Blogging Takes too long

I figured people would look at the title and this and laugh..because it is kinda ironic. Blogging is supposed to be: just leaving quick thoughts or talking about a small subject...or at least thats what I invisioned it as. As time goes by, I find myself digging into books and reading more and more just to make a blog post clearer and yet I always find myself wanting of clarity. So, here is an opportunity for me to say that blogging takes too long sometimes! Thats probably why I dont blog so much.
So here is a big thanks to all my blog readers. Thanks for being patient, thanks for commenting, thanks for being involved in the conversation. You guys rock.

Imagination continued

Imagine for a moment that you are sitting underneath a large tree. The breeze is blowing, and your heart beat slows. Everything around you is trivial comparable to the state of mind you find yourself in. We have all had this feeling. The difference is that some of you imagined an oak tree, others a tall prickly pine, and still others a palm tree maybe sitting along the shores of a beach. We all have seperate imaginations, but we are limited in our imaginative knowledge. You can only imagine things of which you know. I started this whole excersize for myself when reading Francis Schaeffer's "Everybody Can Know." Schaeffer begins with walking us through this imagination of human experience. Schaeffer's goal is for us to realize that most of the things we imagine our human experience, and then he drops the hammer, as I am about to do...

Imagine again this same tree. Maybe there are birds, maybe there are waves, nevertheless you can see it because you know of it.

Now imagine God.


By this time most of you are either staring at the screen or trying in some abstract way to put God into images. Your epistemological framework, or the way in which you know has just been shattered. If you are an athiest or agnostic, you might say, "not at all, I completely agree."
So I pose my second question.

Imagine Time.

Not the magazine, not a clock, not the ticking sound it makes. Imagine Time. The concept cannot be grasped into an imaginative framework. Does this negate the existence of time? No. Even someone who loves to argue cannot convince themselves that time does not exist, because when they sit through my discussions, they will look to see how much of their time I might be wasting...jaja. We live in a society controlled by time, yet it is an unimaginable concept, which we are constrained to. If you still dont believe me, imagine Eternity. You cant. For every moment you spend imagining you must allow it to change eternally, and therefore cannot ever create a solitary truth about eternity as a concept in the mind.
You cannot imagine time, but you CAN know that it exists. I am not saying that you DO know. We all have the concept in our heads, but could construe it to fit our own needs. So it is with God. we cannot imagine Him, but we CAN know that He exists. This is inequivicably different than KNOWING GOD.

Again, I am going to leave you hanging. Next time I write, over the weekend, I would like to unpack what it means to know God's existence, how it relates to imagination, and why we can trust our imagination and our knowledge of Gods existence. I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am writting it, but do understand that this is written mostly as a stream of conciousness and some ideas may be disconnected since I am connecting the dots quicker in my head than my hands can respond most of the time. So if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave them and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Imagination

Imagination is an expression that is stricly human. You dont see dogs daydreaming about eating bones, you dont see rabits daydreaming about outrunning dogs. Imagination is a human experience, not because of the daydreaming aspect, but because of the memory and extrapoliation that a human can accomplish from one simple thought. I dont want to argue whether or not dogs dream, or remember. They obviously have some sort of sensor of perception, but what I do want to argue is that the extent of that perception is limited comparable to the human mind.
I have always heard the common expression "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." However, I would like to pose a question concerning this expression. Can a mind, when being used, be wasted, and by what standards do we make these judgements. Here is where imagination steps into play. Can we make judgements on someone else's imagination? This is also the point where many philosophers would scoff at me and say, "Of course not. Imagination is an individual experience." However, if it is an individual experience, then we would all experience the method of imagination differently, which we do not find to be the case. In other words, everyone does have different imaginations, but the very fact that they are able to conjure up thoughts in some form or process means that the process of begining an imagination is the same in all humans. Notice I am not saying the catalyst of imagination is the same, but the process. It could easily be argued that different people have different catalyst of imagination, and different levels and sections of an imaginative function of the brain.
I will pause for now and let you think on this. I now must leave for class, but will return to ponder more on this concept later. Enjoy the thoughts and imaginative concepts this leaves you with,


Caleb

First Day of Classes

Its the first day of classes, and im sitting in the library watching the people scurry about their daily routines. I thought myself, itll be good to get back into a routine, but thats just my flesh talking..jaja. many of you may know that routines and me dont tend to get along. Hopefully I can pull off this last semester of school without getting sucked into the 'societal' aspect of christianity. I know I may have talked about it before, but I obviously do not want to conform to the world much less the 'christian world.' but here we all are, making decisions and routines. I just pray that in all I do God may be glorified and I that we can continue to be mystified by the gospel so that we will not stop in seeking its truth. Ill try to have a good first day of my last year, you try to have a good day, cause really it doesnt matter what tomorrow brings. Charis and Shalom,

Caleb

2010

Well. We made it. We are now in the year 2010. Im sitting in my parents apartment just watching alot of the performances on television and im thinking that whatever is wrong with the entertainment business, and its alot, needs to be corrected. When we begin to allow children to sing songs about relationships i think we are loosing intelligent young men and women. with the introduction of the idea of 'adolesence' we take away responsibility at a very young age and teach our children that its ok to be whatever you want to be and you dont have to be responsible till you grow older. I hope that in the year 2010 that if I cant do anything else that I can set an example for those who are younger than me to be a mature thinking individual no matter what age they might be. I also plan to loose wieght next year..jaja. if i cant balance my own life and my own physical aspects how should i expect to teach a healthy lifestyle, physical, mental, and spiritual to others around me. Happy new year,

Caleb

Film- Culures Mirror

Well, just finished up typing a small paper that i actually did a short documentary about my life as a filmmaker. Anyways, here is the summary paper that went with the video. Maybe one of these days ill have enough time to upload the video so you can watch it. In the meantime, enjoy the paper!

Caleb

Film: Culture’s Mirror

We live in a society where art is now a form of communication between many different cultures. Living in America, we must realize that we are surrounded by a myriad of cultural expressions that are formed within the smaller families from whence they come. Andy Crouch recognizes this and has made it clear in his book, Culture Making, that we must be cultural creators in the cultures that we live amongst. I have been working in film for almost five years now, taking on many different positions in the production process. As I grow in my filmmaking career I have begun to see the impact that film can make on a culture.
The world likes to revolve around its art, and in some way the art begins to show the expressions of the culture, whether for good or for evil. Dr. Harvie Conn once said that film is ‘culture’s mirror.’ In some way we are able to see the things that are in culture manifested in film, but in the opposite sense we can see ideologies that are developed in film be adopted by culture. Culture is inescapable, and the renewal of culture is our responsibility as believers. We have to return the ultimate expression of culture back to its original purpose, namely Christ Jesus.
I began to see the need to be a cultural changer in the world of film almost as immediately as I had started working. It’s often an interesting dialog when working with a non-Christian that is started simply by the works I have done in the past. The work I do as a filmmaker may not often be considered explicitly Christian, but what I do wish to do is to open the conversation with non-believers. I believe this would be a way that we can see cultural impact being made to the same extent that Paul began to do it in the early churches. He knew and understood the context, and he also knew and understood their philosophies and practices, and many times used those very things to point to Christ.
There are some topics in the film world that bypass any small concept that can be presented. If we as Christians are able to make quality films that meet the criteria of those very basic human concepts that have been ingrained in our system by God himself, then we can begin to see culture shifting towards its original intent. No matter what career path God takes you in you need to be and are commanded by scripture to be constantly renewing your mind so that you may know Christ. In this way you talk through the conversation with culture.
My name is Caleb Childers, and I am a filmmaker. My part in changing culture is to start the chain of conversation or inflict values on the greater conversation in culture on human morality and God. These values can be placed in any film and can exist to start the conversation or to even challenge the church. Either way that it is done, my job as a filmmaker is only completed because my duty as a Christian is completed.

EPS

Evangelical Philosophical Society....need I say more. If you have never checked out the EPS, you should do so. They have an incredible amount of information. I have spent about the last hour reading alot of the papers and essays they have as well as their blog, and I am just pushed to continue in my education so that someday I might be able to truly be an impact in the intellectual minds of America. Ive been contemplating and praying about getting my masters in apologetics at Biola, since they have a great program, but am still on the fence because of the money its going to cost. However, I still have 2 more semesters left(be graduating next december) and so Im still just praying and waiting to see where the Lord leads me. I do know now however that I need my masters, and I do know that I love making films, and that must also be a part of my life. So leaving California is almost entirely out of the question. I would also love to be at least nearby Riverside so that I could continue to work at Central Community as long as I have breath in me to serve their needs as a church body. So please, be praying for me as my time of 'transitions' is to come, but I know that God will provide the way that is right.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. -Ephesians 1:3

Caleb