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new journal. posted on 07/23/08 by show6
click here to visit the new showbread internet journal. there, you can subscribe to for (somewhat) pointless or worthwhile showbread rantings.

satanism. posted on 09/27/07 by show6
Satanism, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t involve drinking goat blood from iron goblets while praying oaths to the devil. Satanists don’t even believe the devil exists. In Satanism, the devil merely “represents” an idea that Satanists live by, which is basically “You are your own God, do whatever you want”. This is what makes Satanism the antithesis of Christianity, not virgin sacrifices or flaming pentagrams. Satanism is actually the most basic way of human thinking; most people I know (including Christians) adhere (albeit unknowingly) to Satanic doctrine. According to Anton Lavey’s “Satanic Bible”, here are a few of the “9 Satanic Statements”: -Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates! -Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek! -Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires! -Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence! -Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams! Where as Christianity is completely based on love for everyone, including enemies and those who deserve love the least, Satanism is based on giving love to those we deem worthy of love. Where as Christianity is based on turning the other cheek and no retaliation against those who harm us, Satanism is based on self-appointed ideas of justice and vengeance. Where as Christianity is based on the notion of faith and believing in what is unseen and spiritual, Satanism is based on physical reality and tangible existence. Sadly, this is the way most people (including Christians) operate. People are naturally inclined to selfishness, which is the driving core of Satanism, repaying kindness for kindness and evil for evil. We give kindness, love and respect to those who give it to us, to those who “deserve” it. After being violated in some way, our obligation to love and respect a person becomes vanquished. According to the Bible, our obligation to love those who violate, hurt, persecute and destroy us not only remains, so does our obligation to humbly serve them, just as Jesus did and does for those who violate, hurt, persecute and destroy him. Andrew Murray talked about how humility was the identifying characteristic of Christ, and that all the humility you have within you is straight from God. However much pride you retain however, is completely of Satan. This is why Satanism is what it is. Satan represents the absence of humility, putting oneself before all else rather than putting EVERYONE else before oneself. Philippians 2:3 says: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. The conclusion is that Satanism isn’t what most people imagine it to be, in fact, there are Satanic “principles” that discourage immoral things like violence and “unwarranted” cruelty. But what it is still embodies pure evil according to Christian theology. The antithesis of Christianity often runs in conjunction with traditional human pride, which is essentially of the devil himself. This must be what Christ was talking about when he said we’d have to “deny ourselves”. Anytime we ignore the road less traveled and look out for our own interests first, retaliate, seek our own ideas of justice and what is fair… we are following Satanic doctrine.

about our trip to India posted on 01/24/07 by show6
“…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” -Luke 12:48 As soon as I step foot outside the airport in Kolkata the smell hits me. It smells like smog. Smog, body odor, and garbage tinged with something else… something pungent. Traffic in India is not like traffic in America. Taxi cabs barrel down the highways with no apparent agenda other than getting from point A to point B while barely avoiding the other vehicles and pedestrians. The street that was home to our hotel, Sudder Street, was a sad place. Toddlers sit on tarps organizing large piles of boxed cigarettes, adolescent girls carrying scabbed, mud caked infants run barefoot over garbage and filth, desperately pulling at your arm begging for rupees or milk or food. Indian women, old and wrapped in dirt encrusted garments, speaking a breathy, hopeless Hindi, gesturing towards their mouths… asking for food. We tell them “No” and stare forward, pulling our arms away from them, they offer sex and we keep walking, they follow. Mangled dogs line the sidewalks missing limbs and eyes, covered in infected sores and flies. I noticed as we passed by in a cab, a garbage filled ravine where two naked children bathed. On the shore, the carcass of a disemboweled mutt lay strewn awkwardly as a hungry crow picked at its decomposing intestines, now sun baked and becoming a foul, translucent yellow. Children and adults bathe in the streets next to vendors and barefoot men openly eviscerating live chickens. A Brahman priest takes us through a Hindu temple where goats are sacrificed to Shiva and pilgrims travel for days by foot to come and worship at the feet of an elephant headed statue named Ganesha. He prays to the statues for us, asking for long happy lives and maybe a wife. The statue remains fixated, stationary, immobile and inanimate. A countless number of young girls are taken from their homes and sold as sex slaves to slobbering pimps. Pre teens walk the red light district, souls crumbling inside. We pay something like 70 rupees for a good meal… less than two US dollars. We meander about Calcutta with more rupees in our pockets than some of these people will ever know; it is the money that we brought for souvenirs. By day, we work in Apne Aap centers for victims of human trafficking or those at risk. Some of these children have experienced more sordid desecration than we will ever know. Trite but true: words cannot convey the dark truth of these realities. Laying my own eyes on it, I felt ashamed by my life of absolute excess in comparison to the lives of these people. I felt the unmistakable sensation of my savior’s heart… breaking for his true love. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world“ -James 1:27 For most of us, the absolute horror of human trafficking is an illusory concern. It is simply so far away and so unreal that our mind cannot develop a case for its urgency. For most of us, the poverty that lies elsewhere in the world is only a commercial on television or a photo that Bono puts on Oprah. As George Romero presented it in one of his films, we sit in a centralized palace, ignoring the horrible truth that surrounds us, acting as though it isn’t there at all. But it is there, breaking down our doors. The need for compassion, charity and selflessness is some kind of farfetched idealism, a cliché. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 5:3 My God is the epitome of true freedom through true, pure, real love. This love is a love that considers others better than oneself. A love so real that when one asks for the shirt off your back, you hand over your jacket, pants, socks and shoes as well. A love that asks that you love your neighbor as yourself. If we sit in our happy homes, fed and content, safe and sound, and never look out our windows to see the dying, disease ridden, starving, abused, mistreated, raped, tortured, isolated and bleak lives that surround us… we do nothing… we not only fail to love our neighbors as ourselves, we simply ignore them. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' -Matthew 25:31-45 Learn more about human trafficking and how you can help. www.madebysurvivors.org, www.missiontocalcutta.com

Saddam Executed. posted on 12/30/06 by show6
Saddam Hussein was executed today. I don’t know much about politics or even the issues surrounding the trial that led to his sentencing, and certainly I did not know Mr. Hussein personally. But, certain friends and family members have discussed the issue in passing and some of this discourse I was startled by. As the conclusion to Hussein’s trial was televised I heard comments from those around me along the lines of: “Good, I’m so glad they’re hanging him”, “He’ll burn in Hell” and “I think they should do to him exactly what he has done to others”… Maybe you’ve heard people say things like this; maybe you’ve said them yourself. There isn’t anything unusual about this line of thought; this is a very instinctual way of thinking for us… an eye for an eye… “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also…” – Matthew 5:38-39 In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he talked about the “eye for an eye” philosophy, he said it was wrong. The thing that startled me about the things I heard being said, is that the people who were saying them were Christians. This means they should be more inclined to be deeply saddened by waste of life caused by Hussein and by the loss of his own life… grieved to the core that someone could be lost in such a way and neglect the truth. According to what I believe, Jesus Christ died so that Saddam Hussein could live. Jesus Christ loves Saddam Hussein with a passion I will never understand, and he wanted nothing more than for Mr. Hussein to know the truth so that they might be together forever. Incidentally, myself, being a follower of Christ, I am called to love Saddam Hussein with this same passion. Not his sin, but he himself, surely he was loved by my Jesus. This love of Christ, the love that must dwell in me as a Christian, what love celebrates the death of another human being? What love wishes for another to be separated from God forever? What love neglects Jesus’ very words so stubbornly as to say: “Give me this man’s eyes, he took the eyes of others”… The sin inside Saddam Hussein, that very same sin is also inside my own heart. I despise this sin, but I also nurture it and let it prey on me daily. However, I have been given privy to a great truth, and this truth has set me free. If, before Saddam hung lifelessly at the end of some horrible rope, he did not accept this freeing truth, my heart is grieved profusely. “If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect…” –Matthew 5:40-48 Do not make the mistake of delighting in death of a human being, no matter how great the sin may seem to you. This same sin also lurks inside you… the beauty is this, being fully aware of the sin inside you and me, and the sin inside Saddam Hussein, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Do not carry yourself in such a way that you say that this death means nothing to you, that this grace is insufficient, that this love is meek. Instead, pray for those whose sin seems so great, celebrate the power of Christ and his love, and grieve in your heart when someone walks away from the truth.

reposted. posted on 10/12/06 by show6
a lot of people asked about the poem from the "Goodnight Sweetheart..." EP. so here it is again: Tonight is the last night that I will walk alone. tonight is the last night i will call this place my home. i have fought many windmills, and chased after wind. i've clasped my hands around nothing again and again. we're all just bleeding to death from self inflicted wounds. we're all obtainting careers to provide our dooms. blindfolded and naive. lay our treasures in our fireplaces. place our children on the train tracks and pull the wool over their faces. i have made some twin with selfish ambition and thread. and sewed up my cuts before i'd be dead. i tied knots with faith in the world and myself. living for pleasure and toiling for wealth. i played outside for years with a butterfly net. chasing the wind every day before the sun set. then i cried into my pillow and clinched my fists, and looked for new things to sew up my wrists. ignoring the voice that whispered "goodnight sweetheart.." i refuse to admit the stitches are coming apart. the years all went by and i am alone, everything has turned to dust that i called my own. i can't find something worth anything as far as i can see, the jars for the wind i've been chasing are empty. nothing in this world has lasted or put hope in my heart, the stitches have unraveled and are coming apart. just beneath my wrists i watched this scarlet puddle grow. i can't find anything more that i can use to sew. at the end of my rope is a dangling noose, i have tied while living for nothing, and found nothing of any use. i am tired of fighting windmills and i'm tired of chasing the wind, i will not open my hands to find nothing ever again. then his voice whispered to me before i closed my eyes, "i have already given you my life, so why is it that you chose to die?" then i saw him there standing over me, i covered my wrists, afraid that he would see. i couldn't look in his eyes and i felt so ashamed. i tried to hide all the blood colored stains. and my voice was shaking as i started to cry, i could feel that soon i was going to die. "i have nothing to fill all the holes in my heart ... the stitches have unraveled and are coming apart. i have chased after wind for a very long time, still i have nothing worth saying is mine. everything i did was for nothing and now i'm bleeding to death. and when I'll be dead i will still not have rest." as the blood ran down like the tears in my eyes, the only thing i have heard that has freedom from lies, spilled over his lips on to me. pale and broken. of all of the words i have heard to be spoken. all of the sorrow and all the regret. the years, the toil, the butterfly nets, this wasted life and all of this ... this never ending emptiness ... washed away below my arms in the blood that poured down, the thread and the stitches fell to the ground. his words blanketed me as my pain reached it's end, "I've loved you forever, and my love never ends."

derailed by the gnat... posted on 09/20/06 by show6
There’s a story in the New Testament of the Bible about a rich man. As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’" "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." What strikes me is what happens in verse 21: “Jesus looked at him and loved him….” Now Jesus, being the God of the universe and all, knew this man better than he knew himself. He also knew the outcome of this exchange prior to the man falling at his feet. The disciples were men who instantly left behind their entire lives to literally follow Jesus without turning back, this man did not offer to follow, he only asked what it is that he had to do to earn eternal life, a seemingly selfish inquisition. Knowing this, and knowing this man’s personal inability to let go of his material wealth, knowing that this man would not adhere to what Jesus asked of him, Jesus looked at him and loved him. Before and after the fact, Jesus loved him. As impossible as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, this impossibility becomes a reality with God, whom Jesus boldly claims makes all things possible. There is no way to earn a free gift, it has already been offered to you. What Jesus points out through this experience with the rich man is that there can be nothing you are unwilling to lose… As Chuck Palahniuk wrote in his debut novel: “It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.”