital technology, but it may not continue as we once knew it. In the absence of companionship, the human heart grows colder and colder. Slowly we will turn into nothing more than robots of flesh and blood, living lives of utter practicality with little emotion and little sensation. And thus will begin the end of the world.

"It's better for you
and it's better for me
It's better than everyone thought it would be
The future has arrived."

Tim Higley

Ever Wanted to be a Disneyland Cast Member?

Hey kids! Have you ever wanted to be a Disneyland cast member so you could help operate some of the most popular Disney attractions of all time? Well now you can! Themagical.nl hosts a variety of Internet-based simulations that allow you to take complete control of top rides such as Big Thunder Mountain and Tower of Terror! Just follow this link to Themagical.nl and you're on your way to making magic happen for guests from around the world!

Enjoy!
T.H. Excellence

Do we get charged less now that we live in a triple?

Problemo Numero Uno: We named him.
Issue The Second: He insists on free passage between our room and the outside.
Thirdly: We are allergic to him.
The Fourth (aha!): He sleeps in a basket that once held our crocheting, therefore displacing a heap of yarny goods.
The Fifth Element: His right hind leg is curled protectively against his belly at all times, resulting in a pathetic hobble and an inability to jump.
Six: He needs a bath.
Seventh Dilemma: He probably has fleas.
Number Eight: He sounds like he has a respiratory issue-- at the very least, he has a very silly purr.
Problem Nine: He is not litter-box trained.
Ten: We are going to keep him.

Fred Baby is curled up in a basket behind me as I write this, snoring away between a blanket and a pair of sweatpants. He is the poorest old slob with a name that I ever did see-- and he decided last night that he wanted to live with Sharon and me. And since he literally hasn't left my sight in ten hours, I think the ten reasons can be overlooked for now.