Murph Is Thinking

"In the past few days, there have been at least 162 Islamophobic hate attacks in the UK, and nine..."

Sat, 25 May 2013 13:33:59 -0400

“In the past few days, there have been at least 162 Islamophobic hate attacks in the UK, and nine mosques have been targeted with kives, petrol bombs and graffiti. That’s a 900% increase, according to the tracking group Tell Mama UK. Petrol-bomb attacks on mosques are not reported as terrorism, and nor are individual acts of anti-Muslim violence; we are expected to understand this quasi-organised campaign of fear as something else, as a ‘backlash’.”

- In these Sour Times: Islamophobia and the Woolwich aftermath (via foucaultthehaters)

"The value of myth is that it takes all the things you know and restores to them the rich..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:29:46 -0400

“The value of myth is that it takes all the things you know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by the veil of familiarity.”

- C.S. Lewis (via embraceparadox)

Pope Francis Says All Who Do Good Are Redeemed - Atheists Included

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:40:41 -0400

Pope Francis Says All Who Do Good Are Redeemed - Atheists Included:

reblooged:

Pope Francis rocked some religious and atheist minds today when he declared that everyone was redeemed through Jesus, including atheists.

I still have strong reservations regarding Francis, as I’ve said elsewhere; but this is a good step.

(though, admittedly, the article misses some of the finer theological subtleties of Catholic notions of redemption)

Reblooged~?

#ilovelamp #light

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:47:02 -0400

#ilovelamp #light

Murph Goes To The OBX

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:02:58 -0400

Saturday I’ll be going to the Outer Banks in NC for vacation. While I’m there I want to practice my writing so I’ll be writing about my experiences or making up stories based on inspiration. I’ll also probably add in some pictures and other items for fun too.

"Our inventions are [apt] to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:18:21 -0400

“Our inventions are [apt] to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end, We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.”

- Henry David Thoreau

"Men and women do desire to relate to each other and become close. We do need and want to share..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:46:10 -0400

“Men and women do desire to relate to each other and become close. We do need and want to share intimacy and understanding. But for many of us this natural desire never has a chance to develop because we are haunted by the idea , common currency in our society, that being close always leads to the bedroom. That idea is simple, unadulterated nonsense.”

- James Olthius

This is why I ride my bike to work #explorerochester

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:28:57 -0400

This is why I ride my bike to work #explorerochester

Another day at the office #explorerochester

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:44:50 -0400

Another day at the office #explorerochester

"American Christianity has created a culture of theological permanence, where individuals are..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:56:56 -0400

“American Christianity has created a culture of theological permanence, where individuals are expected to learn a set of beliefs and latch onto them for the rest of their lives….Theologies are often considered too “valuable,” “right,” and “holy” to change or question. Therefore, pastors debate instead of dialogue, professors preach instead of listen, schools propagate instead of discuss, and faith-based communities ultimately reject any form of honest questioning and doubt. […]

But theology — our study and beliefs about God — should be a natural process involving change instead of avoiding it. Our God is too big and too wonderful to completely understand by the time we graduate high school, or college, or get married, or have children, or retire. Our life experiences, relationships, education, exposure to different cultures and perspectives continually affect the way we look at God. Our faith is a journey, a Pilgrim’s Progress, and our theology will change. And while we may not agree with a person’s new theological belief, we need to stop seeing the inherent nature of change as something negative.”

- Stephen Mattson, “Christians: It’s NOT a Sin to Change Your Beliefs” (via kre-do)

Little mother’s day treat with my mom

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:56:43 -0400

Little mother’s day treat with my mom

"Do not leave others where they have been. But do not try to bring them to where you are, either, as..."

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:49:08 -0400

“Do not leave others where they have been. But do not try to bring them to where you are, either, as beautiful as that place might be to you. Rather, invite them to go with you to a place neither you nor they have ever been before.”

- adapted from Vincent Donovan

"Grace cannot prevail until law is dead…until morality has been bound, gagged, and stuffed..."

Fri, 10 May 2013 16:58:22 -0400

“Grace cannot prevail until law is dead…until morality has been bound, gagged, and stuffed unceremoniously in the trunk.”

- Robert Farrar Capon (via hammereddrunkwithfaith)

Love; it will not betray you Dismay or enslave you, it will set...

Fri, 10 May 2013 04:29:26 -0400

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be

There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

hammereddrunkwithfaith: senselessgrace: blakebaggott: thepeopl...

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:51:25 -0400

hammereddrunkwithfaith:

senselessgrace:

blakebaggott:

thepeoplesrecord:

The troubling viral trend of the “hilarious” Black poor person
May 7, 2013

Charles Ramsey, the man who helped rescue three Cleveland women presumed dead after going missing a decade ago, has become an instant Internet meme. It’s hardly surprising—the interviews he gave yesterday provide plenty of fodder for a viral video, including memorable soundbites (“I was eatin’ my McDonald’s”) and lots of enthusiastic gestures. But as Miles Klee and Connor Simpson have noted, Ramsey’s heroism is quickly being overshadowed by the public’s desire to laugh at and autotune his story, and that’s a shame. Ramsey has become the latest in a fairly recent trend of “hilarious” black neighbors, unwitting Internet celebrities whose appeal seems rooted in a “colorful” style that is always immediately recognizable as poor or working-class.

…

I was just thinking about this the other day.

I disagree. These two statements are the most interesting to me: “Ramsey is particularly striking in this regard, since, for a moment at least, he put the issue of race front and center himself … it’s notable that among the many memorable things Ramsey said on camera, this one has gotten less meme-attention than most.”

Exactly. Because the memes aren’t race-driven. Does no one remember the “backin’ up, backin’ up” meme? These things are funny because the people giving these interviews are, as the OP said, extremely animated and colorful storytellers. What these people experienced isn’t necessarily entertaining (although it must be to some degree, or the media wouldn’t bother with the stories), and certainly it has nothing to do with their ethnicity or financial status, it’s the way they’re telling their stories, and there is nothing wrong with being entertained by these unique personalities.

And to say that somehow these memes reflect some latent desire “to see black people perform” is just ridiculous. Who’s making it into a race issue now?

I wholeheartedly agree with Jake.

I watched the video and thought that he looks like a fun guy that I’d like to get to know.

You told me that I would find a hole Within the fragile...

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:21:19 -0400

You told me that I would find a hole
Within the fragile substance of my soul
And I have filled this void with things unreal
And all the while my character it steals

Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?
And yet it dominates the things I see

It seems that all my bridges have been burnt
But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works.
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart
But the welcome I receive with every start

gospelofthekingdom: darkenedanddazzled: Let me be clear. I did not go to school make myself more...

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:16:14 -0400

gospelofthekingdom:

darkenedanddazzled:

Let me be clear.

I did not go to school make myself more marketable. I did not go to school to learn how to make money. I did not go to school and earn a degree to use it as a weapon in the fight for a job.

I went to school because I love learning. I went to school because I constantly wonder, question, and think. I went to school to explore, get lost, and find my way intellectually and spiritually.

And I studied philosophy because I like it. It allowed me to wonder, question, think; to think about thinking, to feel about feeling; to explore, get lost, face the absurd, encounter the sublime, and find my way in my mind and in the world.

Some people learn because they like learning.

I will never. ever. use learning as means to a monetary end.

Do not be surprised at my answer when you ask me “what are you going to do with your degree?”

My answer will be “continue learning,” because I refuse to live an inauthentic life and perpetuate the poisonous belief that education is a business, and that an education is a product.

*slow clap*

Love the great outdoors

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:52:39 -0400

Love the great outdoors

"You do a world more good for a prostitute when you wash her feet than when you yell at her."

Tue, 07 May 2013 09:05:41 -0400

“You do a world more good for a prostitute when you wash her feet than when you yell at her.”

- Greg Boyd (via blakebaggott)

ioncewasfound: I found God, then I lost it. I said, “there it is” but it was both there and not...

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:14:54 -0400

ioncewasfound:

I found God, then I lost it.

I said, “there it is” but it was both there and not there simultaneously.

Godisnowhere to be found.

I searched high and low, in my heart and in the eyes of the poor. I found God, but I didn’t.