John Donne

Holy Sonnet XIV
Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.





HOLY SONNET X
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so ;
For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy picture[s] be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke ; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more ;
Death, thou shalt die.

Ode to Coffee

This is one of the assignments for Rhetoric class, and I feel particularly proud of this effort. I figured that I'd post it for the pleasure of my viewers, few as they may be, before the tide of euphoria washing over me has dried up. Laugh if you must, and enjoy.



Encomium of the Coffee Bean
Coffee beans are the seeds of the coffee plant, but they are far more useful to mankind than most other seeds. Most seeds merely grow a new plant, but coffee seeds are a rare and special seed, for with them is made one of the most useful and delightful beverages known to man.
The coffee bean came originally from Ethiopia, but now can be found growing in almost any part of the world. It is a mark of how pleasing and useful this bean is that it has become so popular. Wherever it was introduced, its trade flourished and kept spreading, and soon became one of the six leading imports to many countries.
The beverage that comes from this blessed bean has many virtues, not the least of which is bridging the gap between cultures and helping to perfect the art of socializing. One may meet another in a coffee shop, and become companions because of a similar interest and love for coffee. People all over the world drink coffee, and this commonality allows one to sit down in a cafe anywhere in the world and begin a conversation with a total stranger by remarking on the quality of the coffee. It has become tradition for old friends to meet and "catch up" over coffee. If one desires to have a conversation about anything at all, whether with a newly formed acquaintance or with a childhood friend, all one must do is ask to meet for coffee somewhere. It is over coffee that some of the most intelligent conversations have taken place, and some of the most brilliant ideas have come into being. The familiarity of coffee relaxes a person, and makes them feel safe to express their opinions and discuss matters at hand without any pretense. The conversations that take place over coffee can be some of the most honest and beneficial one may ever have.
The brew made from the coffee bean is not a social catalyst alone, but also has more practical purposes. The coffee bean contains a high percentage of caffeine, which serves as a mild stimulant when in liquid form. Drinking coffee increases the rate of the heart, and consequently, the flow of blood to the muscles and the brain. This results in higher activity, both of the body and of the mind. But most importantly for many drinkers, it acts as an aid to the beginning of one's day, as it reduces the aftereffects of sleep, and even has the happy ability to suspend fatigue, which, in today's busy society, is very important.
Coffee can also serve as a medicinal beverage. Its most common use as such is to those who have enjoyed a party a little too much, and have imbibed more alcohol than is healthy for them. It helps to speed hangovers on their way. Not only does it provide comfort to those who regret their intoxication, but it also has proven to reduce the chance of liver diseases, and is useful in curing numerous other illnesses, especially those of the stomach.
Not only does this beverage from the coffee bean serve such practical purposes, but it also provides psychological comfort. Is there anything quite as relaxing as the smell of brewing coffee sweeping through a house? It there anything as reassuring as a hot mug between cold hands that exudes the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed coffee? Is there anything that wards off despair on a cold and lonely night quite as well as sipping the pleasing brew in front of a roaring fire? Can anything else complement a good book so perfectly? Truly, it supplies a comfort to which the comforts of any other beverage simply cannot be compared.
Without the coffee bean, many would suffer, not the least of which are the humble authors of the world, for without the long hours of clever writing which coffee enables them to accomplish, a book would take far longer to complete, and would not be nearly so inspired. And also, if this brew did not exist to incline the populace to enjoy reading more, far less literature would be sold, and so the good authors would despair, and choose instead to go and work in some factory, where their income would be more substantial to fulfilling their material needs.
The coffee bean is a wonderful thing, lightening the spirit and heartening the soul. So, let's go have a cup and discuss this further.

Why should I serve an inconsistent and bloody God?

Hello. This is my first post! Hooray!!! Please tell me if I seem heretical in any of this.
Today in Sunday school we were discussing why would one want to serve a viscous, bloody warlike God as seen in the old testament? Why would one want to serve a God who suddenly changes to an oooeeey gooey god of love once his son comes down? Well, I think that god only seems so warlike in the OT because he had to do so much more to protect his people and he had to do mighty/ seemingly extreme things to preserve the Israelites, because they were his only people, the only hope/example for the other nations to follow, and saying that, he had to punish his people severely when they strayed, because the nations needed a good example to follow. To whom much is given, much is required. And God has always been merciful to his people, especially in the OT. If he gave them what they deserved, then all the people would have been wiped out, and he did do that once, but he left Noah to continue his people and raise up a mighty nation. He gave hope through Noah, and didn't completely wipe mankind out, which is what we really deserved. In the NT, God still punishes. Some of the harshest, most judging words come from Christ's mouth. The second coming is a harsh judgment. God has not changed. But he isn't just mean mean mean. He is just. All of the punishments were deserved. He punished the wicked Israelites just as he did the wicked gentiles. He isn't partial. In the NT, God gives us a choice. To believe in Christ and be saved, or continue in sin without repentance and recognition of Christ's sacrifice. The people in the OT didn't have that option. We do now. And we will be judged when He comes again. We have our whole lives to get it together. He is giving us a bit more of a lease, one could say, than he gave the OT peeps.
So. God is the same forever, and always has been. God is Love. But he is also just. We are loved by God, but we must also fear him. He is after all, our creator and king of all there is. Things have changed in the NT covenant, but God never changes.