A Religion in a Rush

I just wanted to put this quote on the table...NOT for the purposes of criticizing, but to be transformed. Would love feedback.

"Christianity is a religion in a rush. Look at the world created in seved days. Even on a symbolic level, that's creation in a frenzy. To one born into a religion [Hinduism] where the battle for a single soul can be a relay race run over many centuries, with innumerable generations passing along the baton, the quick resolution of Christianity has a dizzying effect. If Hinduism flows placidly like the Ganges, then Christianity bustles like Toronto at rush hour. It is a religion as swift as a swallow, as urgent as an ambulance. It turns on a dime, expresses itself in the instant. In a moment you are lost or saved. Christianity stretches back through the ages, but in essence it exists only at one time: right now."

From Life of Pi, Yann Martel

Mmm... well, I'm not Hindu. I don't believe we are reincarnated or that we get more than one chance at life here on earth. But I find that our living-out of Christianity - maybe since the time when it became a "Western" religion - does reflect Western values like efficiency or cost/benefit prioritizing. Is Christianity an inherently rushed, frenzied religion? Jesus never seemed stressed about helping a certain number of people to salvation within a particular time frame. To me, he was fervent, but not urgent. Maybe? Maybe not.

I think we are lost or saved in a moment. Someone's entire eternity can change in an instant. Sometimes spiritual battles can be won or lost by one prayer. A person's soul can be freed from hell by the uttering of one heart-felt thought. It is true that in Christianity you must always be "on the ball"...working out your salvation with fear and trembling. For me personally, it is difficult to grasp the concept of ever having an "assurance" of salvation because I perceive that my destiny is still being decided. However, I think this sense of frenzied "working out of salvation" may have more to do with my still under-developed view of God and his grace than it does with any principles inherent within Christianity.

Anyway! This idea had just been floating around in my head and I wanted to share it with the void. Thanks for listening :)

(they're trying to get these signs banned - not PC, you know!)

the last week in a list

Alright, I've reduced the amazingness of this trip to a list of things done for the first time:

Drove a 4-wheeler
Bought a fishing license
Went dip-net fishing
Caught a fish!
Gold-panned
Went 4-bying and almost rolled!
Saw a reindeer
Ate deer and reindeer meat
Met a fire chief
Drove a fire engine
Hiked a glacier
Visited the Arctic Circle and the Yukon River
Saw a moose
Rode a horse bareback
Shot guns - including a sniper rifle!
Visited Anchorage, Fairbanks, North Pole, Chitina, Fox, Chena River, Tanana River, Circle

As you can tell, I have been very hardcore on this trip :) I'm super stoked about the pictures and will regale you with stories until you're sick of my bragging. I miss you all. See you soon.

Alaska, Days 1 and 2 which were actually one.

What an amazing place it is up here!! You know that song that goes, "Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain..." or something like that? I'm pretty sure they wrote that song about Alaska. It is absolutely pristine and compared to home, completely unadultrated. I don't mean to sound corny, but hugeness of the mountains and the lushness of the tress reminded me of heaven... or that scene at the end of The Land Before Time :) All that to say - it's beyond words.

My adventure began... I was picked up by my friend Hunter in Anchorage at about midnight. The sky looked like 5:45am for us at home. It was really weird :) We drove, and took breaks, and unloaded the Landcruiser we were towing in order to take a short off-road 4-bying jaunt up a jagged mountain - scary! All this took about 10 hours. We were about an hour from Hunter's house when we saw one of his friends, Bill Cody. My hopes and dreams of a shower and a nap were gone. We turned around and followed Bill back to a valley (I'd include pictures, but I'm running on a disposable right now!). We climbed high up the side of a hill and sat on the roof of Bill's truck to absorb the view, which was phenomenal. We then decided to hike up the rest of the mountain, which was my first near-death experience of the day (threat: heart attack). We ended up being closer to the clouds than the ground - it was unreal.

When some of Hunter's other friends joined us, we set off into the Alaska wilderness. I can see why Alaska draws people - the entire state is kind of like a huge playground. No rules, just right. Or something like that. Anyway, the chaos that ensued for the next 10 hours included near-rollovers (my favorite part of the day!), being towed across a river, muddy swamp grass in my mouth, a million mosquitos, utter seclusion, good-natured swearing men with beer, and (as I was eventually told, I should have expected) - hours-long truck breakdowns. It was an amazing day and SOOOOO fun, but needless to say, when we finally pulled back onto the freeway at 12:30am, I was ready for civilization. My first Alaskan adventure ended at 2am Wednesay morning and after a long rest, I can't wait to see what comes next :)

ps I don't have time to proofread, so ignore my mistakes!