Unfortunately, this will be a very brief post. I have a major test in Honors Humanities tomorrow and a midterm in Arts the next day. Still, I want to take a second and reflect on how awesome the weather has been the past few days.
For me, the best weather is when my hands and face feel crisply cool and everything else, because of the crispness of the extremities, feels cozy. It is that perfect combination of highs and lows so that the morning condensation on the window says, "Make some hot chocolate and put on a coat" and the pale afternoon sunshine says, "It's time for a game of pick-up football."
The power that weather has to influence my attitude amazes me. I've been telling people all day, "I can't be stressed when it feels like this outside." Even if I had a hundred midterms tomorrow, I would find a grassy knoll, sprawl out next to my mountain of books, and plug away, happy to be able to work in such beautiful weather.
And now I must return to my pressing task, but know that only one word can describe me right now.
Chill
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Almost a Sonnet
Yellow moon through yellow lens seems fitting.
Tainted gold taints all my grand ideals.
Pixels blur my broken resolution.
Dark secrets light way where light truth conceals.
Addiction is my muse, lips red, bed made.
Confusion makes me lose my drive to steer
Towards straighter paths, now distant as the moon,
That lead to headstreams of my new career.
Before lens and filter, yellow and taped,
Is raw reflection of pure yellow sun.
Pure gold gleams bright, no matter how distant.
Fused with the son, tainted plans are undone.
My moon shall rise and settle, East to West;
Twelve hours later it repeats, no rest.
Tainted gold taints all my grand ideals.
Pixels blur my broken resolution.
Dark secrets light way where light truth conceals.
Addiction is my muse, lips red, bed made.
Confusion makes me lose my drive to steer
Towards straighter paths, now distant as the moon,
That lead to headstreams of my new career.
Before lens and filter, yellow and taped,
Is raw reflection of pure yellow sun.
Pure gold gleams bright, no matter how distant.
Fused with the son, tainted plans are undone.
My moon shall rise and settle, East to West;
Twelve hours later it repeats, no rest.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Caution: Blasting Zone Ahead
Any of you who have heard Brian Regan's comedy album know what my title refers to, but for those of you who have not, I will explain. He has a bit about the ridiculousness of a road sign that says "Caution: Blasting Zone Ahead." Shouldn't that sign read "Road Closed"? He goes on to wonder what action the sign posters want passengers to take in response to that warning. Should they buckle up? What good would that do in a blasting zone?
As believers, when we begin to intellectually engage questions that have the potential to challenge our theology, we often see that sign that says, "Caution: Blasting Zone Ahead," and my question is whether or not that should read "Road Closed."
First from a completely humanistic view of things, is it intellectually honest to set barriers beyond which we will not allow our minds to go? Can we be true to ourselves if we do not even allow our minds the opportunity to play with certain questions? Can we even consider ourselves to be truth-seekers if we do not consider all possible truths.
From a Christian perspective we might say, "Well certain things that contradict what I believe the Bible says don't even need to be delved into deeply because I know they aren't 'possible truths'." First of all, it is arrogant and foolish to assume that what we believe the Bible says is a complete and accurate interpretation of what it actually says and how it interacts with reality. Also, if we say that Christianity cannot be disproved, which a refusal to engage a potentially challenging argument to Christianity or conundrum within Christianity would constitute, then we are saying that our argument in favor of Christianity is completely irrational. All rational arguments must be able to be disproved.
Now then, is it possible to deny that a certain question, conundrum, or argument could have even the slightest possibility of disproving our faith without submitting that there is no rational argument for our faith? I believe that it is possible, and it comes back to this basic question:
Do you believe in the risen Lord because of the resurrection or do you believe in the resurrection because of the risen Lord?
In other words: Is your faith based on experience or evidence? I recognize that for most of us it is some combination of the two. With this in mind, it would be perfectly plausible to say that no argument can make us lose our faith because no rational argument is equipped to disprove our personal experience, and even if our rational arguments were sufficiently challenged, our experience would keep us true to the hope inside us.
Now, this hasn't really addressed the question of whether we can be true to ourselves if we set restrictions on our mind, areas which we won't approach because they could cause us to stumble in our faith. Of course you might be thinking about barriers on our thought life that we set up in order to avoid fundamental purity issues. These are not what we are discussing. Rather, I'm referring to the barriers purely set around the intellect.
There is a passage in Les Miserables in which the narrator describes Monseigneur Bienvenu's approach to Christian thinking and living. It casts an interesting light on this discussion:
"There are geniuses who, in the fathomless depths of abstraction and pure speculation -- situated, so to speak, above all dogmas -- present their ideas to God. Their prayer audaciously offers an argument. Their worship questions. This is direct religion, filled with anxiety and responsibility for those who would scale its walls.
Human thought has no limit. At its risk and peril, it analyzes and dissects its own fascination....there are men on earth -- if they are nothing more -- who distinctly perceive the heights of the absolute in the horizon of their contemplation and who have the terrible vision of the infinite mountain. Monseigneur Bienvenu was not one of those men. Monseigneur Bienvenu was not a genius. He would have dreaded those sublime heights from which even some very great men like Swedenborg and Pascal have slipped into insanity. Certainly, these tremendous reveries have their moral use; and by these arduous routes there is an approach to ideal perfection. But for his part, he took the short cut -- the Gospels."
I feel like Victor Hugo's "heights of the absolute" are very similar to the questions, conundrums, and arguments about which I am speaking, and in his novel, the most Godly man most will ever encounter in literature preferred the simplicity of the gospel. As Hugo points out, however, they can be of immense value to those who dare approach.
For me it comes down to an issue of timing. It is acceptable to say, "I can't deal with that question right now" but it is never okay to say "I will never consider that question/argument." We must be strong in our faith, but often, when the timing is right, periods of confusion brought on by these "heights of the absolute," once overcome by the clarity which only the Holy Spirit can bring, can lead to types of growth that can be reached by no other means.
As believers, when we begin to intellectually engage questions that have the potential to challenge our theology, we often see that sign that says, "Caution: Blasting Zone Ahead," and my question is whether or not that should read "Road Closed."
First from a completely humanistic view of things, is it intellectually honest to set barriers beyond which we will not allow our minds to go? Can we be true to ourselves if we do not even allow our minds the opportunity to play with certain questions? Can we even consider ourselves to be truth-seekers if we do not consider all possible truths.
From a Christian perspective we might say, "Well certain things that contradict what I believe the Bible says don't even need to be delved into deeply because I know they aren't 'possible truths'." First of all, it is arrogant and foolish to assume that what we believe the Bible says is a complete and accurate interpretation of what it actually says and how it interacts with reality. Also, if we say that Christianity cannot be disproved, which a refusal to engage a potentially challenging argument to Christianity or conundrum within Christianity would constitute, then we are saying that our argument in favor of Christianity is completely irrational. All rational arguments must be able to be disproved.
Now then, is it possible to deny that a certain question, conundrum, or argument could have even the slightest possibility of disproving our faith without submitting that there is no rational argument for our faith? I believe that it is possible, and it comes back to this basic question:
Do you believe in the risen Lord because of the resurrection or do you believe in the resurrection because of the risen Lord?
In other words: Is your faith based on experience or evidence? I recognize that for most of us it is some combination of the two. With this in mind, it would be perfectly plausible to say that no argument can make us lose our faith because no rational argument is equipped to disprove our personal experience, and even if our rational arguments were sufficiently challenged, our experience would keep us true to the hope inside us.
Now, this hasn't really addressed the question of whether we can be true to ourselves if we set restrictions on our mind, areas which we won't approach because they could cause us to stumble in our faith. Of course you might be thinking about barriers on our thought life that we set up in order to avoid fundamental purity issues. These are not what we are discussing. Rather, I'm referring to the barriers purely set around the intellect.
There is a passage in Les Miserables in which the narrator describes Monseigneur Bienvenu's approach to Christian thinking and living. It casts an interesting light on this discussion:
"There are geniuses who, in the fathomless depths of abstraction and pure speculation -- situated, so to speak, above all dogmas -- present their ideas to God. Their prayer audaciously offers an argument. Their worship questions. This is direct religion, filled with anxiety and responsibility for those who would scale its walls.
Human thought has no limit. At its risk and peril, it analyzes and dissects its own fascination....there are men on earth -- if they are nothing more -- who distinctly perceive the heights of the absolute in the horizon of their contemplation and who have the terrible vision of the infinite mountain. Monseigneur Bienvenu was not one of those men. Monseigneur Bienvenu was not a genius. He would have dreaded those sublime heights from which even some very great men like Swedenborg and Pascal have slipped into insanity. Certainly, these tremendous reveries have their moral use; and by these arduous routes there is an approach to ideal perfection. But for his part, he took the short cut -- the Gospels."
I feel like Victor Hugo's "heights of the absolute" are very similar to the questions, conundrums, and arguments about which I am speaking, and in his novel, the most Godly man most will ever encounter in literature preferred the simplicity of the gospel. As Hugo points out, however, they can be of immense value to those who dare approach.
For me it comes down to an issue of timing. It is acceptable to say, "I can't deal with that question right now" but it is never okay to say "I will never consider that question/argument." We must be strong in our faith, but often, when the timing is right, periods of confusion brought on by these "heights of the absolute," once overcome by the clarity which only the Holy Spirit can bring, can lead to types of growth that can be reached by no other means.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
What must I do?
We are in the middle of Lectureship here at Abilene Christian. Our theme verse is Micah 6:8:
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
I went to one of the lectures today entitled "Micah's Call to Justice." The speaker's name was Leah Cypert, and she works with World Concern, an organization that works with at ri
sk children all over the world. More specifically, Leah works to prevent human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in Thailand and the surrounding countries. Her presentation touched the core of who I am and made me question everything. I went to a quiet room after talking with her and began to record some of my thoughts and feelings. As you will see, they are by no means very clear, well-developed, or even necessarily correct; but they are from my heart, and I don't want them to be wasted or forgotten. Here are some things I wrote down:
sk children all over the world. More specifically, Leah works to prevent human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in Thailand and the surrounding countries. Her presentation touched the core of who I am and made me question everything. I went to a quiet room after talking with her and began to record some of my thoughts and feelings. As you will see, they are by no means very clear, well-developed, or even necessarily correct; but they are from my heart, and I don't want them to be wasted or forgotten. Here are some things I wrote down:I often discar
d my emotional reaction to social justice issues simply because there are so many issues that would evoke those same emotions. I never let these emotions spur me to action saying, "Then every single one would cause me to act for a different cause, and how wuold I be following God's will for my life?". Maybe God has more than one road that would be acceptable for me to take. I think now that certainly any road that I embark on for the sake of His Kingdom would be better than sitting at the crossroads, frozen with indecision.
d my emotional reaction to social justice issues simply because there are so many issues that would evoke those same emotions. I never let these emotions spur me to action saying, "Then every single one would cause me to act for a different cause, and how wuold I be following God's will for my life?". Maybe God has more than one road that would be acceptable for me to take. I think now that certainly any road that I embark on for the sake of His Kingdom would be better than sitting at the crossroads, frozen with indecision.I face so much doubt every day. everything I encounter seems to attack my faith. I remember a time when I believed and acted, but it seems so far away now.
BY THE TIME I'M DONE WITH COLLEGE, FOUR MILLION MORE THAI GIRLS WILL HAVE BEEN TRAFFICKED AND SEXUALLY EXPLOITED.
How can I sit by and do nothing? Is a degree in ministry or even missions going to best prepare me for a life of servitude to Jesus Christ in the fight against social injustice?
All through history people have been spurred to action by a feeling in their soul that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.
What must be done?
I must do justice. I must love mercy. I must walk humbly before my God.
As always, I welcome your comments and reactions.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Gethesemane Streaker
In my Life and Teachings of Jesus class we are going through the book of Mark and trying to look at it from a new perspective. Our professor is encouraging us to have a real curiosity about the reason Mark writes what he writes in the order and way that he writes it. Our homework was to actively wonder about a passage of scripture. To my mind it is the weirdest passage in the gospels, and since it is bothering me a good deal, I thought I'd share it with all of you so you can also ponder it.
Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”
45Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
46The men seized Jesus and arrested him.
47Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?
49Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
50Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him,52he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
What do you all think of this? What do you think Mark is doing? Do you think this is as weird as I do? I hope you are all puzzling over this for the next few days - I will be.
Blessings,
Wes
Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders.
44Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”
45Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him.
46The men seized Jesus and arrested him.
47Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?
49Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
50Then everyone deserted him and fled.
51A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him,52he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.
What do you all think of this? What do you think Mark is doing? Do you think this is as weird as I do? I hope you are all puzzling over this for the next few days - I will be.
Blessings,
Wes
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Pics of the dorm room
Here are some pics of the new arrangement in our dorm room. We just bunked our beds and got a recliner, so now we are living the good life!
Monkeys are to us as we are to God....not really, but go with me for a second.
This post will begin in a very awkward way, but let me assure it isn't crude or crass. Stick with me and I'll share with you some encouraging truth that the Lord shared with me.
It all began after church on Sunday. I went to Beltway Park, and the sermon was challenging and inspiring. After service I told my friends to wait up so I could use the restroom. Here we go (stick with me!). I was standing in one of the stalls (yes, standing) and I had my Bible under one arm. All of a sudden it occured to me how disappointed and angry at myself I would be if something slipped and my Bible fell into the toilet. This is not the only time something like this has happened to me. There are often times when I realize what the drastic consequences would be if I wasn't able to do very simple things. Now, here come the monkeys.
A monkey might indeed consider it very complicated and risky to stick a Bible under his arm while he relieved himself (suspend reality with me for a moment). However, if he knew me, he would consider it no big deal because my level of thinking, understanding, problem-solving, coordination, and dexterity is so much greater than his. With this in mind, and in light of the fact that I had done the very same action many times before without ever dropping my Bible in the toilet, he would be able to rest assured that my Bible was safe.
Isn't this a lot like our spiritual life? I know you're saying, "Where on earth is he going with this?" but here comes the good stuff. We often live in fear of actions or ideas that are essential to living life for God. These ideas and actions can be different for every person, although there are certain ones that we all struggle with. Some examples are food, clothing, relationships, safety, and reputation. You fill in the blank for you. What if we drop these Bibles in the toilet? For us this is a viable concern, just as is the monkey's concern that he might drop his Bible in the toilet.
What if we turned all our little "bibles" over to one who has never dropped a bible in the toilet? One whose "ways our higher than our ways" and whose "thoughts are higher than our thoughts"? What if we got past the fear we have over the little things and trust everything to the God of monkeys, bibles, and toilets?
Feeling somewhat silly after writing that but trying to live out the principle,
Wes
It all began after church on Sunday. I went to Beltway Park, and the sermon was challenging and inspiring. After service I told my friends to wait up so I could use the restroom. Here we go (stick with me!). I was standing in one of the stalls (yes, standing) and I had my Bible under one arm. All of a sudden it occured to me how disappointed and angry at myself I would be if something slipped and my Bible fell into the toilet. This is not the only time something like this has happened to me. There are often times when I realize what the drastic consequences would be if I wasn't able to do very simple things. Now, here come the monkeys.
A monkey might indeed consider it very complicated and risky to stick a Bible under his arm while he relieved himself (suspend reality with me for a moment). However, if he knew me, he would consider it no big deal because my level of thinking, understanding, problem-solving, coordination, and dexterity is so much greater than his. With this in mind, and in light of the fact that I had done the very same action many times before without ever dropping my Bible in the toilet, he would be able to rest assured that my Bible was safe.
Isn't this a lot like our spiritual life? I know you're saying, "Where on earth is he going with this?" but here comes the good stuff. We often live in fear of actions or ideas that are essential to living life for God. These ideas and actions can be different for every person, although there are certain ones that we all struggle with. Some examples are food, clothing, relationships, safety, and reputation. You fill in the blank for you. What if we drop these Bibles in the toilet? For us this is a viable concern, just as is the monkey's concern that he might drop his Bible in the toilet.
What if we turned all our little "bibles" over to one who has never dropped a bible in the toilet? One whose "ways our higher than our ways" and whose "thoughts are higher than our thoughts"? What if we got past the fear we have over the little things and trust everything to the God of monkeys, bibles, and toilets?
Feeling somewhat silly after writing that but trying to live out the principle,
Wes
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Life at College
Well, I've been at college for three weeks now, but it seems like much longer. I saw a friend's blog and decided that it would be a good idea to start my own for several different reasons. First, it will help me to chronicle some of my thoughts. Second, it will keep those who care to read in the loop about my life and experiences at college. Third, it will provide an outlet for me to share the things that the Lord teaches me so that they will not stagnate in my heart.
I am definitely missing all my friends and family, but I am really enjoying college. The first week at college was Welcome Week, so instead of classes there were various "welcome to college" activities that were optional. I chose to go to as many of them as possible. I was on crutches for that whole week, so I got a great workout walking all over campus. I decided to be a part of the welcome week choir, so each day we had a practice in the fine arts center, which is on the opposite side of campus from my dorm. Whew! By the time I got to rehearsal I was ready for a nap.
I am proud to say that despite being in a cast I still participated in the world's largest game of twister with hundreds of other freshman. Welcome Week was full of many crazy activites like this.
Classes began the following Monday, August 27. I won't go into the details of all my classes, but I will spend a moment talking about my favorite which is my freshman Bible class, the Life and Teachings of Jesus.
My teacher's name is Randy Harris, and he is a pretty awesome guy. From what I can tell he lives a radical life for Jesus Christ, and since this is what I want to do, I'm looking forward to getting to know him more and learning a lot in his class. The first day of class, as he was telling us what the class would be all about, he said this, "Jesus can't be whoever you want him to be. He already is somebody."
I'm going through a time of intense questioning of my own beliefs, Christianity's accepted truths, and our society's norms. The statement seemed like a ray of hope in the midst of my cloudy, confused thoughts, and I am greatly looking forward to more clearly discovering who Jesus really is and how his teachings should really affect my life.
I know this post was long and boring, but I assure you that I wrote only a fraction of the many experiences over these three weeks. In the future my posts will be less narrative and more reflective.
Grace and Peace,
Wes
I am definitely missing all my friends and family, but I am really enjoying college. The first week at college was Welcome Week, so instead of classes there were various "welcome to college" activities that were optional. I chose to go to as many of them as possible. I was on crutches for that whole week, so I got a great workout walking all over campus. I decided to be a part of the welcome week choir, so each day we had a practice in the fine arts center, which is on the opposite side of campus from my dorm. Whew! By the time I got to rehearsal I was ready for a nap.
I am proud to say that despite being in a cast I still participated in the world's largest game of twister with hundreds of other freshman. Welcome Week was full of many crazy activites like this.
Classes began the following Monday, August 27. I won't go into the details of all my classes, but I will spend a moment talking about my favorite which is my freshman Bible class, the Life and Teachings of Jesus.
My teacher's name is Randy Harris, and he is a pretty awesome guy. From what I can tell he lives a radical life for Jesus Christ, and since this is what I want to do, I'm looking forward to getting to know him more and learning a lot in his class. The first day of class, as he was telling us what the class would be all about, he said this, "Jesus can't be whoever you want him to be. He already is somebody."
I'm going through a time of intense questioning of my own beliefs, Christianity's accepted truths, and our society's norms. The statement seemed like a ray of hope in the midst of my cloudy, confused thoughts, and I am greatly looking forward to more clearly discovering who Jesus really is and how his teachings should really affect my life.
I know this post was long and boring, but I assure you that I wrote only a fraction of the many experiences over these three weeks. In the future my posts will be less narrative and more reflective.
Grace and Peace,
Wes
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