WHAT MATRIX PERSONA ARE YOU?Never thought I would post these trivial quizzes or games on my blog, but here it goes...
Came across this on the web and it says I'm most like Neo. Nice, but I assume this quiz breaks up the entire human population into the 5-7 main characters of the movie. So there must be nearly a billion Neo types running loose in this world.
You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You display a perfect fusion of heroism and compassion.
What Matrix Persona Are You? Quizilla
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GLENBROOK NORTH... TOO MUCH FEAR FACTORDuring the early part of my month long trip to the U.S., I came across news about some violent incident at a high school in suburban Chicago. I quickly realized that it was my high school, Glenbrook North, and the incident was the annual "
Powder Puff Football" game. During the course of the following weeks, the news of this high school hazing gone wild was everywhere... CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, random talk shows, etc. My old alma mater which was previously known for Ferris Bueller's Day Off,
John Hughes, and a source of inspiration for the teen movies of the 80's (e.g. Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink) had become nationally known for a disgusting and disturbing hazing incident between senior and junior high school girls.
When I attended over a decade ago, for years the annual event was a much more innocent hazing filled with whipped cream and baby powder. I don't know when use of more dangerous and disgusting substances occurred, but I assume it was only in recent years if not this year alone. I also assume recent shows, such as
Fear Factor, has a role in influencing and providing ideas to this generation of kids. I wouldn't blame the television shows for this situation. I believe the high school kids have to responsible for their actions if they truly crossed the line and endangered others with their lack of discernment and reason. I'm stating this because I don't know all the details of what occurred.
Another assumption is that there must of been some pent up anger or bitterness between some of these girls for them to take it to this extreme. You get this many times at this annual event and it lets loose some steam, but it should never be carried to this point. It was probably a very immature or passive-aggressive girl who was not able to deal effectively with someone in a normal social environment, so she used this event as a manner to release her pent up emotions. I know these are huge assumptions based on little information, but I'm just guessing based on my observations of human behavior. Either way and for whatever reason, this was just simply stupid.
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UNWIRED WORLD... U.S. CELLULAR SYSTEMS SUCKI haven't been able to sit down and
blog in three weeks. Definitely, this city hopping through the U.S. has been tiring and really hasn't allowed me to gather my random thoughts and write. I got into New York yesterday from Chicago and after a week in Los Angeles. One experience I've been going through is the frustration of dealing U.S. cellular services. The network and infrastructure is not widespread and has many gaps in their systems. Unlike Korea, many wireless services here don't work in various locations within buildings and homes, highways and city blocks. It has been too commonplace when my cellphone conversation gets cut off or difficult to hear. There is truly a world of difference in the quality and ubiquity of wireless services between the U.S. and Korea. Part of this reason is because the landscape of the U.S. is so great and spreadout versus Korea, but even in dense cities such as New York and Chicago I've encountered the same frustrations. I assume U.S. wireless carriers decided not to invest widely in infrastructure to provide a strong and widespread service. It's probably a chicken or egg dilemma where they don't know if it's worth the investment and how long it would take to get a decent return on their investment. It's similar to the dilemma that has faced the U.S. telcos and their efforts to provide DSL services.
Looking at Korea, which boasts 70%+ wireless penetration and where 95% of Internet users access through broadband, the infrastructure was set in place and consumer growth and use exploded. Long before the U.S., data services were regularly used by Korean consumers and still today with far greater frequency. You can see everyone from children to elderly text messaging, taking pictures, personalizing graphical interfaces on their phones, and other services. Korea is a nation with a large base of early-adopters, those who use and purchase the latest technologies, but I don't believe this alone can account for the widespread use of wireless and broadband services and products. For Korea, the "built it and they will come" approach was successful in sparking consumer use and growth in the wireless and broadband industries. It also allow for the creation and growth of new industry segments, such as online gaming where Korea is the worldwide leader.
For the U.S., I believe once the wireless infrastructure is truly widespread the related industry will experience an increase in consumer use and services. At this point, why would the average U.S. consumer want to use a cellphone for advanced services if they cannot even use it for simply calls?
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DESTRUCTIVE CHRISTIANITY CONTINUEDTiming can present itself in interesting ways in life. I arrived in New York City this past Friday and on Saturday I wrote about something Tim Keller, the pastor at Redeemer Church in Manhattan, said in one of his past sermons. Well, I visited my old church Sunday and Tim Keller's sermon was on The Rich and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Without going into an overview of the sermon, which was excellent, a few things stuck out and was relevant to my prior blog. He talked about how The Rich Man didn't get into heaven not because he was rich, but because it consumed him. It was his motivation for being and source of his pride to the point that he despised those without wealth. He despised and looked down upon the upon the poor. Going back to my prior blog and about the church leaders, their pride was so overwhelming that they despised those who would not live up to their narrowly focused set of ideals. Their set of values and Christian doctrine were their "riches" that consumed them.
A disappointing continuation of that situation was that woman member wanted to join a new branch the church was starting in the city. The two leaders that held this self-righteous grudge against her were part of the leadership group assisting a pastor for the new church plant. They told the pastor that if she attends the new church that they would quit and not help out. It's amusing because their self-righteousness blinded them to the actually mission of such a church. I assume they are seeking to attract unchurched people and those seeking out some meaning from Christianity. Their target group are probably far worse "sinners" or people from their worldview, but they cannot even accept a willing but "lesser" person from their own home church. If I was the pastor, I would have asked them to leave for even asking such a thing. Clearly their focus and heart is not in the right place and will in the end harm the environment and chemistry of the church body. Maybe even such a poor Christian as I would be more helpful. Probably not.
The last part of Tim Keller's sermon discussed how miracles and amazing signs would not convert someone to Christianity unless they actually knew the "whys" of their faith. In the Bible passage, the rich man asks Father Abraham to warn his brothers of his fate in hell.
"They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them."
"And he said, No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'
"But he said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead."
Basically, Keller was saying that even if Christ were to rise from the dead in front of some people today, it wouldn't matter but for a brief moment in life. They might have an emotional, temporary experience that "converts" them, but they won't know the reasons or basis of their faith. These points reinforce my thoughts on how shallow many people's faith and beliefs were which led to their quick rejection of Christianity once it was challenged intellectually or within their lifestyle, especially within the Korean American church.
As people explore Christianity, they need to poke, prod, and examine all aspects of the doctrine and ask questions upon questions on whether it is flawless religion. I'm biased because I believe I have and my faith has never wavered. I am in a weak period of my life where I struggle to submit my will to God and seek out His desires instead of my own, but I never doubt any aspect of the completeness of the Bible and Christ's life. I joke around with my friends that I am a "heathen", but I take full responsibility for my lack of effort in my Christian life. The reality I've come to is that living such a life is the most difficult thing I will ever encounter in my life.
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DESTRUCTIVE CHRISTIANITYBeing back in the U.S. and visiting friends have brought back various memories from my past. One aspect is my religious upbringing. I grew up in a charismatic Korean American church. The Korean American church is interesting because like many immigrant churches it served the dual purpose of being a religious institution and social hub for its members. Without going into much detail here, the Christianity that developed from Korean and Korean American churchs has been influenced by Korean culture. From Buddhism to Confucian doctrine to Korean cultural history, many of these factors have influenced the practice and thinking within the Korean church today. (more for another day)
Part of my experience and a characteristic of the Korean Church is the strong legalistic culture and tendencies that still dominate many of the churches today. Growing up, I was very legalistic and saw almost everything as black and white in terms of whether my actions, words, and environment was edifying to myself and others around me. In high school, I consider those years my "pharisee" period where my views mixed with my strong personality tended to be just as destructive and self-inflicting as the pharisees that lived during the time of Christ. I really didn't learn the meaning of "grace" and "love" until my college years and beyond.
A fair amount of Christians in the Korean American community are affected by this lack of knowing grace and a self-righteousness that blinds them to being effective in the world today. Interestingly enough, these same Christians are part of a vast majority leave the church soon after graduating from college. Many of their beliefs and faith stood on shallow ground, and I believe time has proven this so. They lived in an isolated bubble during college and maybe high school. Much of this was not their fault due to the natural tendencies of recent immigrants to gravitate towards each other out of comfort, common culture, and family ties, but the dangerous mentality of being critical and judgmental towards anything outside of their sphere of comfort as Christians is a poison hurting the health of the church today.
It's sometimes amusing because I hear about some of these "pharisees" leaving the church and denying their faith because they enter the outside world for the first time after college and they live in a way that is counter to their prior ideals and shallow beliefs. I heard of a person getting drunk once and soon renoucing his faith and belief in God because of the experience. Did he think he was a messiah? Did he find truth in the bottle of whiskey? Or was he overwhelmed with the guilt of his past harsh judgements and words upon others who he labelled as "sinners" or "unchurched"? If these types of minor actions or situations turns away these "fervent" Christians from God or renounce their belief in the Bible, I assume their faith stood on wafer-thin ground.
I recently was talking with some friends who attend a Korean American church in Chicago. They were informing me about another situation where some church leaders were critical of a member's lifestyle. She might not have done anything directly to them, but they held some bitter, self-righteous attitude towards the person. Without going into details, I understand she was considered unstable in some ways and had some personal issues, but as leaders you have to accept the worst about people. Maybe the issues surrounding her is something I can't fathom, but I will continue to use this as an example of what occurs in many Korean American churches to varying degrees.
Anyway, she left during the conflict, but came back later on. Instead of accepting her back with open arms and love, like a prodigal son returning, they continued to ignore and isolate her from their circles. I sometimes wonder what benefit do they see will come out of these actions? The person already apologized and asked for forgiveness, which I don't even think she should have done. Are they being judge and jury and laying "God's punishment" upon her? This is the same mentality that I saw during college that divided many Korean Americans on their campuses throughout the U.S. It was usually from the Christians that this rift was created. They didn't want their church members associating with such "sinners" or being influenced by their lifestyles. This is exactly how the pharisees would react in these situations today like when they criticized Jesus Christ for eating with the "sinners".
The thinking is similar from these leaders at this church because they do not have a perspective of equality in the spirital sense. In a deluded sense of self-righteousness, they hold judgement and anger against this woman because they themselves would never do such an act or live such a way. Ignorance and stupidity are amusing to watch from the outside. This reminds me of Phillip Yancy's book
What's So Amazing About Grace? and how he talks about the situation where a prostitute was afraid in approaching God initially because of the Christians at the church she visited. It also reminds me of a sermon I once heard at Redeemer Church in New York when Tim Keller was discussing how most people think they are in the middle of the bell-curve or slightly above in terms of their "sinfulness". Charles Mason, Hilter, and others are on the bottom 1%-5% of the curve while Mother Theresa and others are in top 1% of the curve. Keller was stating that Apostle Paul truly thought of himself in the bottom part of the curve and we should would be deluded to think otherwise. Self-righteousness makes Christians the poorest examples of their faith and worst enemy of their life's mission.
Continued...
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