Charitable

    There is a way of reading the Bible that says if your interpretation is not charitable, then that reading cannot be the case because it does not conform to this overall principle of interpretation. The principle states that whatever you interpret the passage to mean, it should conform to the way we advance the cause of Christ, which is through our good works of charity. As we read about how Jacob stole his birthright from Esau, for instance, we are to apply this story to how we help our neighbors by perhaps asserting our right over giving away tasty soups for our inheritance.

    This might not be the direct application that they would promote, but some form of exchange, where our intentions are to help our neighbor, are to be primary in how we understand this passage in Genesis.  The trades that we make should be in conformity with a charitable intention with whom we exchange. So perhaps what we seize is ours if our famished friend is willing to give up what seems like a small legal matter in exchange for a meal. This deal between Jacob and Esau was completely unequal, but when these proponents interpret the scriptures with charity as an overall framework, then they will end up taking the events like how Jacob took advantage of Esau as a moral lesson.

The Arguer and their Arguement

    A charismatic leader can persuade their followers through their enticing words. These influential ones can impress us with their tricks that tell us that they must know what they are talking about. They have great skill in showing us a picture of what they are urging us on to accomplish. Their standing among the crowd gives weight to what they are saying.  But their arguments cannot be evaluated until we know who they are. If we know who they are, we can then decide if their words have any worth. So before evaluating their arguments, we must mark the arguer for their background.

    But arguments should be evaluated on their own terms you might object. Regardless of who is speaking, truth remains truth. You may be right, but if you look at the entire picture which includes the artist as well as their art, you will see who would make such an argument in the first place. This point is important because an argument would have a different meaning depending upon who uses it.  Your reputation gives an argument weight because your words are empty, if you have no way to show your audience that you are right. So arguments are dependent upon the arguer for their worth.

Review of an Unbeing

    Bram Stoker’s Dracula is about a vampire. No kidding. He is hunted down by a band of investigators including Jonathan, his wife Mina, Seward, and Van Helsing, who each have an interest in tracking down this evil creature. The book begins with Jonathan traveling to Transylvania to arrange some business with the count.  He becomes trapped inside of Dracula’s castle, so that he, the count, then travels to Britain to take over the property there without Jonathan interrupting his plans.

    But what are vampires? They seem to be beings, who need the blood of another to live through the pain of their own curse. They are cursed with the problem of not having to die, so that they must seek life in other people or animals to survive. They feed usually on people that are weak and are prone to put their trust in strangers. So a vampire can be described as an unbeing where you do not know whether it is either a human person or a monster.

    But to say that Dracula is a book might be misleading because it is actually a series of journal entries, newspaper clippings, and recordings from old pieces of technology. And from these documents you learn about each of the characters who become involved with each other due to the vampire’s reign of terror that he has brought upon Britain. He has been luring the woman to become these unbeings, which we call vampires.

  At first Jonathan, a property guy, provokes Dracula to travel to Britain. Lucy, another character from the book, eventually becomes vampirized, so that others attempt to keep her life. In the second half of the book, the informed assailers plan to bring down Dracula as they learn from the journal entries that were written when they were assaulted by the blood drinker.

    The story is told from the perspective of different characters who seem to be at the mercy of Dracula until they begin to work together to rid Britain of this monster of a foreign land. This gives the reader a sense of this vampire from different angles, which allows us to see the conflict from an informed viewpoint. As we read about their struggles, we are freed from the prejudice of a single character, which must defeat evil without anyone’s help. The book suggests that there is strength in numbers.

Just information Widget man

    Technology and the writing process can conflict with one another. On the one hand you want your writing to stay up to date, but on the other hand, what you usually read does not have the same level of technology as what you are used to. Perhaps, you do not encounter new technology in what you are reading because it is not worth writing about, unless you are a marketer of such products. If you write about such widgets, then you are promoting a product instead of writing about things that matter, which is important for writers.

    If you have a social network that promotes their concerns to their patrons and customers, then you have an economy that is promoting their product for mass consumption. You as a consumer need to know about this issue that we are throwing out, so that you are on the same page as we are. And when you have a grip on what we are up to, then you are an informed consumer of the media that you have been paying close attention to. So the reward of using technology that seemingly is not worth writing about is that which is going on through social media is informing you of what they are promoting.

    This criticism of social media tells you how they promote themselves to inform you of their concerns. So this new technology becomes a personal organization, not a platform for your need to inform your world. As people move closer together, their concerns become more personal, rather than descriptive of the concerns that you might have other than how your friend is doing. So the new technology is described in personal terms, even though it is a medium for communication much like the older technologies. And if the new tech is a person who promotes his wares, his costumers will interact with him as their widget provider.

Fun and Games

     I have received a letter telling me that my methods lead to an undesirable consequence that I did not foresee. The groups that we associate with will have consequences that we cannot anticipate at the time of our association with them. As we interact with our groups, we will find a comfortable place within them at first, but then we are compelled to either lead or follow in our groups. This leading and following drives group interaction.

    I feel somewhat responsible for her unfortunate death. Jamie was found dead in her apartment along with a note explaining how she did not want to have a relationship with Dr. Dave, who I could not get a hold of. He must have gone somewhere, but I do not know where to begin to look. I just tend to my research and can only forewarn you to be careful in the groups that you choose to associate with.

   So this example shows us to be careful with what groups we seek to be with. Some of them are dangerous depending upon your willingness to cater to their demands once you agree to their unwritten laws. These laws can be found, if you decide to interact with them, in their actions. Look for repeated patterns of behavior that suggest something about the group as a whole. Their actions will tell you what the group is like more than their written material that they have available for the public.