Pompeii, or, How to Live in a Fallen World

Pompeii, by Bastille. It's a song that most of us know. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has sold over 3.4 million digital copies. Streamed on the radio for over 50 weeks, the song was aired to all kinds of people in all kinds of places. The tune and lyrics to this song have been loved by audiences all over the U.S.A and the U.K. But why?

The song begins by explaining that the world we live in has been tainted, blemished, by sin and hate:

We were caught up and lost in all of our vices.

In your pose as the dust settled around us.

And the walls kept tumbling down

On the city that we loved 

Great clouds roll over the hills

Bringing darkness from above.

It goes on to ask the question, "Can you still remember innocence and goodness?" 

But if you close your eyes, 

Does it almost seem like 

Nothing changed at all?

And if you close your eyes,

Does it almost feel like

You've been here before?

And finally, "What are we going to do?"

How am I gonna be an optimist about this?

I was struck the first time that I heard this song about how closely is resembles the story of Genesis. In the first book of the Bible, we hear of man's fall from the garden of Eden. Why? Adam and Eve ate of the Tree. It seems like such a small thing, but it made all the difference. As a result, we live in a fallen world, with fallen people. This is where Pompeii comes in. The song asks, "We are in such a mess. What are we going to do?" 

What are we going to do? 

This question strikes me as crucial in today's world. We are surrounded by the wreckage of our sin, and yet, we are called to "be perfect" (Matthew 5:48). How does that work? Well, I think that God has instructed us on our path to holiness with this verse:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

-Ephesians 6:10-12

I think that this verse is a perfect "call to action"! It tells us exactly how to battle the forces of evil on earth. Listening to this song while thinking about this verse is almost like reading the Old Testament with New Testament eyes! We see the misery and darkness of our sin, and the aid and relief that God brings us when we fight for Him. Jesus has been crucified, and through his death, we received life. We are "able to do all things through him", including the destruction of Satan. He has not only called us to this job, He has equipped us for it. 

I love the parallels to the Christian life that this song draws (even if they are unintentional!) and I think that it is a really inspiring song, when we add the battle-cry of Ephesians 6 to it. Living on this earth is a battle, and to win it, we need to constantly remind ourselves of how Satan is trying to win us over. In this way, one day, we will triumph over the "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places", and we will be reunited with the author of all light.

         

For more interesting blog posts posts about a fallen world, and how it affects us, please visit my friend StrongJoy's blog here.

A Short Ramble on Soda and Political Power

       Did you know that the average american drinks 45 gallons of soda per year? Don't believe me? Here's the math: three large cups of soda equal approx. one gallon of soda. That means it only takes 135 cups of soda to make 45 gallons. How many cups of soda do you drink each week? Two, maybe three? Well, two to three cups of soda a week actually adds up to 45 gallons of soda per year! It sounds ridiculous, but it's only too true. There are approx. 39 grams of sugar in one cup of soda. The FDA suggests only consuming 25 grams of sugar per day, but by consuming a soda, that limit is easily exceeded. Doesn't this seem a little bit ridiculous? Did you know, that in other countries, selling a food item with that much sugar in it is illegal?  

       Recently, me and some of my friends were discussing this matter. It seems so wrong that people should just be able to buy drinks with so much sugar in them! After all, most people don't realize that two to three cups of soda a week equals diabetes, obesity, and a host of other health problems that America is flooded with. The big mega-corporations have weaseled their way around correct labeling, and today it is hard to know what is inside your drink, even with the 'ingredients' listed. 

       What is the solution to this major issue in our society? One of my friends suggested regulations. She said that the government should simply not allow people to contaminate our food that way, and that the government should put regulations on it. I thought about this, and at first it seemed like it made sense, but then I thought about how many regulations we already have. It seems like once the government gets control of one thing, they want to have control of everything, and political power gets out of control. 

       My mom suggested that the government should not have anything to do with it. She agreed that political power gets out of control way too easily, and she thought that no regulations should be put down. I also considered this, but found that it really seems like some sort of rule should be put down at least for awareness!

       I came to the conclusion that the government should put rules on how companies label their ingredients so that people know what is in their drink, and how much of it is in there. I understand that there are still problems with this, but it seemed like the best idea to me. 

       If you have any solutions or ideas about how the government could solve this problem (or whether they should even try to solve it) I would really enjoy hearing what you guys have to say. I think that when we are talking about these kind of issues, it is important to have ideas from all viewpoints and backgrounds. For example: someone who has struggled with diabetes due to a lifetime of drinking soda might feel differently about the matter than someone who has not gone through the same experiences. In lieu of these facts, I heartily hope you enjoy your next cup of soda!

My Century Book

       Hey all! A few blog posts ago, I mentioned that I was starting a series of posts about the journals that I keep for school, and personal use. My first post was on my Commonplace Book. In this post, I will explain my Century Book.

       My century book is simply a journal that I keep to remember important events and people in history. When I read about people or events in history that really stick out to me, I put them in my Century Book so that I will remember them years later. By the time most people are adults, they cannot remember some of the most amazing parts of history, and why they are important to the shaping of the world. That is why I keep a century book. As you can see from the picture on the right, I have a page in my century

book for each century. When I want to put something or someone into my century book (George Washington, for example) I simply look up the year of his birth and death, write his name on the line that has the year he was born in, and put in the dates. On the right page, I will sometimes draw a picture of the person that I put into my century book, or something that relates to them (in the above picture, I have a drawing of a stamp with George Washington's face on it, and the Washington family coat of arms). I also have a spot on my page that is designated to facts about all the people and events from that century. I can put whatever people, events, and drawings into my century book that I want. I cannot express how helpful this part of my century book is. Just by flipping through this book, I can remember some of my favorite people from history, and any facts or drawings that I have about them in by book. Pretty awesome!
       There's more, though. Also in this book, I have a section in the back for maps. Every week, I have one day when I draw a map (copied from Winston Churchill's series, History of the English Speaking Peoples) in this section. First, I copy the map in pencil, tracing the path of the rivers, country boundaries, roads, lakes, and cities. Once I am happy with how the map looks, I go over the whole thing in pen. Pop in a guide to the different markings, label the map, and you're ready to go! I love this part of my century book almost more than the first part. Let me say that drawing maps is not easy. It's actually really complicated. Getting all of the lines and places to match up with the other lines and places on the map is difficult. It took me several months to really figure out how to draw maps, and I am still learning, but every map gets better, and it is really rewarding to see the map go from an confused jumble of words and lines to a useful and functioning tool! It is definitely worth the try, no matter how poor of an artist you are.
       So, in sum, the century book is a fantastic journal that allows us to keep track of history and it's most amazing events and people. As Martin Luther King Junior said: "We are not makers of history; we are made by history." This is so true! History really does impact the future and everyone in it. We are impacted by the actions of our ancestors. In history, we find patterns that repeat themselves. We can predict the outcomes of wars, treaties, and current events by using patterns from history. Everything is impacted by history. In my last post of this series I remarked that a commonplace book helps us remember. Well, it turns out that that is what a century book is all about- remembering. When we remember, we learn, and when we learn, we become better people- and isn't that the whole purpose of this thing we call life?