unTapped Topic: The Next Big Thing

this week topic comes from Andrew:

As kids we look forward to the next year in school. “When I’m in first grade, things will be great because I’ll be able to write…when I’m in sixth grade things will be better because I’ll be in middle school…when I’m in high school things will be better because I can drive…when I’m in college things will be better because I’ll be on my own.”

Many of us take this attitude throughout our lives, always looking and striving for the next big thing. “Things will be better when…”

That “when” might be married, with kids, retired, in a new job, out of an old job, when you move, etc.

Are we ever satisfied in the here and now? Do we ever feel like now, at this moment, is the happiest I can be? Existentially, when do when are we content? How does our faith play into this? Are we always looking for the next big thing?

Virtually Lost

I was pointed to this horrible and sad story by Blake Huggins:

South Korean police have arrested a couple for starving their three-month-old daughter to death while they devoted hours to playing a computer game that involved raising a virtual character of a young girl.

The 41-year-old man and 25-year-old woman, who met through a chat website, reportedly left their infant unattended while they went to internet cafes. They only occasionally dropped by to feed her powdered milk.

"I am sorry for what I did and hope that my daughter does not suffer any more in heaven," the husband is quoted as saying on the asiaone website.

According to the Yonhap news agency, South Korean police said the couple had become obsessed with raising a virtual girl called Anima in the popular role-playing game Prius Online. The game, similar to Second Life, allows players to create another existence for themselves in a virtual world, including getting a job, interacting with other users and earning an extra avatar to nurture once they reach a certain level.

"The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," Chung Jin-Won, a police officer, told Yonhap. "They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby."

This story is so incredibly disturbing. It is so sad to think that we as human beings would forsake the love and nurture of a child so that we could enjoy a virtual pseudo-reality.

Is life so unsatisfying that we prefer the reflection of this life in the cyber-verse? Are we that lost?

Topic: Naughty By Nature?

What's the problem here?

We trample eachother, kill eachother, hate eachother, kidnap eachother, overpower eachother, etc.

Something is wrong. There seems to be a problem with people. What is it? Some think that we have a sin nature, which gives us our urges to do wrong. They believe that we are an evil mess at our core level. Others, believe that we are forgetful or ignorant of what is right and good, but we are intrinsically good.

What do you think? What is the source of sin and human evil?

We meet at Shorts Brewing, in downtown Bellaire, every Thursday at 7pm! See you there!

Topic: Fame and Privacy

Andrew and Drew put our topic together this week.



Is there a difference between the privacy we expect and the privacy we give others?

On Tuesday, Rochette Joannie, a Canadian figure skater, had the performance of her lifetime. It was a national story because two days prior her mother passed away from a heart attack after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter skate. The Canadians have taken great length to protect Rochette from the media and the Canadian Olympic organization has taken some criticism for not allowing reporters to talk to this young skater.

On the radio a reporter said, "It is moments like this, these are Olympic moments!" speaking about the situation surrounding this Canadian skater and expressing his disappointment that the Canadian Olympic organization hasn't allowed interviews.

On the less heroic side of things, another sports figure - Tiger Woods - is under intense media surveillance since admitting to several affairs. Is this really our business?

Finally, do we overemphasize our own private lives on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter? Where should a person draw the line in reading and publishing information about themselves? Is there a perverseness to this obsession?

Here are a few more links to check out:

• Empathy and Voyeurism (NPR)
• Social Media killed privacy (CNN)
• Tiger Woods apologizes to his daughter's pre-school because of paparazzi (Candadian Press)
  

Does our news media ever move from simple reporting to voyeurism?
Is there something in human nature that makes us want to hear in detail about the tragedies and triumphant in other people's live without actually knowing them?
How differently do we invade someone’s privacy and how much do we let them?
Does your faith/spiritually speak these situations?

Topic: Ghosts!

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever heard of a dead relative returning to visit a person? If you do, you are certainly not alone.

• One of the most popular programs on cable television these days is a program called "Ghosthunters."
• According to a Gallup poll, Americans are very open to the existence of ghosts with over a third of Americans stating they believe in "spirits of dead people" that return. Almost half of the population believe in some form of ESP. 55% of Americans believe that people can be possessed by the devil or evil spirits.
  

This week for unTapped we will discuss anomalous paranormal/spiritual experiences. How do such things fit with your experience, your faith, and your perspective of the world?

Topic: Love

What is Love?

As we approach St. Valentine's Day, love is on many minds. But, what does it mean to love? We'll get perspectives on love this week at unTapped! Join us at 7pm, Shorts Brewing Company in beautiful downtown Bellaire.

Topic: Ethical Preaching

what to do when people behave badly

Most people believe that it is wrong to judge another human being for their actions. However, certain occasions in life need a response. What is our ethical responsibility when we notice our neighbors and fellow humans behaving unethically? We'll examine this topic from three different perspectives - individual, familial, and political.

Here are a few things to consider:

• A Georgia Man was convicted of child abuse. He observed a crying child, walked up to her mother and said “If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.” He then slapped the child four times. Did he overstep his bounds? What is our responsibility when someone else's child is misbehaving?
  
• Howard Zinn passed away last week. The thinker is famouse for saying that "dissent is the highest for of patriotism." He felt that we owed it to our fellow human being to check people in power.
• Good Samaritan high speed chase. Is it our responsibility to help police our neighborhoods? would the Good Samaritan have chased down the criminals in Jesus parable, or is it enough to simply care for the victim?

We'll discuss this and more this Thursday night at Short's Brewing Company in downtown Bellaire!