There are several things about the modern world that I simply can not understand. I don’t know how Piers Morgan has a job. I don’t know why some psycho kills someone with a weapon and it’s my rights that come into question. However, the biggest head scratcher of the day comes from a Christian school getting sued by one of the biggest lovers of press conferences (aka a media whore) Gloria Allried and her client.

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I am a proud Christian, and I am in pain.

I find myself sitting in the midst of winter, and reminded of what this season has always meant from a literary standpoint. Often times, winter is used in literature as a reminder of death. This is the point of the year when all things die off and are replaced by the cold, and all sense of life is gone from the world. This is a time where funerals seem to be in place, and the color green, the color of life, is stricken from our environment.

This season, since I have been eighteen years of age, has been a time of pain and regret for me. Each winter, food doesn’t taste the same, all things that give me joy do nothing for me, and I live in a perpetual state of misery. Every winter, it seems like something is added to the list of things that remind me of what I’ve lost in my life. This winter is no different, because I find myself alone in life.

These are often moments where Christians lose their faith. They turn to the things that make them lose their religion, and ultimately lose sense of themselves. Most pastors and preachers would call this a time of “trial,” and suggest that these moments are when God expects us to grow. The one thing that they never say (speaking as someone who as been in that position, albeit not the same prominence) is how hollow their words are going to ring.

Over the course of time, I haven’t really found myself too different from people who go through the same spiritual struggles. Often times the questions of whether or not God is really with me is prevalent. There have been many moments where I have wanted to walk away from everything, and cast away my faith. It’s difficult, but I haven’t made that decision. Ultimately, I’ve found that my belief in Christ is one of my defining features. It’s that love and faith that I have that has helped shape me into a man.

Still, I’m a worn down individual. Every time I look at the lines on my face, I don’t really see age. I see experiences. I’m reminded of every time I’ve failed, every time I’ve bled, every time I’ve hurt, and the few times I’ve succeeded. All that I’ve sacrificed is seen in the scars on my knuckles and arms, and there are many bad memories that will always bring a foul taste to my mouth. In a crowd of people my own age, I’m the only one who admits that regret is necessary, and I allow myself to feel guilt for the sake of my soul.

This is where I think people misunderstand two facets of Christianity. First, God is not going to make one’s life sunshine and puppies. In fact, every time I think of the Bible, one of the constants is the hardship people of God went through. There were the wars that Joshua experienced, the rough life of John the Baptist, and many of Christ’s disciples were killed as time went on. Pain is part of life, and God gives us the tools to cope with that pain, and forge something out of it that glorifies Him, but also makes us better people.

Second, God is not going to interfere when pain will happen. As C.S. Lewis stated, “The problem of pain is human avarice.” There’s no real mystery as to why we experience tragic events. We, as humans, are doing this to one another. Beyond that, we refuse to look around and see what we are doing. No one takes responsibility, but rather point fingers at either inanimate objects, a God they don’t serve, or someone completely unrelated to the goings-on. It is the tragedy of our existence. We’re oblivious to our own foolishness, and always will be.

I am in pain, but I am not without clarity because of it. I understand what causes pain, and ultimately people try to hurt others because they want those people to feel what they feel. It’s like they lash out, trying to take revenge on the world around them. I don’t want people to feel what I’m feeling, because what I feel has made my life less than what it could be. I’d rather be kind to people, and try to be something that no one else will be. I believe that someone needs to step up and be truthful, loving, caring, and ultimately someone with a strong feeling of right and wrong.

I am a proud Christian, and I am in pain. But I believe in God the father, almighty maker of heaven and maker of earth. And in Jesus Christ his only begotten son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Suffered under Pontius Pilate, he was crucified and dead and buried. Then, I believe he rose, and sits at the right hand of God. I will die believing these things, and whether I die as a father, or die alone, I will die serving God.

To those I offend by saying these words, I pray for the day that the truth I have learned in my life no longer becomes offense. Rather, I hope that you see what I’ve seen, and that God will bless you.

…and I believe he will.

-Micah C.

I have heard many things about the world around me.

I once was told that human kind was worth my time.

Then, the woman I loved left me for dead.

I was then told that human kind was not worth my time.

Then, I saw a random person stop his car and give a homeless man a hat and scarf he had just bought.

I once was told that people can learn from their mistakes.

Then, I saw the baby boomers destroy America’s economy.

I was then told that people can’t learn from their mistakes.

Then, I saw a drug addict turn her life to God.

I was once told that it would be worth it to fall in love again.

Then, my girlfriend left my life without warning.

I was told that love is worthless, and holds no merit.

Then, I saw my best friend and his wife celebrate seven years married.

I was once told that I would be a good man to a woman.

I have never had a relationship that has lasted.

I was told that I am a horrible human being.

My sister sees me as her biggest role model.

I was told that I would do great things.

All progress I’ve made on great things has seen nothing but glass ceilings.

I was told that I would never amount to anything.

Everything I have, I have earned.

I am not every man. I am myself. My life is not ideal, but my life is not one which someone can base his idea of the universe on. I should have quit ages ago, but I continue to soldier on. Nothing in life is given to me. Everything must be earned. I may die a lonely man, or I may die a father or grandfather. I may never love another woman in my lifetime, or I may find the love of my life tomorrow. All that I know is this.

The world is not what Man says it is. It is how God has made it, and how we have treated it. Life is what we make of it.

-Micah C.

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this

Considering the popularity of my blog posts on religion, I’ve decided to make it a regular topic here. I hate to toot my own horn, but I’ve gathered that a level headed Christian such as myself is not often that vocal on the internet. Beyond that, I don’t know many that are willing to shed their anonymity.

For those who do not know, my name is Micah C, and I am a working man who dabbles in Journalism. I also happen to be the son of a preacher man, and someone who has extensively studied Christian theology and world religions. I also believe that the scientific method works, that logic is applicable to life, and humanity has been given free will. For better or worse, I will speak on religion because I firmly believe that I know more about it than random internet username #3584731.

As of late, the American Atheists have been making a few waves in the news, and none of it has been positive. The first part is their moves to try and get a religious artifact removed from a New York museum, claiming that it “violates separation of Church and State” and also “violates the first amendment.” Well, both of these particular arguments are about as wrong as wrong gets.

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So, I think that I’ve established by now that I’m religious, yes? Devout Christian, can’t have sex til I’m married again, etc? Good. Glad that’s out of the way. Today I felt the need to get a bit personal and talk about my views on atheist pricks.

Now, for the disclaimer. Not all atheists are pricks. My good friends Johnny, Geoff, and Yousif are all atheists, and we get along just fine. One of my two best friends is also an atheist. So, this really isn’t me talking about everyone. Just some people.

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I think that it’s safe to say that humanity, as a whole, never ceases to give me more reasons to be a cynic.

Let me just get this out of the way for those who don’t know. I’m a devout Christian. I believe that God exists, that Christ came and died 2000 plus years ago, and I believe that Heaven and Hell exist.

As it stands, Christians have a very set-in-stone set of morals and principles that we believe we are held to by a higher power. These beliefs do not change, and are completely unwavering. At the end of the day, though, those beliefs aren’t hateful. Saying “do not do (x)” is not a statement with any emotional involvement. “Do not have sex before marriage” does not translate to “go light people’s genitalia on fire.” There is no hidden meaning or agenda.

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As with any other opinionated human being, it becomes rather obvious to anyone that meets me that there are several aspects to me as a person. I’m stoic, goofy, good-natured, blunt, and so forth. At the same time, I think that personality traits are really only a part of our character. Another thing that speaks of who we are as people are the things we associate ourselves with, and whether or not we are typical or atypical. As you can tell by the image to the left of this opening paragraph, we’re going to talk Christianity and Micah.

I’m always surprised when someone shows any shock to my religious slant. Since I was 14, I’ve worn a cross around my neck. I’m named after a minor prophet who brought forth a prophecy of where Christ would be born. Then again, the buzzed hair and chin curtain with Scott Ian inspired chin hair might give people pause. I don’t know, quite frankly. Either way, I’ve never been quiet about my faith. I’ve lost friends because of it, and people judge me for it, but I don’t care. I serve God, and I’m not ashamed of that fact.

At the same time, I’m here to talk about being the typical/atypical Christian. Which one I fit into really depends on who you ask. “Christian” has a very negative connotation within modern society. Today’s popular culture and majority of people in my generation have adopted the ideas of Postmodern Existentialism. Most people believe that there is no real truth, and there are no absolutes. More or less, it’s a philosophy that allows for someone to be a child his or her entire life. What rules are there to break if there are no absolutes, right?

So, someone who believes in a divine power who wrote the laws of the universe is the modern day equivalent of the parents who came home a day early to find their kids hosting a party. I believe in right and wrong, and I don’t care what your society says about it. Thus, to those who get their party ruined, I’m your typical Christian because that’s what the modern day temper tantrum dictates.

Personally, I think that I’m one of the people who falls into the atypical category. Well, for certain reasons. Aside from my manner of dress, my odd sense of humor, and the fact that women can send me head over heels, there’s one discerning factor:

I hate Christians.

No, seriously. I despise them. Reason being? Our beliefs aren’t supposed to translate into hatred. We’re not supposed to smack people over the head with our beliefs. Our love for Christ does not translate into superiority. I hate Christians because they take what I believe to be true and they twist it to their own ends, rather than taking the gift we’ve been given and using it to help improve the lives of ourselves, and more importantly those around us.

This is why I love Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings. Here is a man who took the Word of God and actually made time to understand what was going on, and why. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from Letters and Papers from Prison,

“Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him.”

It’s this concept of living the Word that is lost upon so many Christians today. We don’t really “get” what’s going on. Rather, we take the broad strokes of our belief and hold it high so we can elevate ourselves on pedestals. It’s a disgusting habit that was lampshaded by Brennan Manning.

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

I’m not claiming that I’m the perfect Christian. I’ve never been close to it. When I was young, my pride was aligned with the very people I’m condemning. In my early 20’s, it was my rage and stubbornness that caused me problems. These days, I’m much calmer, but I have issues with envy and lust. The combination of the two is a potent venom that shakes me to my core. There are nights where the ache of my loss is so bad that I hate myself for the fact that I will never taste the sweat of a woman I loved, and hate people around me for having that sensation at their fingertips and just letting it waste away.

That’s why I follow God though. That’s why I love a deity. That’s why I still read my Bible, sing hymns, and pray. It’s also why I work hard, and support my co-workers. It’s why I try to live a clean lifestyle. I try my best to be a good man, but when I stumble, there is always someone there to pick me up. A perfect father.

So, I guess in the end, atypical or typical really doesn’t do this part of me justice. The fact of the matter is that I’m just a complex man who loves Jesus.

Usually I close these out with some clever quip that I’ve come up with, but I feel like something from C.S. Lewis fits better. Enjoy.

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”

Every once in a while, it seems that something comes up in our society that I feel the need to comment on despite the fact that it has absolutely nothing to do with video games, thus being outside my line of work. This time around, I wanted to talk about a video that has gone viral recently, which is called “Hate Religion, Love Jesus.” In the video, a student from Washington state speaks on his view of both religion and his coming to believe.

First and foremost, let me say that I think the critics of this man’s video are a bit off. To be quite frank, I don’t think that he’s really shortsighted. He legitimately points out some of the flaws within the structures of religious bodies. When it comes right down to it, political parties and classifications really are meaningless to the message contained in the Bible. There’s no passage that dictates someone who believes in God should also have to choose Presbyterian, Baptist, or so forth. When I was baptized, I don’t seem to remember Newt Gingrich waiting for me with a handshake, saying “Welcome to the Republican party, son. Hope you like war.”

However, the video itself is wrong on many levels, but ultimately the faults can be summed up in one statement. You see, this young man’s video actually is more about gripes with humanity’s application of belief, as opposed to the body of belief. Religion doesn’t start wars. Overambitious men who abuse the beliefs of others start wars. Religion isn’t the reason that some people get nasty glares when they walk into a church. It’s because human beings give into feelings of superiority, and want to use their beliefs to hold themselves above others. You see, it wasn’t religion that Christ came to abolish. It was to show people that there was a better way to live.

If the current state of religion is anything, it is simply a example of what happens when humanity takes something meant to do great things and twists it. You see, what Christ consistently focused on was people. He wasn’t a critic of the Jewish establishment of his day because they were religious. He was a critic of the establishment because the men who led it had become corrupt and self-centered. If you look at any of his examples used in his several parables, he discusses human character, and compares the self-serving to the self-sacrificing, and the wise to the foolish. He uses these examples not to show what’s wrong with religion, but rather what’s wrong with it when twisted by the desires of fools.

At the same time, I enjoy this little video. Aside from the nice little rhyme, it’s a video of self-reflection. There is a sub-sect of Christianity (primarily composed of non-denominational believers such as myself) that doesn’t even like the term Christian, but rather Man or Woman of God. I would just hate for those of us who have made that decision to lose sight of why we believe what we believe, and why we’ve chosen to follow a deity.

I hope that none of you will think of this blog entry as me trying to preach or convert you. To quote Christopher Hitchens, “Believe what you want to.”* A respectable statement from an outspoken Athiest, don’t you think?* As it stands, situations like this are just things that I feel I want to address simply because they fascinate me. It pleases me to see another Christian openly say that the Church is flawed, because not enough do.

-Micah C


* Side note: I think that Athiesm, as a belief structure, may have lost the only sensible human being in the public eye with those ideas when Hitchens died. Now the only Athiest I can think of in the public eye is nothing more than a fat e-beggar who is mad at Jesus for some relative of his dying, or something along those lines.

One thing I’ve noticed over the past couple months is that I’ve gained quite a few new followers to my little blog here. It’s nice to see, for certain. In fact, part of what I like about Tumblr is that it’s really, really easy to get feedback from people who read what I write. Then again, I wouldn’t say that I’m ridiculously hard to get a hold of. So, a couple things: 1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I love the “Ask Me Anything” bit, and I love to share my industry insight with people, and 2. Every once in a while I have a post where I just talk about whatever is on my mind.

This is one of those nights. Here’s the thing: I cut loose quite a bit with these posts, so if I offend you, keep in mind that this is just personal opinion, and I won’t be impartial at points. Generally, I’m a nice guy, but I’m also opinionated and blunt. Warning over, so let’s begin.

- You know what I’m not a big fan of? The fact that I have specific tastes in women, and I’m considered shallow for it. Quite frankly, it’s a load of crap. I accept everyone for who they are, and I don’t judge. I have an appreciation for everyone that I meet. At the same time, I reserve the right to be attracted to whomever I’m attracted to. My thing is that I don’t like bigger girls. When I say bigger, I do mean grossly overweight. Now, I’m not a small person by any means, but I’m also someone who has no trouble moving around or doing anything quasi-athletic. I like to have a girl that I can wrap my arms around and envelop with my reach. It’s just something I like, and there’s some girls I cannot do that with. Personally, I think that everyone should be respectful to others, but that’s a two way street. You need to be able to allow people to live their lives if you want them to let you live yours without judgment.

- Going on with the respect issue, I’m pretty sick and tired of people pointing the finger at Christians such as myself and calling us close-minded without realizing that they’re hypocrites. The reason I say this is that I think that a church has the right to turn down people getting married in their sanctuaries. In fact, it’s a constitutional right, considering it falls under the right to practice religion. Also, churches don’t just turn down homosexual couples for marriage. Some churches turn away couples that are having sex out of wedlock, or others that don’t do well in pre-marriage counseling. Why? For the former, it’s because that Christians believe sex is reserved for the sanctity of marriage, and for the latter, it’s because a preacher would be doing a terrible job of being a spiritual adviser if he married a couple that wasn’t ready for the responsibility. I can understand the frustration of some people, but don’t point the finger at a group of religious people as being the center of all close-mindedness, because you’re not fooling anyone. Everyone has the potential to be a jerk, no matter what race, creed, or orientation.

- You know what’s awesome? Waking up in an apartment or home that is 100% your own. I never, ever want to get sick of the feeling, simply because it’s a sense that I’ve really been blessed. This past month and a half has been completely and totally awesome for me simply because I’ve turned things around so swiftly. The only troublesome part has been readjusting my sleeping schedule to one in line with Vlad Tepes Dracula. Still, it’s good work, and I like the quiet of the evenings. Now if only they would stop asking me to wake up earlier.

- I really, really, really am in need of some new entertainment. So, if any of you readers have suggestions about a game to pick up (PS3 and 360 are my options at the moment), feel free to suggest away. Right now I’m eyeing Bulletstorm and LA Noire, but Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Enslaved, and Red Dead’s Undead Nightmare are all staring me in the face and saying “You forgot us!”

- I can tell you right now that if Mitt Romney wins the Republican primaries and runs against Obama, he’s toast. He’s got three things going against him: He’s dumb, he’s just trying to subvert Obama with whatever he says, and he’s a Mormon. Not that I have a vendetta against Mormons, but this guy is the John Kerry to Obama’s Dubya.

- To expand upon my statement about freelancing: The gist of it all is that I’m not at a point in my life where I can really just sit down and write for any one place. At the moment, I’m writing for a newspaper and one website, and I’m in talks with another website to start putting together stuff for them as well. The big thing for me these days is that I’m working on putting together a solid resume so that, in the future when I’ve finally got my degree in journalism, I’ve got a great resume behind it. Before I’m in my mid thirties, I want to be able to not have to worry about where my future lies.

Well, that’s all for tonight, folks. See you around.

-Micah C