Real Talk

Hating My Roots: A Post About Identity

I woke up Monday morning with two interesting tweets staring at me.

First of all, let’s just ignore the fact that one of the first things I do after waking up is checking Twitter. I know I’m pathetic, I don’t need to discuss it here.

The first interesting tweet was somebody quoting Malcolm X. He said, “You can’t hate the roots of a tree, and not hate the tree.” In many regards, this is so very true. In so many other regards, it’s not at all. In saying something like that, Malcolm X spoke a great truth about identity, but a great lie about the nature of grace.

Everything about grace involves hating the roots and loving the tree. It involves hating the sinful, greedy nature of a person but still loving that person regardless. If we were even close to being honest with ourselves, we would have to note that we, as Christians, should hate our own roots more than we hate the roots of those we see around us. Then there can be as much tree loving as there needs to be.

Grace changes everything. It changes the way we view ourselves and others. Continue reading “Hating My Roots: A Post About Identity”

Craven On...., Real Talk

A Boring Second Birthday

It’s my blog’s second birthday, and at the end of this post there is something for you to download and read. But first, I have about 700 words to say:

If there is one thing I’ve learned in my very short and highly ineffective life, it’s that the lives we lead, or I guess really the world that we live in, is SO stupid. It’s absurd.

Think about it. Our primary method of communication are 140-character messages typed on out on tiny personal computers that we pay $50 a month just to use. This is normal, everyday life for us, and we LOVE it.

For the past two years of writing, I’ve always tried to embrace the absurdity of life on this blog. Sometimes it is the absurdity of building huge ships without even considering that it could sink. Other times it’s the absurdity of how every Saturday in the Fall, thousands of people put so much emotion and hope into the performance of 20-year-olds in a football game. Wherever you look, absurdity is around us.

This is normal for us these days. Things shouldn’t really surprise us anymore, because this is what we’ve become. Continue reading “A Boring Second Birthday”

Guest Posts, HTBASF, Sportz, Useless Observation

How To Be A Sports Fan: Lesson 4

This guest post is brought to you by a new Twitter friend, Ben Zajdel. Ben is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, works in a Christian bookstore, watches entirely too much basketball (PERFECTLY okay with me), and has written a few short books you might enjoy. You can keep up with him at his website, or on Twitter, @benzajdel.

Before I start this article on superstition, you need to know a little about me. I have a degree in Historical Studies, which means I learned how to fact check old documents and make sure they’re legitimate. I am also currently pursuing a degree in Environmental Science, so you can probably guess that I don’t like approximations and guesses. I’m also a Christian, so I don’t believe in magic and voodoo and curses. I openly mock those who think magnets can heal you, and I dismiss most natural remedies.

That being said, how to be superstitious is one of the most important things a sports fan can learn. Continue reading “How To Be A Sports Fan: Lesson 4”

Sportz, Useless Observation, Video Breakdown

Video Breakdown: It’s SHUMPERT

For NBA fans, the heart of the playoffs is exactly where they want to be, with countless great individual and team matchups.

One matchup that would be particularly intriguing if this was 1997 is the current series between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. Alas, this is not 1997, and the rivalry isn’t the same as when Reggie Miller was shaking his Cheryls at Spike Lee. However, there between Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and the reanimated corpses of Jason Kidd/Marcus Camby versus Paul George, Roy Hibbert and a cyborg named Tyler Hansborough who just wants to learn what love is, it’s still a fascinating series.

And then we have wildcards, such as the mysterious Iman Shumpert

Blending the arrogance of Reggie Miller with the hair of Patrick Ewing
Blending the arrogance of Reggie Miller with the hair of Patrick Ewing

Continue reading “Video Breakdown: It’s SHUMPERT”