Toil and Trouble

The HIV AIDS epidemic. That is the theme this week at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. It is for awareness. Which is terrific, yet leaves me in some unrest and uproar. The mosquitoes were horrendous today, and the heat was awful. I estimate that I only understood about 85% of what she was saying because of this. She is the former prime minister of Norway and former director of the World Health Organization. She seemed to be a good speaker and a strong woman. But she brought up an issue of some anger for me. She spoke on many things. Very eye-opening statistics. And with some (what I interpreted to be) subtle anger she did say that the living standards in this country have increased 40% while the living standards in Africa have decreased 20% since 1980. I agree that this is wrong. She did continue to rather mention Pope John Paul, and the Church's opposition to condoms. She seemed rather anti-catholic...this way, and I can understand her frustration from a noncatholic perspective. But nobody sees it from a catholic one.
In my mind, as a catholic, sex is a gift from God to do two things: to show the ultimate physical love for one other person, and to concieve a child. But it must be for both of those things. How can she say that the Catholic Church is wrong in not handing-out condoms. She says that the Catholic Church has "prohibited" the use of condoms. But the Catholic Church has no authority to prohibit anything. Not everyone is Catholic. Therefore not everyone has to listen to the Catholic Church. Yet she seemed to be blaming the late Pope John Paul for the AIDS problem when, from my perspective, it isn't his fault. It is nobody's fault. The Catholic Church holds no legal authority. The Catholic Church will not put you to death if you use a condom, or if you have premarital sex, or if you have AIDS. In fact, the Church will not judge at all. True Catholics reserve that right for the Lord, and no other.

I will not attempt to further defend the Catholic Church. But I will say this: the media has never liked us, and people so blindly believe the media, even very intelligent and wonderful people. I've been a Catholic all my life and I grew up being taught that the use of a condom isn't a sin.

And also, for all the people who talk, for all the people who say things about the AIDS problem and place the blame on one group or another, they're still just talking.

We'll see who does the work in the end. We'll see. Perhaps it will be me.

When the Hurly-burly's done,

when the hurly-burly's done, eh? Well...that'll be in about 4 years when I graduate from COLLEGE! WOOT! I am so glad to be free of my parents, living independently, learning about how I am to get going. So many people here to watch, so many people for which "fair is foul" actually applies. I will have to name them other things, though because I don't wish to offend them. Since Shakespeare wrote the Taming of the Shrew AND Macbeth, we'll just call one of my new "friends" the shrew. Because she is EXACTLY like the shrew. So Shrew is all kind of punked, wild and goth. She loves her peircings and tattoos. She likes to offend people sometimes. Or, at least, not go out of her way to be extremely respect full. Like the Shrew, I think she will end up meeting a Petrucio of sorts, and she will, hopefully end up slightly more tamed.
I like her wild freeness though. In many ways, she is the anti-kristen. She is kind of a downer, I'm very much an up-er. She's definately not self-concious. I am. She's a whole lot wilder, not at all spiritual, and not at all loving. I don't fault her for any of it except not being loving. That is going to be her end. I think. Her "fatal flaw". She is definately the hero of her story. She isn't malevolent, at least not outwardly. She is sincere...giving...inviting...sweet, even sensitive...but I have yet to see that she is loving. I hope that someone will bring her love, and I especially hope that someone will bring her into the light of Christ. That would be most wonderful. Sigh. However, I must be going now, for I must get me to my studies.

One Quick Word

I know that nobody ever checks blogs regularly, but if you happen to check this one regularly, I am noting to you that I'm hoping only to post once or twice a week from here on out...for a very long time.

Fair is foul. Foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air.