Matt W Cook

The svirfnebli gazed up at the night stars, yearning. The stars seemed to chuckle back at him. Taunting him. Perhaps daring him to count them. Maybe sympathizing with him.
The svirfnebli fingered the hunting axe at his belt, still stained with the blood of the creature he had killed in obtaining it. He wondered what he should feel about that death. About that light he put out. He felt little. Little but the itch.

He shook his head and walked into the building. The guard looked him over quickly, probably fighting the urge to make a crack about his size, and let him pass. The warrior’s guild was a simple place. Basically a tavern with a training room and an entrance into the sewers below Galadon. The svirfnebli was not in the mood to train, so he pulled himself up to the bar and ordered an ale.

A chuckle to his right caught his attention. He looked to see a massive cloud giant, giggling into his own ale.

“Problem?” the svirfnenli asked.
“Nay, nay. There no problem.” The giant shook his head and tried hard not to laugh.

I just got a pretty slick shirt:

You know what I like about the shirt? It’s completely true. Remember when Luke Skywalker asked Yoda if the Dark Side was actually stronger than the Light? Yoda said, “No, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.”

The Dark Side is not stronger. The Shadow does not have more power than the Light. What the Dark Side has is hype and a great public-relations outfit. But at the end of it all, Vader’s got nothing to offer but cookies. All your struggles, if they are not for the Light, will yield only temporary yummies. Only in the Light is there true enlightenment, satisfaction and joy. A lot of times it’s hard to believe that, maybe because following the Light and living in the Light is so much harder than the Dark. Maybe it’s because we can related better to the Shadow through the taint on our hearts. But the Shadow will always kill us in the end. You notice that Vader was only able to become one with the force after he let himself die and become Anakin again. And when the Emperor died what happened to him? The built-up Shadow and Darkness in him ripped his body apart and he became nothingness. Because ‘nothing’ is what the Dark Side really is.

So follow the Light. Get to know the Light. You may not get cookies, but Jesus’ baking beats Vader’s any day.

I just got a pretty slick shirt:

You know what I like about the shirt? It’s completely true. Remember when Luke Skywalker asked Yoda if the Dark Side was actually stronger than the Light? Yoda said, “No, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.”

The Dark Side is not stronger. The Shadow does not have more power than the Light. What the Dark Side has is hype and a great public-relations outfit. But at the end of it all, Vader’s got nothing to offer but cookies. All your struggles, if they are not for the Light, will yield only temporary yummies. Only in the Light is there true enlightenment, satisfaction and joy. A lot of times it’s hard to believe that, maybe because following the Light and living in the Light is so much harder than the Dark. Maybe it’s because we can related better to the Shadow through the taint on our hearts. But the Shadow will always kill us in the end. You notice that Vader was only able to become one with the force after he let himself die and become Anakin again. And when the Emperor died what happened to him? The built-up Shadow and Darkness in him ripped his body apart and he became nothingness. Because ‘nothing’ is what the Dark Side really is.

So follow the Light. Get to know the Light. You may not get cookies, but Jesus’ baking beats Vader’s any day.

Are you serious??

Free Expression Assault Continues at UN Human Rights Council

How this could possibly happen is beyond me. And what’s with the 13 countries boycotting the thing? Wake up! If you boycott something all you are doing is giving it a clear path to succeed.

We do that all the time though, eh? When we hear a ‘bad’ movie is coming out like the Golden Compass, what do Evangelicals do? Boycott. No desire to learn. No desire to pull down anything we believe false or evil. No, instead we boycott. Easier that way I guess. But easier for how long?

Because the day is going to come when we wake up in the morning and find out that all the nasty things we’ve been boycotting are now running the world. They will be running the world precisely because we were so afraid of conflict that we just let them do whatever they wanted. Instead of standing up and condemning the ‘defamation of religions resolution’, we allowed it to go through. Instead of reading The God Delusion and pulling it down, we let everyone think that belief in God is delusional. So much evil happens if good people decided to boycott and do nothing.

I heard something on the radio that made me question whether western civilization has any hope for the future.

Apparently, there is a new pill out called the Good Day pill. What does it do? It makes sure you have a good day. It’s mood enhancer of some kind. They are marketing it as the solution to every stress and bad mood. Wtf?

Are we really this screwed up? Are we so stressed out, depressed, confused and alone that we need drugs to keep us going? If our society is actually going for this, then I’m afraid. I’m afraid that we’ve completely lost touch with reality. We are trying hard to evolve into an anti-social, anti-reason animal. We accept the dogma that we are nothing but walking mammals and rightly conclude that sensations are the only reality.

But we’re not just animals. There’s a spark inside us that longs for something greater. Longs for a kind of spiritual slight. Longs for a sight of the Infinite. Why are we willing to push that Spark aside in favor of medication? Why are we willing to take the easy road to feeling good instead of that difficult road to true actualization, joy and life?

but i don’t want medication
just give me liberation
even if it cuts my legs right out from underneath
don’t give me medication
i want the real sensation
even when living feels just like death to me
– Derek Webb

I stumbled across a few articles about Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who made that anti-Islam video that everyone was talking about for a while. For those who don’t know about him, basically he has been known for his anti-Islamic comments and this video that equates Islam with terrorist violence. Since he made the video he’s had a ton of death threats. And now two more things have happened.

First, in January, Dutch courts are prosecuting him for some of his anti-Islamic comments, saying “In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to… draw a clear line,”. Second, upon trying to enter Britain in February, he was turned away because his views “threaten community harmony and therefore public security”.

So basically, as I see it, it is now a criminal offense to criticize a system or a philosophy or worldview or religion on the basis of objective moral value. This is dangerous because philosophies and worldviews have objective good and evil in them.

The western world understood this at one time. During WWII everyone understood that views like Nazism were objectively evil and ought to be opposed. Today people are permitted to talk about the objective evils (or value) of systems like eugenics. But when it comes to a minority religion that has a history of violence, it becomes a crime to speak of it objectively.

This is dangerous because all of our decisions and actions flow from our worldviews. If I have a Nazi worldview then I will perform actions that are consistent with that worldview. And we can all agree that those actions will most likely be evil. Let’s face it; some philosophies are better than others. Some worldviews are better than others.

Who would ever say that Nazism is a neutral system? Sure, there may be some kind, gentle Nazis out there, but they are probably not following after true Nazism because Nazism does not allow for much in the way of kind gentleness, as I understand it. Nice Nazis don’t prove that Nazism is a good system. Just as evil Nazis don’t prove that Nazism is evil. Nazism (and every other system) is good or evil based on its tenets, teachings and truths.

And isn’t that what evangelism is all about, really? I read the Bible. I commune with Jesus. In Jesus I have found a worldview and a philosophy and a life unlike anything I’ve ever heard of. I am convinced that Jesus is the center of the True worldview and that any worldview that stands in opposition to Jesus is objectively wrong and ought to be torn down and replaced. Evangelism is me telling you that. Evangelism is me showing you how Jesus is the best thing to base every aspect of your life on.

A website called Typealyzer claims to be able to scan your blog and through it tell what kind of blogger you are. How the heck do they do that? Here’s what it said about mine:

INTP – The Thinkers

The logical and analytical type. They are especially attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into. They are great at finding subtle connections between things and imagine far-reaching implications.

They enjoy working with complex things using a lot of concepts and imaginative models of reality. Since they are not very good at seeing and understanding the needs of other people, they might come across as arrogant, impatient and insensitive to people that need some time to understand what they are talking about.

I’m going to be preaching this morning. I thought I’d share one little part of my sermon that affected me.

Because of God’s transcendence and ‘other’ness, it’s really impossible to completely know him. Which is why Christ encouraged us to have a child-like faith. Most people, when they hear that, think that means faith without proof. But I don’t think that’s how a child has faith. A child’s faith is curious and full of wonder. A child is relentless, even in the face of an impossible task, like knowing a transcendent God. A child’s faith is anything but blind. We all know a child’s favorite question: why?
Blind faith, as I see it, isn’t really faith at all. Isn’t it more of a delusion? How could God be honored by a belief about him that had no ground in reality or reason? I think faith is more about living and acting and believe in accordance with your worldview than it is about belieing something to be true even when you have no reason to believe it.

Hey every one!
This is Ruth. We are in Canada and I want to thank you all for praying for us through out these past years. I hope we can see many of you soon:)
Here is something I have been meaning to write. Just want to share it with every one. I guess I am just happy about what I have to say that I can’t keep it inside me! :)
As I sit here and think of all the blessings God has bestowed upon me, I think of my best friend and companion that God has given to me – Matthew. There are 2 people in my life who mean so much to me. My dad and my husband. I am blessed that I had a godly father who always loved his Master and was obedient to His Word no matter what. I still try to understand how he could be so enduring, kind and patient! He actually lived out what most people just claim to live for. I miss him so much and the thought of seeing him again excites me!
Matthew reminds me a lot of my dad in a way that he too is so kind, patient and humble. I love him so much and pray that our marriage would bless us and others around us. I truly find it amazing how Matthew adapted my culture, befriended my people and became one of us! Most people who met us for the first time while in Pakistan told me how humble and good man at a heart Matthew was. I am so proud to be his wife:)
I want to tell every one that I am so blessed by God and am very happy. Thank you Matthew for always taking care of me and my family in Pakistan during the hard times. For comforting us all in times of trouble and sorrows. For always showing how much you care and love. I know for sure that you are here for me no matter what and I can always count on you. You are a wonderful husband, great and fun father and my best friend and I love you so much!!!!

It’s nice being back in Canada, but I’m shocked at how suddenly I am busier than I have ever been in my life. If anyone has good advice for getting the plethora of things I want to do done, please let me know!

For now I’ll share a few thoughts I’ve been having.

For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?

So Jesus is on his way down the Via Dolorosa he makes this very enigmatic comment to the women weeping for him. Immediately I wondered what he meant by wood being green. Is it dry yet? I scribbled a few notes into a book I carry around. I don’t know if I have this figured out, but I’ll share what I have.

‘They’ must refer to the authorities, especially the religious authorities with whom Jesus had most of his beef. I think, though, you could take it also to mean society in general, especially (again) religious society. Religious sub-cultures are almost always willing to commit any evil so long as respected religious leaders tell them it’s a good idea.

‘These things’ refer specifically to the crucifixion of Christ. And, by association, refer to every act of deceit, injustice, abuse of power and misuse of truth that the authorities and their followers commit. No one could argue against the fact that these religious leaders completely betrayed their sacred commitment to aid people in coming to a fuller understanding of God and brotherly love. And it seems they did this while the wood was ‘green’.

Green wood. Healthy. Strong. Resistant to burning. The authorities and religious leaders of that day had it made. People respected the institutions that were set up. A rabbi was generally considered a good man. A governor was obeyed. With the right man in charge the conditions were ripe for life, health and resilience. They had a decent shot at fulfilling their purpose.

But they blew it. Big time. And they blew it while all the conditions were right. And now, partially because they blew it, the conditions are no longer right. The institutions have lost the trust of society and, as a result, lost all power to make things right. But they haven’t lost the power to make a buck.

So the wood is dry. A rabbi or pastor or mayor is hard-pressed to make a positive difference in his circles because no one trusts him anymore. But he could still make a profit from his office or religion. And if he can’t make a positive difference anyway, why not just sell out?

Dry wood sucks.