Hunter is on the shelf, now it's a level 33 mage (named 'Sophon', still on Gorefiend)...joy, oh joy. What wonderful time wasted playing that game. They should put addiction warnings on computer games, you know, like they put on cigarette cases. I'm sure Blizzard is replacing all their toilets with golden thrones as we speak.
It seems I'm going to do my term paper on Jesus and other miracle healers. I really have no idea where to start, or which direction to go. I think that's probably the best when dealing with this kind of stuff. You can't go into biblical studies thinking you already know the answers, and try and mould what you come across into that package: public universities don't let that crap fly, nor (in my opinion) should a good seminary. No, I'm actually quite happy starting the way I am. The moment we think we got Jesus down pat is when we know we have a dead Church, and a boring academia. Nazi Germany thought they knew who Jesus was, so did white Apartheid South Africa. Tom Wright often comments that when we look down the water well of history to see Jesus, we often tend to see nothing more than our own reflections staring back up at us. Scary, eh? Jesus in our likeness and our image. Scary for the Church, scary for the world.
I have a feeling I'm falling behind in my Hebrew class. Greek takes so much time and effort that I barely have any juice left for Hebrew. As I've mentioned here before, we're working through the book of Jonah doing our own translation. This is an amazing experience so far. Reading a text in the original language isn't just cool for its own sake--all the nuances and literary devices which you now see--but also it forces you to slow down and actually pay attention to the text. What takes you 30 minutes to translate takes 30 seconds to zip over in English. You miss so much by 'zippin'. And the book of Jonah itself, that's some incredible stuff. One day, in the future, maybe I'll post a few things I've learned about the book.
As a last note, thanks to all who spend the 10 seconds to drop a comment as they pass by. Comments are open to all; you don't need any membership to blogger.com, so feel free to leave a blurb for me. And I wouldn't mind if you left your name as well! I'd like to be able to respond to your comments knowing who I'm responding to.
Grace to all you passers-by. Stay safe, stay sane (especially as finals draw ever so near).
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Friday, February 11, 2005
Pre-Reading Week Joy
Ahh, it's here at last - reading break. I love reading break, mostly because of how little time is actually spent reading. Although I base that on a meagre one year's experience at it, I don't expect this year to be much different than the last.
I've finally turned to my Religion 202 term paper topics. I'm somewhat saddened by the 8-10 page range. I tend to write on, and on, and on. I guess these short papers are good for my writing, supposed to get me to write clearly and concisely...as if! I love to jabber on and on and on (as familiar readers undoubtedly know). So what topic? Well I'm thinking of this one: 'How, if at all, was Jesus different from other miracle workers of his age? Consider Josephus, Apollonius of Tyana, the Acts of the Apostles'. Looks pretty interesting to me. I've written on Paul (in RELG 100) and on the OT (1st Sem RELG 202), and so a Jesus paper seems in order. However, I'm also considering two other topics, one on the afterlife in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, and the other on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Arg! I actually love all three. But the afterlife topic is just so massive in what I think I'd have to touch upon that 10 pages will never cut it. As for the DSS topic, the question asks for the significance of the DSS. I don't really care for this topic (their significance is plain to anyone who opens up a recent scholarly book on NT research), I'd much rather write about the literature/theology in the DSS. Unfortunately, the Prof said modifying the topic is a no-go. So, that ends with my first choice anyways: Jesus.
And to finish it off, a few snippets of why I love C.S. Lewis so much. All are from his short work A Grief Observed which he wrote as he was dealing with the death of his wife. It's an incredible piece of writing.
Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be--or so it feels--welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no light in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is he so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble? (Ch.1)
Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like. Deceive yourself no longer.' (Ch.1)
I have gradually been coming to feel that the door is no longer shut and bolted. Was it my own frantic need that slammed it in my face? The time when there is nothing at all in your soul except a cry for help may be just the time when God can't give it: you are like the drowning man who can't be helped because he clutches and grabs. Perhaps your own reiterated cries deafen you to the voice you hoped to hear. On the other hand, 'Knock and it shall be opened.' But does knocking mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac? (Ch. 3)
When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But rather a special sort of 'No answer.' It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, 'Peace, child; you don't understand.' Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square or round? Probably half the questions we ask--half our great theological and metaphysical problems--are like that. (Ch. 4)
Greetings and peace to all.
I've finally turned to my Religion 202 term paper topics. I'm somewhat saddened by the 8-10 page range. I tend to write on, and on, and on. I guess these short papers are good for my writing, supposed to get me to write clearly and concisely...as if! I love to jabber on and on and on (as familiar readers undoubtedly know). So what topic? Well I'm thinking of this one: 'How, if at all, was Jesus different from other miracle workers of his age? Consider Josephus, Apollonius of Tyana, the Acts of the Apostles'. Looks pretty interesting to me. I've written on Paul (in RELG 100) and on the OT (1st Sem RELG 202), and so a Jesus paper seems in order. However, I'm also considering two other topics, one on the afterlife in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, and the other on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Arg! I actually love all three. But the afterlife topic is just so massive in what I think I'd have to touch upon that 10 pages will never cut it. As for the DSS topic, the question asks for the significance of the DSS. I don't really care for this topic (their significance is plain to anyone who opens up a recent scholarly book on NT research), I'd much rather write about the literature/theology in the DSS. Unfortunately, the Prof said modifying the topic is a no-go. So, that ends with my first choice anyways: Jesus.
And to finish it off, a few snippets of why I love C.S. Lewis so much. All are from his short work A Grief Observed which he wrote as he was dealing with the death of his wife. It's an incredible piece of writing.
Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be--or so it feels--welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become. There are no light in the windows. It might be an empty house. Was it ever inhabited? It seemed so once. And that seeming was as strong as this. What can this mean? Why is he so present a commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent a help in time of trouble? (Ch.1)
Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like. Deceive yourself no longer.' (Ch.1)
I have gradually been coming to feel that the door is no longer shut and bolted. Was it my own frantic need that slammed it in my face? The time when there is nothing at all in your soul except a cry for help may be just the time when God can't give it: you are like the drowning man who can't be helped because he clutches and grabs. Perhaps your own reiterated cries deafen you to the voice you hoped to hear. On the other hand, 'Knock and it shall be opened.' But does knocking mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac? (Ch. 3)
When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But rather a special sort of 'No answer.' It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, 'Peace, child; you don't understand.' Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable. How many hours are there in a mile? Is yellow square or round? Probably half the questions we ask--half our great theological and metaphysical problems--are like that. (Ch. 4)
Greetings and peace to all.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Wowwww
If you have anything resembling a life, I heartily recommend you DO NOT GET World of Warcraft. If you choose to ignore my warning, you will quickly see that life of yours flying far, far, away. If you ignore my warnings during midterms, you will see whatever intellect you may have had quickly replace itself with an form of acute Stupidititus. What relationships you had with metabolising, carbon based, life-forms will gradually be replaced by your faithful (digital) pet tiger, and, at times, other lifeless carbon based beings mediated through a digital matrix.
My friends, heed my warning, or pay with your life.
But, if you don't, I have a (level 21 at this moment) Night Elf hunter on Gorefiend server called 'Mistahiggy'. Do come join me! And welcome to the world of addiction.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
My friends, heed my warning, or pay with your life.
But, if you don't, I have a (level 21 at this moment) Night Elf hunter on Gorefiend server called 'Mistahiggy'. Do come join me! And welcome to the world of addiction.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Mambo mambo mambo
Every year I work at Missions Fest I come home with the wonderful benefit of new technological skills. This year it's the knowledge of how Mambo works. Mambo is a wonderful site manager, great for running php/mysql database driven sites. This is great since I've been working on remaking our church's website using the Mambo system. I have to say, I don't think I can ever go back to static webpages. Database driven sites are amazing. You have one template for the site, with one html code and css file. All your content is stored in the database. Adding and moving around content using Mambo is quick and painless. I used to take pride in knowing the knitty gritty of how to code everything with notepad. A little older, I know figure 'why reinvent the wheel'. Know how what your using works, and know how to use it in the most efficient manner possible. Keep the knitty gritty for C++. Can't wait to roll out the new site. But for now it's very malnourished: little content, no graphics. That has to be taken care of.
On a more school-ish note, I just realized that both my Chem midterm and my Microbiology midterm are next week. Chem I've known for a while (without trepidation), but Microbi I just figured out today when I looked at the first page of the course package (ALWAYS READ THE FIRST PAGE!!!). So now the anxiety begins. Microbi is hard as heck, this is gonna be a slaughtering.
But to make me feel better, our Hebrew prof told us that we are going to be reading the book of Jonah (in Hebrew of course) from beginning to end, during the remainder of term. Yaaay!! See, languages are pure pain as you learn the basic grammar and vocab. When you reach the point where you can finally read, ohh my how good it tastes. Not only that, my Greek prof said that by the beginning of 2nd year Greek, we should be able to read Galatians cover to cover (in Greek, duh) . All this pain is paying back with interest!
Oh, I'm tempted to pull a Kierkegaard and attack my own writings under pseudonyms. That's how very certain I am of the words coming out of my mouth. Please, catch the sarcasm.
On a more school-ish note, I just realized that both my Chem midterm and my Microbiology midterm are next week. Chem I've known for a while (without trepidation), but Microbi I just figured out today when I looked at the first page of the course package (ALWAYS READ THE FIRST PAGE!!!). So now the anxiety begins. Microbi is hard as heck, this is gonna be a slaughtering.
But to make me feel better, our Hebrew prof told us that we are going to be reading the book of Jonah (in Hebrew of course) from beginning to end, during the remainder of term. Yaaay!! See, languages are pure pain as you learn the basic grammar and vocab. When you reach the point where you can finally read, ohh my how good it tastes. Not only that, my Greek prof said that by the beginning of 2nd year Greek, we should be able to read Galatians cover to cover (in Greek, duh) . All this pain is paying back with interest!
Oh, I'm tempted to pull a Kierkegaard and attack my own writings under pseudonyms. That's how very certain I am of the words coming out of my mouth. Please, catch the sarcasm.
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