Zach Uram's Blog

In the Garden
Man did Fall

Lost to Sin
Satan cast a black pall

Separated from God
So holy and righteous

Our folly of pride
Desiring and covetous

The seduction of knowledge
And self-sovereignty

Because of this
We did flee

Earth twas covered
In gloom and despair

Brother killed brother
Without a care

Mercy was shown
A covenant made

Keeping the law
Observances were paid

Man was still far
From intimacy once known

When we talked with God
In Paradise alone

Lost sheep all
Empty and incomplete

Scripture foretold
The Messiah we could meet

He came because of love
On a cold autumn night

Straw for bedding
As a star kept light

This was the One
Who would set us free

The Son of God
Incarnate deity

Christ alone could do
What we could not

To pay the heavy price
Which sin hath wrought

There is a balance
Which comes due

For every sin
And the goodness we eschew

Filthy are we
In God’s holy sight

But Jesus would die
To make things right

Tortured, mocked, falsely judged
The God-Man overcame all

We each contributed
Because of the Fall

Sentenced to death
To hang on a Cross

How could this be
Such a loss

Christ would endure all
He knew this would be

Suffering this pain
For our wretched iniquity

At Calvary
Hung our dear Lord

This battle not won
By might or sword

His life so precious
And free of all sin

A ransom for us
A propitiation

“It is finished!”
Jesus said

And gave up His Spirit
The King of Kings dead

The sky darkened
Storms began to rage

But thanks to grace
Man escaped his dank cage

For on the third day
As Christ laid in rest

Our victory was already won
He passed every test

The grave could not hold
Our Savior for long

He was resurrected
As angels made song

A transcendent event
A statement for all time

It cannot be fathomed
By reason or rhyme

This miracle happened
And Christ was reborn

Look at His head
The marks of the thorn

How glorious this day
It is not a dream

Our dear Jesus lives
And reigns supreme

He defeated Death
And sin for every age

Our name can be written
In that eternal page

This gift of salvation
Is open to all

Who reach out in faith
And answer the call

No longer must we fear
Not trapped in time-space

If only we submit
And accept grace

Jesus loves you
And knocks on your door

Answer it now
Whether rich or poor

Intellect cannot save us
Nor doing a good deed

But mountains can be moved
With a faith seed

Confess Christ as Lord
Cast out doubt and fear

This greatest of miracles
Draws near

In Him place your trust
Believe with all heart

He shall never forsake you
Nor depart

Receive the Holy Ghost
A comforter for all time

You are now born again
A new life sublime

Tell this Good News
To friend and foe

Cherish it
And let the Gospel grow

  — Zachary Uram (c) 2011

My reaction to this arrogant, narcissistic, superficial piece in the WSJ by Amy Chua, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior”.

Amy Chua you are a very poor journalist and a failure as a mother in my view. The article is ridiculously biased and ones-sided as it portrays the stern Chinese parenting as GOOD and the Western parenting as BAD. The author needs a reality check on leaving personal/cultural biases at the door. What you get from this is “Chinese mothers awesome! Western mothers need to catch up.” I would much rather have a child that was not as successful by external measures if they were a loving complete sensitive person. This is the vile materialist philosophy applied to parenting. It really upset me to see what you’ve done to your kids. Your behavior was infantile and was outright child abuse! Sadly Amy has bought into the most superficial sort of parenting, with external measures as the SOLE criteria for success. This sort of parenting is morally empty and philosophically shallow. It mirrors the amoral capitalist materialist philosophy sadly so prevalent in China now. Thank God I was blessed with loving parents who raised me in the ways of the Lord and showed me true love and nurtured my intellectual, spiritual and emotional growth in very positive and healthy ways! I didn’t master the piano by age 12 or graduate college at age 15 so I must be an abysmal failure in Ms. Chua’s eyes! Oh the horror. Another thing Amy they are very few bona fide geniuses in math or music and it has much more to do with genetics than environment.

PS: Another thing which is particularly galling is the fact that Ms. Hua seems so perfectly oblivious to just how dysfunctional and unhealthy her model of parenting is. And she is shamelessly self-promoting her new book on the subject. The title should be changed to something more apropos, such as, “A case study in how NOT to parent!”

swords raised
senses heightened
tempered minds
command cold steel
glimmering in dawn’s light
sharpened by intention
bushido
the warrior’s code
restricts and defines
a final test
a struggle for honor
what is lost
in winning
what is won
in losing
every move calculated
a parry for a thrust
a counter for each form
this deadly calculus
plays out
all the training
dedication and sacrifice
reduced, refined
to one last move
now it comes
the air sings
as the blades dance
to a harmony
only two can hear
precision coupled
with intensity
reality drops away
only dazzling swordplay
suspended in time
a lone cherry blossom falls
as the final stroke connects
blood sprays
soaring into the sky
release
the samurai’s soul
not broken
transformed
a beautiful match!

— Zachary Uram, (c) 2011

Christians are the #1 target of comedians in the US, such as Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and I’m sick of it. They don’t DARE go after Muslims. It is quite the opposite it is climate of PC and everyone is taught to respect Muslims and revile Christians in the public schools. The comedians are AFRAID of Muslims. They are cowards and intellectually dishonest. Christianity has gone through major reformation, Islam hasn’t. Islam needs a MAJOR reform. This is 2010 not 710. Look how Christians and Jews are treated as second class citizens in most Muslim dominated nations. I just read article in NY Times how Iraqi Christians have virtually abandoned Iraq due to persecution. Funny thing is during Saddam Hussein reign no one bothered them!! This is what happens when Islamists are put in charge, the minority groups who are non-Muslim get treated like shit. And there is not great concerted worldwide media outcry over mistreatment of Christians and Jews by Muslims but if some cartoonist makes a cartoon depicting Mohammed all Hell breaks loose. And those stupid laws in many Muslim countries saying it is illegal to preach to Muslims about Jesus or illegal or even death penalty if one leaves Islam for Christianity! It reflects deep intellectual insecurity!!!

perception variable
shifting like the wind
reality yields

a new consciousness
no, a new being
genesis

blinding waves
penetrate the mind
illuminating hidden truths

potential unlocked
evolved
transformation achieved

a new reality
unknown to most
the last frontier

searching for truth
vagaries of indoctrination
the familiar is profane

mesmerizing
shocking
to behold

a waking dream
frozen by time
paradigms collapse

going deeper
past fear
connecting

the old world
forgotten
a lie

a solitary path
to voyage
to grow

now connected
clarity
refuge from the mundane

madness
liberation
finally peace

— Zachary Uram (c) 2010

Katana blades
Glisten in dawn’s awakening
Warriors bound by honor
The world falls away
Senses heightened
Muscles coiled like vipers
Ancient ritual
Civilized barbarism
Man is a wicked thing
If one must die
This is a noble path
One lunges forward
Tempered steel whistles
A flick of the wrist
And his fate is sealed
The arterial spray
Blankets the snowy ground
Crimson droplets
Poetry in motion
A samurai falls
But his soul is free

Posted a comment on Darlene Egelhoff’s blog

Wonderful blog post Darlene! I studied physics at Carnegie Mellon University (before my mental illness struck) and I *love* science. The great lie of the so-called New Atheists (people like the insufferably arrogant and condescending Richard Dawkins!) is that one must reject theism to be accepted as a rational thinker, to be a scientist. This is a ridiculous false dichotomy and it’s so sad so many young students are being indoctrinated into a binary view of epistemology where one must either reject reason and the modern world or embrace theism. There is nothing new under the sun, as Scripture says, and none of these “new” arguments are new at all. We Christians can use science and engage in scientific research without compromising our faith. As you echoed God gave us a mind to explore, to question, to ponder! Praise God. I personally do not see enough evidence for macro evolution, but as you said even if that is true it should not bother one who has built their faith on the firm bedrock of faith in Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! All of creation testifies to the handiwork of the Creator and I’ve truly seen that manifested in my intellectual inquiries into the natural world. Let us not shrink back into the corner in the realm of public discourse, whether it be a Sunday school class, a university classroom or a discussion group with our closest friends, and be afraid to boldly proclaim that we are thinking Christians! Virtually all of Western science has been laid down by people who expressed Judeo-Christian faith. Let us remind students that perhaps the greatest intellect in history, Isaac Newton, was a fervent follow of our Lord Jesus Christ!

I grew up poor but we were very happy so I never made a false link between money and happiness as, unfortunately, so many seem to do now. I never wanted to be rich, but as a kid there were certain things I thought it would be cool or fun to hav.e someday. The older I get the more I realize money and material possessions matter so little in the spiritual world which is the truest reality. That is why it irks me when I see such a huge emphasis on material status as a marriage qualifier (for the husband). There is a huge gulf between what we truly need and what we want. Our culture inundates us constantly with a message of materialism and compels us to embrace a hyper-consumerist lifestyle if we wish to be happy. And on the radio I hear those nauseating commercials that implicitly link the size of a diamond and a man’s degree of love for a woman. What rubbish. There is no real difference between rates of divorce for Christians in America versus non-Christians (they may even be higher for the latter). Christ calls us to be salt and light unto the earth. Our lives should stand as an example which will point others to the gospel. People here seem to go crazy for weddings and spend thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollar, yet 54% of them will be divorced! It’s sheer madness. I’m glad computers and iPods and cellphones were not readily available when I was a kid. I have many happy childhood memories of playing outside. As kids we couldn’t wait to get outside, in the summer we’d spend literally the entire day outside playing games, sports, socializing. Now I see so many kids who lock themselves away in their own little social webs with the internet, cellphones, video games. I think this is very unhealthy. I bet most boys would much rather have their father spend more time with them versus buying a gadget to occupy their time when they look back on their life. Thank God for godly parents!

The top 3 masterminds of 9/11, Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mullah Omar, are living inside Pakistan under the protection of their intelligence service. Great ally eh? 😦