How to train your Dragon or, would you like some whine with your blog?

I guess I would like to begin by apologizing to my readers who have been complaining that I haven’t been updating my Quotable Quotes. In all fairness the title of the section is Quotable Quotes not Daily Quotes but I agree, more often is better than less often. So in response I will make an effort to do my Quotable Quotes more often.

 

I would also like to apologize as I find myself suffering from probably a bit of writer’s block and quite possibly stage fright. My initial plan was to post a new article in my blog once a week. However I am finding that once a week is turning into once every two or three weeks. It’s not that I don’t have any ideas; in fact I am full of ideas. The problem is, I either come up with the ideas when I’m not in any position to write them down, or I’m ready to write them down and I’m either tired or distracted or busy or something, anything but take the risk of writing something that sounds stupid. And so at the risk of “sounding stupid” I cancel the whole thing thereby assuring that I do not sound stupid. Unfortunately this also assures that I don’t sound like anything at all.

As a writer, I also find it difficult sometimes to write something when I’m not passionate about it. It’s kind of like the chicken and the egg syndrome. In other words, which came first? In this case we are not concerned about chickens and eggs and how that whole thing got started, but rather the concept of writing when one isn’t inspired to do so. Let’s face it, I’m a 53-year-old writer that had one magazine article published about 30 years ago. I spent about three or four years writing and trying to publish children stories, which my children enjoyed by the way, but publishers and my agent weren’t very excited about. Admittedly, as a man who has been thankfully employed for the last 17 years, I have written my share of memos and instruction manuals and outlines for procedures. I suppose in reality, finishing a memo or letter and then sending it to the intended recipient is in effect publication. I also know that each time I did so I took pride in writing, and then proofreading, making changes and adjusting until it sounded just right. All this is good, and it helps to hone my writing skills, but it’s just not quite the same as seeing your book in the bookstores or being read on an e-reader. So I contemplate all this, and deep down in the back of my mind I think to myself: seriously!

You who have accomplished so much in the literary world, how are you going to write a blog that will inspire people, make them laugh, bring a tear to their eye and make them want to read more?

I suppose this is one of those opportunities where I should spell out one of life’s great lessons; that if you’re not inspired by something, work on it in till inspiration comes. I’ve oftentimes wondered why sometimes it’s so easy to understand exercising your muscles, but so hard to understand the concept of exercising anything else. I’m a big fan of physical exercise. I exercise six days a week, taking Sunday off to relax and take it easy, so one would think I would be comfortable with the concept of exercise. So why not exercise other parts of me. Exercise my brain by studying or reading. Exercise my faith by not worrying so much or by believing more. And yes, exercise my writing skills by just writing!

So with this in mind, and in an effort to keep the words flowing into my blog, I humbly submit this piece which is sure to turn out to be a rambling collection of words that will probably not amount to much of anything.

I suppose I should take a moment before I really began and explain the title of this piece just a little bit more. You see, in an effort to assist in my writing, I purchased the newest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking. For those of you who are not familiar with this program, it is a program designed for computers that allows a person to speak into a microphone and have the computer, through this program, automatically write the words into whatever program you happen to be using. It can be used to write letters, work on spreadsheets, you can even use it to execute commands to control your computer. In this case I’m using it to write a piece for my blog, and to whine and complain about my writing skills. The concept of “Training” the dragon comes in because you have to “teach” the program to understand your speech patterns so it can copy your words correctly.

And, seeing as how today I happened to be completely uninspired about anything, I’m going to do something that I’ve always wanted to do. I am going to just dictate. Without any idea or clue what the end result will be I’m just going to, so to speak, start writing. And, while doing so train my new Dragon to better understand my dialogue.

So without wasting any additional time, as I’m sure you’ve had enough of my complaining and whining by now, let us begin.

I read an interesting article today that was about the Gospel of Judas. Specifically the article was on the Internet and was titled “Truth behind Gospel of Judas Revealed in Ancient Inks”. Although I found the article interesting, the main point that caught my attention wasn’t the point of the article at all but rather the underlying theme of what the text supposedly says. As the title suggests, the article is specifically about this Gospel of Judas that was found and how they studied the differing inks being used to prove that it’s not a fake. It should be noted here as was noted in the article that this doesn’t prove that it’s authentic, and that it’s actually written as an account of Judas’s life, but rather just proves that it’s not a fraud.

What I found most interesting about the article was the ancient text and the subject matter of this text. It should be noted that I have not read the entire text as it has been translated; I have only read this article, and had previous knowledge of the existence of this document. In addition, I have had many years to cultivate my own personal and spiritual beliefs of the relationship between Jesus Christ and Judas, which is partially what this supposed gospel is about .

The article obviously spends a lot of time discussing the details of the different kinds of inks used in this document and how the differing inks were at first proof that it was a fraud.  Later however, as knowledge of this period in history increased, the inks actually became proof that it was not a fraud. The article then went on to discuss how this document from its first discovery was considered to be extremely controversial, so much so that early church leaders decided that it should be excluded from what we now call the Bible. The basic controversy focuses on the fact that all of the other books in the Bible say that Judas betrayed Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. As such, Judas has always been analogous with the great betrayer. Throughout history anyone who is ever done someone wrong or gone back on a promise or treated someone unfairly can be easily labeled a Judas.

However, this Gospel according to Judas tells a completely different story. It tells how Jesus Christ and Judas were, as the article says, co-conspirators. In short, Jesus quickly learned that in order for this whole thing to work he had to be sacrificed. It seemed simple enough that somebody he knew and trusted should work with him and agree to be the one to turn him in so that he could be this great sacrifice for all mankind. In essence, Judas and Jesus were in it together, with Judas being the betrayer who would agree to turn him in to the Romans, and Jesus would play the part that he was meant to play, that being the sacrificial lamb.

Now, assuming of course that this is actually what the text says, it becomes very clear very quickly why the ancient church authorities would’ve agreed to eliminate this; Not only to eliminate it, but to completely erase its entire existence. After all, how could the man who betrayed Jesus Christ also be his friend. Traditionally mankind tends to understand these situations better when they are presented in the context of good against evil, right versus wrong. It’s hard to imagine that anyone would love Jesus Christ enough, and believe in his cause enough, to be willing to be forever labeled through all of Christianity as the bad guy.

As long as I can remember, my belief system has always embraced this concept and accepted it as truth. I first saw this concept presented in the movie entitled the last temptation of Christ. In this movie, Judas is portrayed as Jesus’s lifelong friend. In this case, although they are friends, Judas and Jesus are completely opposite politically. Judas believes that the only way to end Roman tyranny is through war and bloodshed. Jesus on the other hand, as he struggles to understand what God’s plan is for him, is not quite sure what he is supposed to do. As Jesus begins his ministry and starts to spread the word of God, Judas sees hope in his plans and as a friend begins to follow him. He in fact becomes Jesus’s first follower and the strongest amongst the 12 disciples. As the story continues, and Jesus begins to understand that he is to be the sacrificial lamb not the hand of God wielding the ax, he shares his revelation with his friend Judas. Judas is confused, frustrated, and most of all scared and sad. Scared and sad because Jesus reveals to him that he is the one who has to betray him.

I’ve always seen the character of Judas as a strong-willed political activist who is more than happy to follow his longtime friend Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ on the other hand, the son of God, would certainly have the wherewithal to pick a partner that he knew would have the political views that he could manipulate to his own end. So even if Judas wasn’t a willing participant, those of us who believe in Jesus Christ surely must believe that he would be smart enough to pick a disciple who he knew he could manipulate into betrayal. However, I don’t see Jesus Christ, who was selected as the ultimate good guy would be able to fulfill the prophecies by tricking his friend Judas. If we believe that Jesus Christ lived his life perfectly, then we have to accept the fact that he would’ve had to figure out a better way other than trickery and scheming. If you combine my theory that Judas and Jesus Christ were friends, with the fact that, according to the Gospels, Jesus Christ performed many miracles and many wondrous things, it would be obvious to Judas and anyone else who cared to watch that there was something miraculous going on here.

A close friend of Jesus Christ, the one and only son of God, would be torn between his love for his friend and his belief in his cause. In the end, considering everything that happened and everything Judas knew to be true, the evidence that this was the true son of God would be overwhelming. In the end, I feel he would’ve been compelled to assist his friend in seeing his calling through, and at the same time be willing to be marked and hated for all of eternity.

In the end however, as they say in my church, it all has to come down to faith. In fact, I believe that our heavenly father planned it that way on purpose. I believe that he purposefully made it almost impossible to prove that it’s true because the only true way to heaven and to eternity is through faith.  By faith we will face all things, endure all things, and pass through all things -good and bad- to reach that ultimate goal of realizing our glory. And we will do so because we earned it not because it was handed to us.

And all of our lives lessons, I believe, if properly learned, are to be applied to all things in life -big things as well as small things. As we need to make our own choice and have faith in what we choose to be right and wrong in respect to Jesus Christ and Judas and the whole plan of heaven and earth, we also need to have the faith it takes to put words on paper, and over all, to make the tough choices so that we can make our lives the miracle I believe life is meant to be.

If you want to be a success you have to be willing to fail. If you want to do right you have to be willing to do wrong. If you want to inspire you have to be willing to sound stupid.

…Thank you Mr. Dragon for your assistance!