30 snowfalls!

As a result of my diligent reading of my sisters blog (http://melany7.blogspot.com) I come before you today with some interesting theories. Although not the primary benefit of her blog, I have found myself continually endued with small snippets of knowledge and pleasant entertainment. One of these small snippets of entertaining knowledge comes from her post on predicted snowfalls (http://melany7.blogspot.com/2010/10/27-snowfalls.html). In this blog post she explains how one may predict the number of snowfalls in a year. This number, as the theory goes, directly correlates to the day of the month on which the first snow fall occurs. In my sisters case this happened on October 27th. Consequently, she should see it snow 27 times this winter. To date, by my sisters house, it has snowed four times. This number (27) she was disappointed with as it is relatively high. If the snow fall had waited a few days, the number of predicted snowfalls would have dropped drastically. Well........ In good old Wisconsin fashion...... we have beet her. Twas just the other day I mentioned to a family member (and fellow reader of the blog) that I hoped it waited to snow a few days until the beginning of December. Such was not the case (jinx!). Today, November 30th it snowed for the first time. According to the theory we should expect 30 snowfalls this year. Although like my sister I think this sounds like an old wives tale, I will still keep track to see how accurate it is. I have more often than not been surprised at the accuracy of these wives 'tales.' Part of me hopes this one is false, since if it's not false we're gonna get a heck amount of snow........... we'll see......... Snowfall number 1, down -Nov 30th 2010.

Cheers!

A Self Contradiction

Earlier this evening I was in the midst of a group study session. How or why the topic came up, I do not remember, but all at once a friend of mine made the following claim: “all truth is relative, there are no absolutes.” Really? To this another fellow student responded that this statement could not be true. A claim that no absolute truth exists is inherently a claim of absolute truth. Therefore, if this statement were true, it would necessarily falsify itself. This sparked my philosophical side into deep thought. It’s not that this topic has never been brought before me – on the contrary it has often – it’s just that this time I saw things a little differently than I’ve seen them before. Thoughts that I have never heard voiced ran through my head lending deeper conviction in absolute truth. Despite the inherent self contradiction, this idea in the absence of absolute truth is widely propagated and believed (at least on a surface level. I don’t think someone could truly believe in this. For if they did, they would be believing in an absolute truth and thus not believing it at all). The idea that this conversation sparked that I have not heard before was this: if no truth exists then no lies can possibly exist either. A lie is the antithesis of truth. The definition of a lie is to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive. Without truth there can’t possibly be an untruth. To deceive is to cause to believe what is not true; mislead. If then there is no truth and there is no lie than there also can’t be contradiction since all contradictions have two opposing sides claiming truth – although each side may be right in some ways, after weeding through the inconsistencies on each side there will be one side that is claiming truth and one side that is claiming a lie. But these do not exist therefore contradiction cannot exist either. However, truth is the only thing that does not inherently contradict itself. So, if there is no truth than by definition everything else is a contradiction. But therein lies a problem – contradiction does not exist. If I were to question the student making this claim, counter-claiming that an absolute truth does exist. He would be forced to do one of two things: agree with me making the concession that truth does exist or he would have to claim my statement is false and that his was true. In so doing, he would perfectly demonstrate the existence of both truth and lies. This would most effectively nullify his original statement. There are two outcomes in this debate about truth: either truth exists or truth does not exist. The outcomes are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. If truth does not exist, the world is thrown into absolute contradiction. Yet contradiction cannot exist without a truth. Therefore truth must exist. Let me try to explain this concept of contradiction better for even now I am confusing myself. If there is no absolute truth then everything must be true. Everything cannot ever be a lie for lies cannot exist without the existence of truth. If everything is then true, there can be no contradiction because truth is the absence of contradiction. Yet given the premise of no absolute truth we can only be left with a conclusion of absolute contradiction. Therefore your relative truth is absolute contradiction. This brings us full circle for claiming there is no truth is a truth claim and absolutely contradicting.

I was reading movie quotes the other day and I derived the following statements from quotes from the movie The Oxford Murders (don’t watch it – not good). If no absolute truth exists than there can be no way of finding a single absolute truth – an irrefutable argument. Philosophy therefore is dead. Because, whereof we cannot speak, thereof we must be silent (end of quotes from the movie). Therefore, if truth does not exist to be spoken of, you cannot possibly make any qualified statements on truth, its existence, or nature. Therefore you cannot make the claim that truth does not exist.

Just some thoughts. I know they weren’t laid out very well but wanted to get it on paper while it was still in my head. Please give me your thoughts.

That Ever Elusive Word

Bring my pen down to the sheet

Some poetry to write

Wanting it to come out neat

Hoping my thoughts will come out tight

Writing to flee from the night

But I’m stuck on this line

Searching for the perfect word

Praying it will come to mind

I almost hear it, but then it’s blurred

Searching, searching for that perfect word

That word remains elusive

Though I try, try, try

The noise I hear is mutually exclusive

And deafens me from my word’s cry

As it calls to me when it passes by

I’m missing my chance

That word is almost gone

It’s like my mind is in a trance

Wait, it’s here on the tip of my tongue

But alas it won’t be done

It plays with me for a longer while

Playing, skipping, dancing around my mind

But always remaining the missing file

Refusing to allow me to find

That missing word so very unkind

That’s it, I’m done forget it

I’m going off to bed

The word is never coming, I quit!

As I lay down to sleep my mind screamed in my head

How could you surrender is what it said.

I can’t sleep, this is useless

My mind keeps searching for

That word so all elusive

I toss and turn as the clock strikes half past four

Please go to sleep my body my mind implores

After hours of frustration

When I had but given in to sleep

After losing hope in my dictation

It suddenly dawned on me

That ever elusive word was Lorelei

kneel: the all purpose stance! (or, when in doubt.....kneel!)

Here I stand, on my knees. I am powerless to do otherwise. My own strength would land me lower than hell. But by His strength, on my knees, I can stand tall rejoicing in prayer. I will walk by His might or not at all. For without His help I can do naught but fall. Here I am strong, humbly bowed before my King, enjoying the warmth of His gaze. Proud, not in what I've done but in the beautiful work of the cross. The cross brought me armor, so much stronger than the rags my own self-righteous works had been creating my entire life. I can only cast away my rags like an infested sinful disease, and put on the glorious armor that does not need to be shined, sharpened, or repaired. Here I am strong, without shadow of my own. Only in the shadow of the cross can greatness be found. Here the battle is won against the world, the flesh and the Devil. An army’s true strength is found by the number of those who submit to God, get down on their knees, and pray. I will passionately fight the good fight, on my knees. I will aggressively run the race set before me, on my knees. I will press towards the high calling, on my knees. I will walk on the road not taken by many, the high and narrow road, on my knees. I will advance His kingdom, on my knees. Help me Lord, to stand on my knees, walk on my knees, dance on my knees, worship on my knees, fight on my knees and live on my knees!