Why are we alive?

No this is not going to be a self-pitying rant about "Why am I specifically alive?" or "Why are we all here," but rather a question on the intentions of God and other religious deities.

As a christian, I'm not even going to pretend to know what God wants. Historically, this "we can never know the will of God" thing has been very convenient for religious leaders, as they can spout all kinds of nonsense and just say that they could not understand the powers that be when people point out that they are wrong. However, I am going to make a case against one religious leader, Jonathan Edwards.

In his rather famously brutal speech "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God," Edwards makes some very emotionally compelling arguments (Apparently he had people weeping and contemplating suicide due to his speech), but the logical side of his arguments certainly needs some shoring up. For starts, Edwards constantly describes all the endless horrors that God has ready for unconverted men, and that he could at any time kill them, whether it be by withholding miracles or opening the earth beneath them or just shooting them with invisible divine bow and arrows. But why hasn't he?

In his speech, Edwards fails to mention any reason that God has not done so, other than the fact that no one knows what He is thinking. If God truly had no reason to hold off all this imminent death, then surely everyone who is reading this blog should not exist, as he would not have held off this death and thus our ancestors (and thus us) should never have existed to start with. Then why DO we exist?

Perhaps we exist because God is indeed not that angry at us. According to the Bible, God sent his only son in the form of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins because he loved us. It is also said that Jesus paid for every sin in the past, present, and future. To make such a claim, God would have to know the future, meaning that he would know about the people of Edward's time well before they were alive.

Admittedly, that argument (and any other argument made on this topic) is flimsy at best, because really we don't know much about our divine entities, probably because this mysteriousness is part of their attractiveness. Again, we do not know the will of God. But surely anyone with the time and sense to think through Edward's speech can tell that what he says does not reflect the will of God. Or maybe you think otherwise. Anyway, let me know in the comments. And please do not go crazy with about religion and all.

"Asian Education"

Sherman Alexie, in an excerpt from his book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, describes his unorthodox upbringing at the hands of alcohol and racism. The result is what he labels "Indian Education." Yet every ethnicity's quirks can result in a different type of education, right?

It's no secret that Asian children have recently been developing a reputation for substantial success in America's education system. The modern (partly correct) stereotype of always overachieving and getting top notch grades no matter the price tends to put Asians among the creme de la creme in terms of achievement focused students. But why is this the case? Here's my take on it (or at least my take on Chinese students, as I'm not qualified to really examine another ethnicity).

One factor in this success could be the heritage of modern Chinese students. It was only recently that Chinese people were really allowed to leave the country, and those that did were the intellectual elite of the Cultural Revolution era. Whether they were allowed to leave because they posed the greatest threat to Chairman Mao's rule or because they would China look good to the international community I do not know. Perhaps, though, as they had children, they passed down their affinity for education.

The people who could leave also passed down their habits and views. No doubt in order to succeed, they put insane amounts of effort into their work. It would not be much of a stretch to assume that they taught their children to do whatever it takes to reach their goals. Also, as a result of the crippling poverty that marked the cultural revolution, modern Chinese parents probably place more importance on money than most other things. This is probably why many Chinese students are aiming to become doctors, lawyers, or engineers, three of the top-paying jobs on the market.

No doubt there are other factors in the modern phenomenon of high achieving Asian students, but it would seem like a ridiculous coincidence that the smartest people from Asia came to breed some of the smartest children in the rest of the world if indeed heritage does not play a role in Asian success. In whatever the case, I look forward to what you think. Any thoughts? Comment below.

Is the truth worth sacrificing for the sake of the "truth"?

Stories are meant to convey information, whether it be sensory information or emotional information. Yet, when the information is of an emotional nature, story writers have had problems conveying the emotions themselves as opposed to descriptions of the emotions. Thus, the following question arises: "What are you willing to sacrifice for the sake of the truth?"

Obviously, since this is a rather personal question, different people have had different answers. For example, Tim O'Brien, in his book The Things they Carried, successfully maintained verisimilitude. Yet he admits that most of the story was fake. Why?

Clearly, for Tim, the gut emotions of his war experiences amounted to more than the experiences themselves. Thus, for him, for the sake of the "truth," (his emotions) he sacrificed the truth (what actually happened). For example, in the chapter "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," the entire incident including Mary Anne was highly unlikely, as no girl would be allowed into an American base in Vietnam. Yet, the core truth -- that war changes people and forces them back to their feral roots -- is enhanced by the deception.

This truth is seen in the real world, too. As areas formerly peaceful have become shaken by war, common civilians have both taken arms and used their skills to help others. For example, some civilians in war-torn Syria have created a homemade tank. It can be seen by following the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB1BDrFzFY0

Still, back to the point, Tim O'Brien was willing to sacrifice a lot for his "truth." His decision reflects on him as a writer and as a person. What would you sacrifice for the truth? Is information gathered by the senses worth more than information gleaned from experience? Let me know.