Everything old is new again.

Alright. It happened. Ya know how there are just some people that go out of their way to exemplify every single thing that is wrong with the human condition? Well, one of those people sent me a friend request on Facebook. I can't for the life of me imagine why. He and I didn't exactly run in the same circles. In fact, some members of his circle literally threw rocks at me and mine. The experience created such a sense of hatred and anger within me that, even though it has been so many years, it all came rushing back to the surface in less than a heartbeat. I do not like that feeling. Hatred is the twin brother of murder, I'm convinced. And God forgive me, I hated him.

I ignored his request.

Maybe I shouldn't have. Perhaps this was a proverbial olive branch. Perhaps not. All I know is that it took a very long time for me to fight off that white hot stab of hatred I felt in my heart at the mention of one man's name and I do not relish the thought of inviting it into my world again. Maybe the problem is me. Maybe I should get over myself and realize that everyone changes. I know I have. Perhaps I should think this thing through more thoroughly and even send a friend request back to him. Perhaps one day I will.

But, God help me, today is not that day.

If you're the praying type, send some my way on this, will ya?

Religion and Chivalry

There has been an ongoing discussion in one of my circles of association about whether it is possible, or perhaps a better word would be 'reasonable', for an atheist to embrace chivalry.

Now, I have never made any apologies for the fact that I am a born-again Christian. Any view I have of the world is invariably going to be tinted by the lenses of that faith. And so it is with Chivalry. I see the chivalrous lifestyle as an outward expression of an internal belief.

But is a faith in Jesus Christ necessary in order to be chivalrous? Absolutely not. Anyone of any faith, or no faith at all, can treat people with that same level of respect (and regrettably, in some cases greater levels) and even share my views of right and wrong. But to me it makes a lot more sense to have that faith in God. To me, He is the reason we should treat others with respect and courtesy. To me, He is the reason there is right and wrong to begin with.

Does that mean I am perfect? Please. But what it does mean is that I have a 'true North' upon which to base the decisions I make. There's no way that can be a bad thing. For my non-believing friends who have chosen to take a similar Pilgrimage, my biggest worry is this; what is their 'true North'?

First step

I've been kicking this whole blog thing around for a while. I finally decided to give it a shot. What you're going to find here won't follow any particular theme (probably). Some of it will be political rants. Some of it will be religious stuff. I'm probably going to irritate some people. Let me say right out the gate that I do not mean to. Part of living a life of chivalry means being courteous to others. That, however, does NOT mean enabling people to continue to do stupid and self destructive things, nor will I stand on the sideline and watch anyone else be victimized. Like someone once said of Batman, 'lawful good' does not always mean 'lawful nice'.

What I hope to do here is plant the seed of honour and integrity in people, and change the world around us all through two simple, if somewhat archaic, things. Accountability and personal responsibility.

Cheers if you keep up with this!