Potter and Other Related Thoughts

Here are a couple of links to articles about Christianity and Potter, one on Townhall.com and the other on Verumserum.com.

And for some of my own thoughts:

I've gotten quite a bit of flack from Christians over my love for the Harry Potter books, mostly from the older generations. I've been told many times that the Harry Potter is evil, and no Christian should read them. I've even had someone question my salvation because of Harry Potter. Here is my problem with many of the anti-Potter people: they haven't read the books. One such person went so far as to give me an "article" (I hesitate to call it an article, it was more like an uninformed rant) about Satanism in Harry Potter. I read it and laughed. The author clearly had never read the books, and any credibility that remained melted away with the grammatical errors and typos. Several quotes were taken completely out of context, some putting Voldemort's words into Harry's mouth. The one I remember specifically is from the end of Sorcerer's Stone in the Harry-Quirrelmort battle (normally I would find the quote, but Dad has my copy of Sorcerer's Stone). It also poorly argued and failed to cite sources of any kind.

What bothers me is not that people have a problem with Harry Potter; everyone is entitled to their opinions, even if they are wrong. It is the fact that the harshest criticism comes from those who did not decide for themselves whether it is good or evil. (Case in point: Laura Mallory, the Georgia woman who petitioned to have the Harry Potter books banned from school libraries despite never having read them.) Perhaps the most dangerous of bad habits, blind acceptance of opinions and ideas without serious critical thought has taken it's toll on modern America. And this reaches far beyond Harry Potter. What about young Christians today? I've heard people bemoan the lack of theological substance in modern praise and worship music, especially when compared to the hymns of old. This is a direct result of young Christians just accepting what someone tells them, and not trying to go farther and learn the foundations for their belief. Frankly, it is manifest laziness. I write this knowing that I am guilty of it as well; my knowledge of church history and the finer points of theology is decidedly lacking.

I could go on, but I'm starting to feel like I'm writing a paper, and it's getting late, so I'm going to step down from my soap box.

Anyway. . .last week I had Deathly Hallows with me at work since I was loaning it out to some of the other Seasonals and rereading during lunch and break times. It's presence on my desk was enough to garner multiple anti-Harry comments. I honestly kind of expected it.

Thoughts About Virginia Tech

I'm having difficulty writing about what has happened this week. There are so many things to process, and somehow I feel close to this. I've been a Hokie all my life (my cheering order: Florida State, Virginia Tech, Florida, not-Miami), and to think of tragedy striking my pastoral Virginia countryside is beyond comprehension. This kind of crap doesn't happen there, it just doesn't. Yet it has. So, here are some questions that have been running through my brain that I thought I would process through writing for my own sake.

Why would God let this happen?
I don't know. Can any of us know while we still live on this earth? Maybe not. But that is okay. I trust that God is in control and He has a plan. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" It's hard to see hope three days after something like this happens, but it will come. I remember when 9/11 happened it seemed like nothing redeeming could come out of it, but then we heard about the people who jumped the hijackers and crashed in Pennsylvania. And for the first time in my memory, the United States was truly united by something. I have no doubt that through this God will be glorified in some way. He always is.

What does that mean for colleges around the United States and the world?
Well, for one thing, Florida State University now has my cell phone number for use in case of an emergency situation like this. Other than that, I don't think much will change. Security might be tighter for a while (I saw more FSUPD Officers walking around campus on Tuesday than ever before), but eventually the caution will fade away. Most universities are set up in such a way that authorities can't monitor the comings and goings of students (and non-students). Ted Bundy was auditing classes at FSU in the weeks prior to murdering two girls in the Chi Omega house.

What good is a Candlelight Vigil when they aren't acknowledging the God who has the power to change things?
Maybe I'm being callous, but I don't see any point in standing around holding candles when there's no praying happening. The promises made by the student body president, vice president, and the university president really aren't going to amount to anything. Perhaps they are only trying to show support for Virginia Tech. I'm all for that, but instead of blowing hot air, why don't they get on their knees and pray?

How long do we have to wait until Michael Moore turns this into another anti-gun campaign?
Hopefully forever. Frankly, turning this into a political soapbox is utterly classless.

Will the VT President/VT Police Chief get fired?
I hope not, they did what they could. It's not like high school where there's a PA system. E-mail is the only way most universities can communicate with the entire student body. As I mentioned, FSU had all its students [voluntarily] register their phone numbers in case of extreme emergency so they can send text messages to everyone no matter where they are. But if it had happened to us, our administration couldn't have done much more.

Anyway, that's just a few of the things I've been thinking about in the last few days. There are many more questions that have been stewing which I may or may not write about here. But right now, I should be asleep because I have a final exam tomorrow.

The Difference

(note: I began this post many moons ago and have returned to it periodically to finish it)

The other day a memory floated into my consciousness of a speech given to the returning students of the Florida State University School of Theatre by our founding Dean. Most of the contents are now blurred and inconsequential, but something he said stuck in my mind. "The theatre is a temple!" He said it several times with greater passion at each utterance. He reminded me of a preacher I saw in in Barbados who rocked the stage during his sermon. You could tell by the tone in his voice that he believed it with all his heart.

So I got to thinking, what does that mean, exactly? The theatre is a temple. What is a temple? A place of worship. So who or what are we worshiping? Do we join our theatrical forefathers in Greece and celebrate the human body? Art? Creativity? An actor's ego?

If the theatre is a temple, what god does a theatre goer or professional theatrical practitioner (fancy term for drama nerd) worship? It's people. Humanity. The power of man to create, to lie (that's what acting is, after all), to move, to sing, to be human. Now I ask, is that something we want to worship? Does it stop there, or does it go on to the creator of humanity? I can assure you, in most cases it is not the later.

That is one great difference between Christians and the apathetic masses: we know who we're worshiping. We have a relationship with Him. It's not some vague idea that we slap a stage under and start bowing to. I've read quite a few plays this semester for my classes, and so many of them ask, "why are we here"? They're looking for something to worship. In the end, they don't find it. They never find it.

Options

I've been aware for quite some time that within the next few months I will make decisions that will influence the course of my life. No pressure, right? I have several options laid out in front of me, all of which are appealing, all of which have their drawbacks. So, here's me thinking through some of these.

STINTing Somewhere:
This is indubitably one of the coolest options. I would go to some foreign country (maybe Barbados, maybe somewhere else) for a year, perhaps two, and help to build a Campus Crusade for Christ ministry on some campus. How many people can say they've done that? Very very cool. And very very difficult. Talk about having a target on your back. Furthermore, I think I might be a little out of my league. I have this thing with talking (and listening) to people. See, I'm not very good at it (especially the listening). I tend to stutter a lot, and I can't put thoughts together on the fly. I say things which aren't intended to be rude or mean, but come out that way despite my best intentions. I'm flustered easily. Really, it doesn't seem like a good fit. I know, God equips the called, not calls the equipped. But still. I was reading Exodus the other day, the part where God speaks to Moses from the burning bush and Moses is trying to make excuses. Here's what it says (Exodus 4:10-12):

Then Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." And the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
"Now then go, and I, even I, will be your mouth and teach you what you are to say."

There goes my argument about not being good at talking. But then again, God used Aaron as Moses' mouthpiece. Ah, there is hope for my argument yet! Maybe not. I don't know. Someone please shed some light.

Oh, very big downside: support raising. The whole talking thing comes to mind.

Anyway, on to the next option.

Jesus Film Travel Team
Again, very very cool. I would travel around the world recording the JESUS Film in various languages. Again with the cool, again with the difficult. But think about the number of people that will be exposed to the Gospel with those translations. Wow. Just wow. The traveling and literally seeing the world is a definite plus. Also, I would be doing something that is roughly in my area of study. Granted, I'm a theatre major, not film, but this deals with using art to spread the Gospel. Very cool. That is putting one of my passions (the arts) to use for the glory of God and possibly even seeing tangible results.

Downside: support raising. See above.

Teaching in Orlando
Not very cool. I'd probably be teaching high school English. We've all seen people that do that. It could be fun. It could be absolute torture. But on the plus side, I could live with my parents, which could be fun, or it could be absolute torture (no offence, Mom and Dad, it's just that I'd never know whose socks are whose...). And there is no support raising involved. But I would have to take a test and do the whole emergency certification thing and work towards getting certified. If I ended up at my Alma Mater I could learn to teach under some of the best teachers in Orange County (K-bo!), which would be really cool. But then again, I'd be at my Alma Mater, which has a tendency to smell funny and have extremely cold classrooms.

Downside: it's Orlando, who wants to live there?

Teach for America
It's like the Peace Corps, but not! This obviously has some similarities to Teaching in Orlando, except that instead of being in Orlando I would be in some big city in an urban environment, or way out in the boonies somewhere. Either way, I would be teaching students from low income families who didn't have mommies that read to them every night. It can't be denied that there is a serious need for teachers in the inner city and the like. Someone will fill the position in Orlando.

I had a meeting today with a Teach for America recruiter and the whole time I was thinking, "Wow, that sounds like something I might like to do!" Teaching has been at the back of my mind since I entered college. I remember how K-bo made me love English, and how I learned so much under some of my teachers, and I would love to have that kind of impact on someone else. Teachers are in a uniquely powerful position to effect the next generation for change. I would like to be someone who helped change it for the better. I also found out that one of the places they're sending people is New Orleans, and part of that job is going to be rebuilding as well. I was already thinking of possibly doing that anyway.

Oh, and there's full health benefits, and you get paid, and you can get certified to teach if you so desire, and you could get your Masters.

Downside: It's a hard program to get into. They are looking for leaders. I have doubts as to whether I am what they are looking for or not. The recruiter encouraged me to apply after a 45 minute conversation. But then again, how well can she judge after a 45 minute conversation?

I am again faced with the question "Am I a leader"? I honestly don't know. I'm not one to jump up and say, yes, give me that responsibility, I'll do it. Follow me, I know what to do. I didn't run for class president, I don't lead a Bible study with Crusade. But is that really what a leader is? I've always thought that good leaders must first be servants (I think it's in the Bible somewhere...I'm too tired right now to figure out if it actually is). I've always thought of myself as the horse pulling the plow, not the farmer guiding it (or however that works, I don't really know). I'm not an visionary, but when someone gives me a job, I find a way to do it.

They're also looking for people with perseverance. I made it through IB, does that count?

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There are other options too, I could go to New Orleans and help with the reconstruction efforts, but I haven't really looked into that too much. Or I could hide in my room until Jesus comes back, which is my personal favorite. Is there such a thing as a Protestant Nun? I do look good in black...

Anyway, this is the stuff that has been bouncing around in my head for the last couple of days, and I'm sure it will continue to bounce over the next few weeks. So you could be praying for that, and praying for me as I seek after God's will for my life. Wow, that sounded very spiritual of me. Sometimes I really wish God had just inspired a very long appendix to the Bible that was full of his plans for our lives....and God said, "Laura, thou shalt do Teach for America, write a sickeningly inspirational book about it, become famous, be offered the chance to write the screenplay, and have a cameo in the Oscar winning film version of your life..."

But then again, where would the suspense be?

Spring Break in the Caribbean

Some people may have heard this by now, others not. I'm going to Trinidad and Tobago for Spring Break with Campus Crusade for Christ. I'm pretty excited about this. Well, parts of this. I'm not looking forward to support raising (let's face it, no one does). I'm considering adopting a new support raising strategy. Instead of going back to my parent's mailing list and asking people I don't really know for money, I'd ask people whose numbers are in my phone (so, if I call you in the next month or so, there's probably an ulterior motive). Every time I've gone on a mission trip in the past support raising has been relatively easy; I had only to motivate myself to write a letter and address envelopes. But this time around, since it could possibly be my last time around, I thought I might try to stretch myself, reach outside of my comfort zone.

That actually played a large part in my decision on where to go for spring break, New Orleans being the other option. That would have been the easy option. I went to Pass Christian, Mississippi in October of 2005 (wow, has it been that long?), and frankly, it was comfortable. Yeah, we were sleeping in a church parking lot under a big tent, and yeah, the port-a-potties smelled bad, and yeah, we ate FEMA food the whole time, and yeah, I was covered in dirt from head to toe, but I actually kind of enjoy that stuff (except the port-a-potty). It was easy. I didn't really have to talk to people, and I could swing an axe and that is what I was there for. So going to New Orleans this time around would have been more of the same.

But I didn't want "more of the same". I wanted to give God the chance to stretch me. I wanted the chance to trust God with something because there was no way I could get through it on my own. In New Orleans it would be the strength of my own muscle that propelled my service. In Trinidad there is no way I can rely on my own resources to get anything done.

So I'm nervous about Trinidad. Only adding to that nervousness is the fact that I am the oldest of four girls going on this trip. The oldest. There aren't any staff ladies going this time around. So I'm getting the feeling that Trinidad is going to be a whole lot of me relying on God to get me through it. That's probably a good thing.

Some Thoughts

I was doing laundry at the house today for the first time this semester. I must pause and say that, yes, I have done laundry more than once in the last month, its just that the other time was at home in Orlando, so I am not a completely vile and smelly beast...not because of my clothes at least. Anyway, I switched to liquid detergent from powder, and in the process changed scents. I smell like some type of bubble gum, or perhaps candy. Whatever the case, it's nice, but a little weird. At this point in time, the change to liquid is a good thing. My only fear is that I'll walk into class one day, or perhaps a meeting for Crusade, and someone will brush past me, stop and say, "Wow, you smell like bubble gum, or some kind of candy!"

And now for something completely different...
Within the next week I should begin my foray into the world of Discipleship as a discipler instead of disciplee. The be honest, I'm scared out of my mind. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:1 to "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."I was reading 1 Corinthians for part of last semester and into the summer, and that one verse in particular stuck in my brain. Imagine the relationship that Paul must have had with God to be able to confidently admonish Christians to follow his example. I can say with equal confidence that I would be a fool to tell someone to follow my example. For one thing, it took me four months to read 1 Corinthians, all sixteen chapters of it. It seems arrogant to try to lead someone when I know that my own walk with Christ is a faint shadow of what it should be. How can I encourage someone to sit in the shadow of my tower of Biblical knowledge and wisdom when the reality is that the tower is leaning, liable to topple at the pressure of a light wind.

So...I'm scared. And I smell like bubble gum.