Just done a quick scour through the links to the right, corrected some links, removed others, added a few. If you find a link that incorrect, missing, or dead please tell me. I think now almost all the websites I visit regularly are contained therein. Enjoy, laters.
The following is quite simply a series of short thoughts/ideas/musings that I have written at various points recently, they are of a religous nature and are meant to stimulate thought and discussion, please feel free to use them as you wish…
are we losing our ability to discuss and debate rationaliy, or have we descended into a culture where if our beliefs, ideas, lifestyle, are challenged or questionned we lash out unable to discern the difference between honest questioning and personal attacks
social action is not an added extra, and it is more than just “doing something” but also supporting financely, prayerfully, and behind the scenes
there is a difference between controlling and influencing politics
the word of God is more than just a book, even the bible
are we being hemmed in, or rather freed by the elimination of tradition and dogma
do we chat more, but talk less?
Isaiah 30:12-18
can we define God as being “love” when He is beyond comprehension, beyond our limited understanding of not only who and what God is, but also what love truly is
what are we doing, and why are we doing it, is it because of tradition or need?
can the addage “its not quantity but quality” be applied to the church and its congregations?
what should we do when the place we attend seems to offer fewer and fewer reasons for us to attend or feel connected?
there is no place for spiritual vegetarianism, or carnivorism, we must eat a balanced diet of everything even it means something we must chew and digest
doubts cannot always be wished away or denied until they go away sometimes we must seek the source out and work through the cause
we are all unique individuals yet we apply one set of rules/guidelines for learning, discipline, etc. We may be created as equals and deserve to be treated as such, but that does not mean we are all the same.
why is there a growing anti-intellectulism among Christian circles, our God created our minds, forged our desire to seek out truth and knowledge, took care in creating a world of infinite beauty and depth
Does revival mean chaos and disorder?
Does revival mean unusual behaviour?
Does revival mean “miracles” will happen, or rather should they not always be present on our churches?
Should revival instead take the form of social action and true community?
Has revival been put in a box as taking on a certain feeling or style?
Revivals all end, they all stop, revivals are temporary and are meant instead to led to a more permanent transformation of the greater community
Should Pentecost be seen as, or compared to, a revival, when it was the first outpouring, the birth of the church, not a revival?
Can the enemy use, or even send, revivals to their goals and ends, perhaps to divert us with wonders and worship instead of life, and world, changing lives and deeds?
Hope you find something in there that you can chew over
OK month for art, started my art class which has been very good so far… anyway heres a short list:
Couple of demons - here and here - quite good example of my digital concept work I think (for this month anyway)
Art Class - week one, two, three, and four - really enjoying this class its been really helpful and I will be taking more classes next term if I can
Love on Ice - rather happy with this, even if just because the ice looks good
Halloween Sketch - while I know a lot of people aren’t too keen on (and probably get worried by) my spikey art, of which this is a good example of, I thought I’d still pick it as its a good sketch.
Next month the art class continues and I have the All-Scotland Youth Concil where I am creating some art on the Sunday, as well as making a piece beforehand for use during the weekend… could be good… I hope
One of the sites that I frequent is Angry Zen Master, and a while back an offer was extended for its readers to submit answers to a series of questions so they could be “Certified Mighty” (original post). After a while I decided to submit my application which has been approved… so to speak, you can see it here.
RedBubble, the company I use to sell art prints etc, have broken a milestone of selling “100,000 masterpieces” and to celebrate they are offering two offers, one to the artists and one to everyone. The artist one is that they will double the mark up recieved (to a point), and for everyone there is the option of FREE shipping (but using this code: 100000masterpieces). Obviously this is a short term offer and only run until 23:59 on the 30th of October.
Also they’ve released a new widget to help act as a mini store front, I’ve installed it over on my other website but I thought I would show it here as well… of course there is no alteriour motive here at all Seriously though its a good time to buy stuff and there are some amazing artists there so go have a look.
Remorseful Zombie - while not my most “family friendly” image, its a zombie after all, it is a good photomanip and while I didn’t get into a “medal position” in the challenge I did get some votes and that’s encouraging.
Chaos - Something thats even more abstract than normal for me, kinda soft and fluffy looking
Rescued from the Mire - rather pleased with this one, used a source image to get the proportions more accurate in the person, but I really like the colouration and texture in this one.
Like Minds - made from three suggestions from friends, rather fun making an image just from that so I may do something similar again.
EDIT: Speaking of classic, Repo the Genetic Opera, could very well be classic, by the looks of the trailer its an indutrial/metal rocky horror picture show
Prepare thyselves mortal brethren for this is an actual blog post, and this one has been simmering for a while, so its a big one, well for me anyway. Before I begin one thing, this is a post where I openly talk about me… yes thats a bit narcissistic and self indulgent but this is, a) not unusaly for this blog, b) its a blog, and c) I do feel that sometimes writing about where I am is cathartic for me and helps me analyse my position and ideas, so onwards fully forewarned…
