ad·mit·tance

ad·mit·tance (ăd-mĭt'ns)
n.

1. the act of admitting or entering.
2. a. permission to enter.
b. right of entry.
3. (symbol Y) electricity. the reciprocal of impedance.


      a friend of mine once said "i bet you there is going to be a hell of a lot more people in heaven than we think." i think he is right. if G-d's love is half of what He says it is, and if He is a gracious as He claims to be i think a whole lot of people have a good shot at heaven.
i was reading in 1 john today and i found an interesting connection between verses concerning love (i know i talk about love a lot, but rumor has it that it is really important or something, so i figure i should try to understand it as best as i can):

     This is love: not that we loved G-d, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4.10)
     G-d is love. whoever lives in love lives in G-d, and G-d in him. In this Way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, because in this world we are like Him. (1 John 4.16-17)

     in the first section, John seems to give a definition for love- the problem is that in the definition he uses the word love multiple times to describe love. i take this definition to be describing a situation in which love is presented in its most pure form: loving- by way of sacrificing selflessly- before being loved. this meaning for me to love, or give with out being instigated, asked, or provoked and with out expecting something in return.
     we can also infer that john is also alluding to not only the action of loving and sacrificing before being loved himself, but to the heart of the lover. an empathetic, humble, and concerning heart clear of selfish desire...difficult, i know. i don't think i have to spend much more time talking about this (although of the utmost importance) because i think i have talked about this previously enough.

     the second section gives us a synonym for love: G-d. and then continues to say that if one is a lover (see first section) then that person is of G-d, and G-d resides in them. now, this puts us on some dangerous and relativistic grounds that my minute intellect can't keep stable. can G-d be apart of lovers outside of the "christian community"? does/should the christian community go beyond what we currently see it? are there going to be a hell of a lot more people in heaven than we christains think? maybe these verses are saying yes?
     by accepting a life devoted to love, could that be also accepting a life with G-d ("G-d is love")? can a life exist with G-d while sleeping in on sunday mornings and not going to bible studies? the more i think about it, and the more i experience the suburb christain culture the more i question the "rules for admittance into heaven" and the constricted view of the Creator's grace. who are we to create limitation of His infinite love and grace? and if G-d is a part of His creation and resides within the lovers, then why can't he reside within those who don't participate in worship services and subscribe to a textbook religion? or maybe religions outside of modern day christianity?
     a lot of questions. i am not totally sure how to answer a lot of these questions with fear of falling into the category of relativism. but i believe that they are questions worth asking.

     what do you think?

cap·i·tal·ism

Because capitalism is wrong not only on account of its failure to aid the poor and needy, but also because of what it does succeed in doing, namely, deforming human desire. As Augustine noted long ago, humans are created to desire G-d and the things of G-d. Capitalism corrupts desire. Even if capitalism succeeds in reducing poverty, it is still wrong on account of its distortion of human desiring and human relations.
-Daniel M. Bell, Jr.

javier sent me a link to this article concerning capitalism. it has an interesting and different take on the popular argument. although i feel that his conclusion lacks some creativity and the article isn't written all that well, it is definitely worth checking out:
The Problem with the Problem with Capitalism

talk·ing

talk /tôk/
v.talked, talk·ing, talks
1. To articulate (words): The baby is talking sentences now.
2. To give expression to in words: talk treason.
3. To speak of or discuss (something): talk music; talk business.

    this is totally awful, but i often times get frustrated with people talking. if you are familiar with Brian Regan's "me-monster" joke, you'll understand. think back to a social situation in which you or someone else tells a story, then think what came next- someone else sweeps in with their own story. theirs are always bigger and better. this would drive me nuts, and it would bother me even more when i caught myself doing it. i grew to hate this battle between who could tell the best story, or who could present their thoughts in the most dramatic and captivating way.
    the other day i was with a few friends and this same exact situation came up. one by one, nearly cutting the previous storyteller off, each person threw in their two cents (myself included)- this game kept up for a few rounds. as i was listening to a friend's story my mind seemed to have stopped trying to dig through my past trying to come up with a rivaling story and found something beautiful in this rush to share stories.
    a good friend of mine (who never ceases to show and teach me new things) was telling her story and i thought- is it that the only reason this story exchange thing bothers me is because i don't have the best stories and other people are getting attention and being glorified for their tales?. this thought did not sit well; because it was true. i realized that my issue with people talking was not with what they were saying, but because they were talking and getting the spotlight- not me. i realized how selfish i can be in social situations and it made me sick.
    after coming to this revelation i slowly began to see the beauty within these exchanges. i have learned so much about my friends and peers- things that are important, things that i can relate with, things that define my friends by merely listening and not rivaling. these stories are not just crossbars on a latter being used to climb up the social hierarchy, but they are real stories, real feelings, real concerns, real fears and real joys. i need to treat people's stories as such.
    i enjoy listening to people talk. i am learning to love through eager ears. the more i wrestle with this, them more important this seems. being able to set aside my pride and my story for the sake of listening and learning is difficult and socially contradictory- it is something that i have realized is essential in the creation of real love.
    i'm trying. i'm trying. i'm trying.