The Mind of Querns

So we just finished having a great discussion, Holly, Lorena, Jack, and I, and I wanted to say I enjoyed it. I set up the text messaging thing for blogger right after the talk, so that maybe I would post on here more. This is more of a test text, but I'd like to talk about it more with you all.    Our discussion involved being disappointed in situations that we see..... and that led to ultimately discussing about what it means to really be in a relationship. Specifically that was about relationship with God, but we talked about how it should be very similar to how relationships with other people work. The only problem is that we are always taught that there is a destination of high intensity, being on fire, and being right and holy with God. The way to be in a relationship with God is to simply be in a relationship with him, no destination, just a journey. Almost like a healthy relationship with another person, or your spouse, but with God.     We don't get th...

My last post was in October, and I have a feeling that this may be because I switched to working overnights at work. Not really sure what that has to do with it since the internet doesn't close and is open all the time, but working 12 hour shifts overnight does throw your schedule way off for a long time. Anyway, most of my posts to date have been pretty much not very personal, relating to my life, at all. I was just wondering why that is, and I remembered something that my pastor said to me a while back. He told me that it seemed as though I tend to get more joy out of serious things and things that have a lot of meaning. This being the opposite of things that have no real purpose or meaning to them, wastes of time. This would be in my definition, Folly (if you are familiar with Ecclesiastes). I listened to my pastor tell me this and it amazed me. I didn't think that I believed him. If you knew me when I was younger, you would have said the very opposite. I was obnoxious I...

I keep hearing everyone ( Christians ) getting nervous about our president and the decisions that he has been making with regards to our economy and our way of life. They are saying that he is a socialist and that he is going to drive our nation into even more debt; that he is un -American (which cannot be possible). So I have been thinking about this a bit and had a conversation with my friend which sparked a few thoughts. First of all you should read my post entitled "I pledge allegiance to the flag.........." and you will get further insight into this topic. Let dig into the foundation of why Christians are saying these things about our president. As stated in past posts, for the most part Christians support that which America does to fullest without much questioning, especially after the fact. This means that democracy must be the way that God wants us to have government.... and so on (read my prior post). Pertaining to this post, this means that God wants us to have a ...

It has been a few months since I posted anything. I have been contemplating a few things. About 3 months ago (around the time I stopped posting) I met with Pastor Tim from our church. We talked about a bunch of things, and it was a very positive and thought provoking conversation, also the breakfast sandwiches were delicious. We talked about a lot of the things that I post on here, and we disagreed on a bunch of things, however it was exactly what I wanted this blog to be.... responsible and productive. One of the main take-aways that I took from the meeting was something that Pastor Tim talked about. He had been given a piece of writing that works with behavioral sciences and The Bible. The title of the article is "Idols of the Heart and "Vanity Fair"" by David Powlison . Much of what it says was condensed down into an auto-biographical story from Pastor Tim. He also warned me of something that he struggled with when he was younger and in seminary like I am. H...

This is my answer to the last post I made. Like I said I think that the so what question is the most important one I asked. I will then focus on that portion for the most part. First, I suppose it is obvious that I am a Christian, which in my mind means "a follower of Jesus". Many people would say that a Christian is "one who believes in Jesus". I find that to be insufficient and leads to the lukewarm Christianity that turns so many people off..... is that correct Harry? To explain what I mean read what follows. First of all, Belief is something that involves a self understanding that is really just a conclusion that something is real or true. Just so I am being clear, I believe in Jesus.... mostly because a lot of historical evidence (and that is not just Biblical, but also through ancient historians like Josephus), my own personal experience (which you can refute in your mind if you want), and I suppose a certain portion has to do with my upbringing. Beyond co...

Before I get into the topic of this post, I want to say I'm sorry for bugging everyone by trying to get you all to post on here. Like I have said, it is my favorite thing to do theology, so I get passionate about it. I am just going to keep posting and assume someone is listening, so pleaase sit back and enjoy. I have also been told that I should start podcasting with my web cam...... I'll think about it.... (this one is going to be another long one which has many layers) Within the past decade there has been a lot of fighting between Christians and the rest of the United States about taking God out of the Pledge of Allegiance. I am not sure how seriously any of you have debated this, but I have always just listened with intrigue to all sides. I understand both sides and never really cared about the issue that much...... until recently. I may have taken interest in a far different way than I have heard anyone else talk about though. Point number 1 : "You shall have no o...

    I found this interesting reflection that I remember we were told we should write. The only question was "Who Needs Theology?" This writing is a reflection, and I thought it was interesting some of the topics I brought up like  dualism  worldviews and holistic worldviews. I wish I would have expanded more in this for you, but again I remember just sitting down and typing this out just like I type out most of the posts on here. I have actually brought most of these topics up in my writing on this site. Maybe this paper actually sparked my interest in starting this Blog up in the first place! (Most of the papers that actually seem like college papers that I have are more than 15 pages long, so the ones that I put on here may seem pretty simple...... because they were intended to be that way. One of these days I will post a huge one... and no one will read it haha.) 9/20/2005      Studying, really studying, about God and religion has just been intro...

     Ok, this one is amusing, I wish I could start college over again and work harder on some papers. Although I have only given you papers from my freshman/sophomore year..... It has some good ideas, but I did not write it very well (also it was 8 pages, so feel free to read in multiple sessions). You be the judge..... ;) 04/29/2005                                                                     Justice Paper          Throughout the Bible we are commanded and entrusted by God with many things. With these things He hopes that we would do our best to be righteous in our actions and to give him the Glory. These things that we are to do are spread throughout the Bible and are sometimes hard to determine what we are actually to do. This is especially true in the writings of the ...

    I find it very interesting now that I go back and read some of my old writings. Reading them and posting them on here may give you insight as to how my thinking, my worldview, and understanding of theology has evolved throughout the past decade or so. Here is the second post from the past.......(I really could have done a much better job writing these papers, what an  intellectual/ slacker I was all at the same time, haha!) 04/14/2005      The Bible portrays redemption in some way as the restoration of creation. This conflicts with the belief that somehow redemption has taken humans out of creation. Many “Christians” believe that the sacred and secular are separate because of redemption, yet all throughout the Bible it is quite the opposite. If we would only take the time to read and study the word of God, we would learn so much about what God has planned for us and what he has always had planned for us.      When the fall of our kind c...

          So I found my folders of all of my college papers....... I figured I would embarrass myself and start posting them here..... Comment kindly. February 10, 2005           When God created, as in Genesis 1, what did he intend humans to be? This question, when answered a certain way, can change the way a person moves, breathes, thinks, acts, speaks, and lives. As one reads through Genesis 1 in the Bible, one sees that we were clearly made in “God’s image”, but what does this mean? Many people have different opinions about the answer. With each answer comes different responsibilities and vastly different worldviews. This tells us what our relationships should be with other humans, and the rest of God’s creation.          I believe through careful analysis of Genesis 1, and other sources, that when God created us humans in “His image” that he gave us the intuition, the need, the capabilities, t...

     On to Sophomore year for some pretty boring stuff. This one is on an interpretation of Psalm 122, however it is really boring, wordy, and not written well. Mostly this was trying to teach us how to turn 9 verses into a couple thousand words, haha. Take what you want from it, hopefully someone learns something or is inspired somehow by this drudgery. (Also I suppose I need to include my bibliography even on a Blog, I probably did it wrong back then, but they deserve whatever credit there is) 12/16/2004                                                 Psalm 122: Old and New Zion      When readers of today read the Old Testament, they may sometimes not understand the concepts, culture, and ideas that it has for them. This is due to completely different understandings of many things. In the psalms this occurs very regularly, especially i...