The Road Less Traveled

Ok, so, the path we are taking in class is different and something most professors do not do, but does that make it wrong? I mean, it is a huge relief not to be pressured by grades; by being subjected to the pressure of succeeding on paper rather than in the mind. Of course, they can easily go hand in hand (succeeding in the mind and on paper), but I find it easy to lose focus when worrying about how my grades will come out.

Right now, i am SOOO stressed because of school. I am constantly worried about having books read, papers written and tests taken just so i do not fail out of my last semester...and im not sure what all i have learned in the past 2 weeks. It is crazy, it is all jumbled together. I openly embrace the way we are doing this class. And if you think it is unfair regarding the grades, you get to choose the grade you feel you deserve. Do the work for class and give yourself the grade you feel you deserve.

I feel the best way to describe how the class is affecting me is, in a small part, revolutionizing my mind. I mean, what really struck me the most this past week was our conversation on the wilderness. We must find out who we are. I feel that is where i am at in life. It is scary and i do not know how i will fare...but i know it spoke right to me. This is exactly what Jesus went through...He had to find out who He was, and then He changed the world. I know some things i believe in, but i dont know if i completely know who i am, and that is what i must find out.

The Pure of Heart

So, last week we discussed what deems someone pure and polluted within a society. With that being said, let me lay the foundation for the following experiment...

Our class can be considered a small society, no? We are a group of people who meet together regularly. We have standards within the classes that we must follow. If we do not follow these standards, we are punished. Maybe not to the degree of being an outcast of the society, but there are repercussions when we do not do what is "pure" in our little society.

Bam, foundation laid. Agree or disagree if you want, but that is my position. Ok, with that being said, lets work with this foundation. As an experiment, i decided to see if by blogging late i would be considered polluted within our society. As a non-official participant in this experiment, what are your thoughts? Am i polluted for turning in the assignment late, or do i remain Pure?

Cut the chatter...im thoughting!

I really enjoyed our class discussion Tuesday about what faith is (wait, did i really just say that...take mental note). I guess it is intriguing to understand what the writers of the text actually meant, but at the same time it is so very sad we lose so much in the translation process. I have had multiple classes dealing with language (2 semesters of Spanish, 1 of Greek, and small pieces from Dr.Borders whenever he goes on a rant) and have really had the time to think about language. During that thinking process I came to 2 conclusions:

1. The English language is so simple
2. The English language stinks

I thought the English language was simple because all other languages seemed to be more complex, such as the Greek way for having 3 words to describe love, whereas the English language has only one word. I have a good one for the spanish, but i do not think there is a way i can type it without it being confusing. All the same, my thought was, "English was simple, why cant all other languages be simple?"

But that is the problem I think. In our attempt at creating a 'simple language', we lose far too much...and as new generations are born and the old pass away, these thoughts and ideas become foreign to us, but they can help us understand so much more (such as describing something as a verb instead of a noun...faith). Even though I speak English, I find the more I learn about other languages (especially ancient ones), the more I begin to dislike the simplicity of my own.

The Authority of Truth

Well, we have certainly had much debate in class on what truth is. Is it a single, underlying truth? Can truth be multiple things (or are there multiple truths)? Maybe you have come to your own conclusion on what truth is, or maybe you haven't. But, could truth possibly tell us itself that it is truth? This idea comes to me from a phrase i have heard many times, "you know truth when you hear it". Is truth something so tangible, so powerful, so real and so TRUE that is it something we cannot miss...something we cannot possibly mistake for anything but the truth? What about when the scriptures say, "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law." (Matt 7:28-29) What is this authority? Is it indeed truth? But just because it may be truth does not mean everyone recognizes it or accepts it. What are your thoughts on it? Is truth something so true we know it when we hear it? Or is truth something we know based off personal experience and culture?

THE Truth

Pondering the discussion we had in class, i have had some thoughts regarding truth. One thought in particular I keep coming back to is a reflection on CS Lewis's work, "Mere Christianity", in which he speaks of a moral code we all have hardwired in us. It is not something we are taught, but it is something that is just there. This moral code is a standard by which we all judge what is fair, what is right, and what is good. Could this not be considered a singular truth? Sure, it covers a vast multitude of different situations, but it is still a moral code, a singular truth...no? Let me hear your thoughts....especially if you are familiar with Mere Christianity.