Have you ever wondered why we are called AMERICA? Many of us are unaware by the REAL person who discovered our land we call America (as opposed to San Salvador). His name was Amerigo Vespucci who was born in 1454 and died in the year 1512. From his contributions of being an explorer and cartographer (a map drawer), the continents of North and South America bear his name. His first name AMERIGO is what our land mass is named after but was changed to a feminine version, AMERICA.
It is said that this was an attempt (don't ask me why) to be consistent with the feminine names of Asia and Europe, since they were named after women. A lot more can be said about our guy, Amerigo Vespucci. But that's something you can study about on your own time. As for Columbus, he was basically an explorer with strict obedience to the Pope during his time (his ship the "Santa Maria" is Spanish for "Holy Mary"....hint hint).
We're usually not told about the story of how Columbus was sent back to Spain in chains and shackles. This is detailed by the esteemed biographer of Columbus, Samuel Eliot Morrison. He gives very grim statistics of the torture and genocide Columbus authorized upon the natives. He was sent back to Spain as a common criminal. When I think about the true founding of America, I think about another ship. That is, the MAYFLOWER, which sailed a little over a century later. Unlike other explorers, the Pilgrims were not searching for GOLD....they were searching for GOD!
Anyway, Happy Columbus Day (it's at least a day off for some people...haha)!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Pain & Suffering (an interesting quote from C.S. Lewis)
Lately, I have been reading devotions from C.S. Lewis. The daily devotions combine quotes from his classic works. One of those works that is featured is The Problem of Pain. In one of the excerpts from that book, Lewis describes pain as 'God's Megaphone.' Allow me to share this quote with you:
The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are the less their victim suspects their existence, they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt.....And pain is not only immediately recognizable evil, but evil impossible to ignore. We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities; and anyone who has watched gluttons shoveling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they were eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. -C.S. Lewis
Now, the way this speaks to me, is that pain is God's non-verbal but 'LOUD' way to get my attention. His 'shout' is not always a cry of pointing out sin and wickedness we have done (and yes, sometimes it is). But either way, He desires for us to draw closer to Him. Just in case you haven't noticed, isn't it always GOD who is usually the first one we think about when pain arises. (Selah, meditate on that)
The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are the less their victim suspects their existence, they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt.....And pain is not only immediately recognizable evil, but evil impossible to ignore. We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities; and anyone who has watched gluttons shoveling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they were eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. -C.S. Lewis
Now, the way this speaks to me, is that pain is God's non-verbal but 'LOUD' way to get my attention. His 'shout' is not always a cry of pointing out sin and wickedness we have done (and yes, sometimes it is). But either way, He desires for us to draw closer to Him. Just in case you haven't noticed, isn't it always GOD who is usually the first one we think about when pain arises. (Selah, meditate on that)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
This is the week of Creation (according to old historian).
Back in 1658, a man by the name of James Ussher wrote a book titled "The Annals of the World." He studied a lot of the solar and lunar cycles along with the different calendars of various civilizations. With all that being said (and a LOT more can be said), Ussher concluded that the creation of the world found in Genesis 1 was completed on Saturday, October 9, 4004 B.C. and that the first day of creation (according to our calendar) was on Sunday, October 2, 4004 B.C.
If you have noticed your calendar, this is the week (in 2010 A.D.) where October 2nd fell on a Sunday and this Saturday will be the 9th. So, according to Ussher, this is the actual week of creation. So, what should I do on 'Creation Week?' Well, I'm writing this on Thursday which would be day 5 of creation. That's when the animals were created (Genesis 1:20-23). Hmmmm...anyone wanna go to the zoo today?
If you have noticed your calendar, this is the week (in 2010 A.D.) where October 2nd fell on a Sunday and this Saturday will be the 9th. So, according to Ussher, this is the actual week of creation. So, what should I do on 'Creation Week?' Well, I'm writing this on Thursday which would be day 5 of creation. That's when the animals were created (Genesis 1:20-23). Hmmmm...anyone wanna go to the zoo today?
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