loose ends tangled

"hide the ball......the teacher's coming!"

2014-04-17T23:31:00.001-04:00

As I was walking home from the Uni on this refreshing spring afternoon, one of the 3rd year students from Daeil Foreign Language High School (one of the highest ranked in the country) called out to me from the basketball courts:

"Hey.... you remember me?"

"Yeah - we played ball together a couple weeks ago."

"Yeah that's right."

After some chit chat I asked him when he normally plays ball with his mates.

"Oh we don't play -we're not allowed to."

"What do you mean you're not allowed to play basketball?"

"We are third year students so we have to focus on studying for the exam."

So of course I'm thinking this is insane, but I already know that these kids stay at the school until 10 or 11 pm every day so maybe he is simply saying that there is no time allotted into their schedules for ball - just too much studying.

"So how do they....stop you from playing?"

"Well if a teacher sees us playing during lunch break or dinner break----

(wait - wha??? you mean you finish your sandwich early, grab a ball to shoot some hoops, and this is illegal?)

-----they tell us to put the ball down and [go do something else]."

"Wow. That's amazing."

"Yeah so we have to play when they're not watching....and when they come over we pretend like we weren't playing."

"So they want you to study all of the time? Even during lunch break?"

"No it's not that - they think that playing basketball will [detract from our concentration on the final exam]."

?!?!?!?!

What can be said? Korean's superior education philosophy wins again. But I had to ask him....

"So you told them this was a stupid idea right? That little breaks to play basketball will clear your mind and help you study better, right?"

[laughs] "You know they have done it this way for 30 years......."

And he's right - if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Or wait a minute.....hmmm.....

on teaching

2013-06-25T03:28:00.000-04:00

Here's a list of some attributes that my class came up with - things they want in a teacher.....

funny friendly professional punctual kind helpful listener strict checking patient communicator attentive passion articulate neutral interesting knowledgeable friend light prepared motivator flexible

The "Word of God" Part 1 - Evangelicals and history

2012-11-11T02:45:00.001-05:00

CARNEGIE: “It’s not a f**ng book! It’s a weapon! A weapon aimed right at the hearts and minds of the weak and the desperate. It will give us control of them. If we wanna rule more than one f**ng town then we gotta have it. People will come from all over - they’ll do exactly what I tell ‘em if the words are from the book. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again. All we need is that book.”

With this climactic scene from Book of Eli, we discover for the first time the full extent of Carnegie’s plot: to find a Bible and expand his personal empire with the power it wields. We also cut to the core of one of the main themes in the movie: for better or for worse, the Bible is an effective weapon used by many visionaries to promote their agendas, whether good or bad. Carnegie is the antagonist in a film that seeks to elevate the importance and worth of the Bible, and to draw a clear line of distinction between the Book and those who would abuse its power for their own ends.

But why does the Bible possess this type of power in Western Culture? (I mention Western culture because the Bible certainly does not have the same type of sway in Muslim nations for example. The equivalent question in those places would be “Why does the Quran possess this type of power?”)

Of course, the whole question of ‘power’ itself – “What is power?” “Can a book even possess power?” “Or is it really the people using the book who possess the power?” – is worth a bit of attention but I’ll leave that for another time. (See N.T. Wright’s article How Can the Bible be Authoritative? for a discussion of these questions within the Christian context)

An Evangelical might simply say that the Bible is powerful because it is the “Word of God” and then proceed to quote Hebrews 4:12 “For the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart.” And at first glance, if “Word of God” does refer to the Bible (see below), then this does seem to attribute some sort of power to the Bible itself. The argument continues, the Bible claims this sort of power for itself because it was written by God himself as the means of communicating his instructions to humankind.

Thus, “The Word of God,” a biblical phrase that has been popularized by Evangelicalism to refer to the Bible, often carries with it certain connotations including the ideas of Biblical Authority, Inerrancy, and Inspiration (Inspiration in a supernatural- God wrote it – sense). The understanding, roughly, is that God communicated his universal, unchanging truth through the writings of Scripture; and therefore the completed Bible is carrying out the authoritative voice of God in the world today. The members of God’s chosen body of people - the church - are then responsible to read-and-understand, and then apply the directives given by God in the Bible. There is no debate necessary; “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.” (Insert any number of witty rallying cries created by the defenders of fundamentalism to inspire the team on to victory)

As a related tangent, the rah-rah-you-can-do-it mentality starts with young, fundamentalist-to-be, training camp (a.k.a. ‘Sunday School’ or Vacation Bible School). “The B-I-B-L-E, Yes that’s the book for me, I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E. Bible!” Raise your hand if you had that ditty drilled into your head at two years old along with the image of the pudgy Christian Crusader thrusting his sword into the air (and toting his bible in the other hand)….and now you go to rehab.

Even the most popularized children’s song of all, “Jesus loves me,” carries out the same message: “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so, little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong. Yes Jesus loves me…..the Bible tells me so.” Never mind the Yoda type grammar, or the tune (which belongs in a Korean supermart advert); the significant observation here is that Jesus’ love is not known in an experiential way, or even a historical way (Jesus died for me so I know he loves me); it is known through a propositional instruction manual that teaches me about this mind-blowing concept as though it were one of the properties of an isosceles triangle you learn about in a math textbook.

So where did these ideas come from?

Well Evangelicals will obviously tell you they come from the Bible (See Part 2). Historically speaking
however, it seems that this is the result of reformation theology, at least in part. As Luther and the reformers sought to free the church (and the European world) from the tyranny of Rome, they introduced some paradigm-shifting ideas, perhaps none larger than sola-scriptura “by Scripture alone.” No longer was the Pope the ‘final authority’ on church polity, now the Bible was. The Guttenberg Press allowed this shift to take root as mass copies of the Bible became available for distribution for the first time ever, allowing any individual who could read a personal stake in the discussion (and actualization) of appropriate responses to God’s authoritative Word.

(It’s worth mentioning that perhaps the reformers did not go far enough - to the point of deconstructing the very notions of authority/obedience under which the entire church had operated for centuries)

A second historical movement that seems to me to be significant to the Evangelical bibliology is the Fundamentalist Movement of the early 1900’s. As philosophical rationalism progressed in the universities and Darwinian evolution began to reshape science, the Protestant community (and Catholic/Orthodox for that matter) was faced with questions it had never seen before. During the Reformation, an authoritative Bible was the instrument of freedom from Roman rule. No one questioned the legitimacy of the instrument itself – it was merely a question of appropriation. Now the instrument itself was being challenged.

Understandably so, the reaction among many in the Evangelical world was to defend that instrument at all cost. The opposition were seen as the agents of Satan using the tools of reasoning and science to attack the Bible – God’s true authoritative Word. At least one generation of the conservative Protestant church was spent formulating, articulating, and defending the core fundamentalist creeds, which centered on bibliology. There were certainly other tenets to the fundamental agenda such as the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, a literal resurrection, etc. But as in the reformation, the authoritative Bible became the focal point from which all spokes on the fundamentalist wheel found their origin. And truly it has become the hub for all theology and practice in the Evangelical church today.

Evangelicalism has significantly shaped Western culture, most noticeably American culture and politics, and this may explain why the Bible was portrayed as a weapon in the Book of Eli. It truly has been a weapon used by many different hands to further many different agendas and it continues to be elevated by many as a book worthy of devotion and as a power to be feared.

The question becomes: Is God one of those sword bearers? Does he use this weapon to accomplish his own purposes? Is this type of power vested onto the book by God or is this rather a distortion of his book?

[Part 2 will attempt to examine some of the claims in the Bible about the Word of God]

Where were you?

2012-06-13T03:04:00.000-04:00

God, if you’re real, where were you when _____________ happened?

A valid question.

A question that warrants a better answer than: “you just gotta have faith.” Or “there’s a reason for this.” Or “somehow, God is using this for good.”

These seem to duck the question to some degree.

A lot of Christians give Christianity a bad name. And many see Christians as promoters of ignorance and quick, easy, dismissive answers – discouraging the questioner from asking. There is probably more than a grain of truth in this perspective.

However, it may be equally dismissive to sit in the Judge’s seat and pronounce a ‘guilty’ verdict over God-the-defendant. Perhaps both Christians and Skeptics need to take a longer look, a look that embraces mystery.

Christians quickly pronounce God as ‘innocent,’ but it may be a blind verdict that ignores the facts.

Skeptics quickly pronounce God as ‘guilty,’ but this may be equally rash.

A third way is to leave the Judge’s seat and listen. To leave the question on the table.

To make no pronouncements.

What does God himself say to the question? “Where were you when _________ happened??”

“I was on the cross.”

Lost, everything is lost

And everything I've loved before is gone

Alone like the coming of the frost

And a cold winter's chill in my stony heart

And where were You when all that I've hoped for?

Where You when all that I've dreamed?

Came crashing down in shambles around me

You were on the cross

Pain, could you take away the pain?

If I find someone to blame, would it make my life seem easier?

Alone, all my friends are asleep

And I can't find anyone to stay awake with me

Where were You when sin stole my innocence?

Where were You when I was ashamed?

Hiding in a life, I wish, I never made

You were on the cross, my God, my God, alone, alone

You were on the cross, You died for us, alone, alone

You were on the cross, victorious, alone, alone

You were there in all of my suffering

And You were there in doubt and in fear

I'm waiting on the dawn to reappear

Lyrics by Matt Maher

the Beauty from the airship

2012-02-25T07:27:00.000-05:00

not the finest camera or painter's stroke,
not the words of my pen,
not even my human eye in its finesse
can begin to tell the story of the beauty
which is opened in faintest shadows before me
on this sunset passing airship tonight.

south to north at 30,000 feet
i woke with the instinct to open the shade
and i was immediately invited into a world of splendor,
teasingly fleeting.

a solid carpet of pearl white gently settled clouds
provide a perspective unique to air travelers
and opposite to earth dwellers.
the wing beneath my viewing glass reaches its limb out to the receding sun,
calling for its embrace and reminding my eye that
an invisible wall separates my realm from the stunning world
to which i seek entrance.

at the skirt of the wing's arm and yet infinitely beyond
lies not the sun but the brightest fulcrum of its glory
focusing my gaze on the horizontal line
that is the cloud carpet's end and
the beginning of a night sky, so boldly calm
and penetrating in its shades of metallic blue
it reminds of a glistening black stallion
staring at its rider without even a flinch
in a moment of unspoken recognition between
horse and rider of the rarity of the steed's
power and grace...or perhaps
it reminds better of a woman,
one who speaks nothing at all
but says everything with her eyes that stare....and know.

this is the split backdrop (half cloud carpet and half metallic sky)
through which the sun paints its masterpiece.
i say 'through' and not 'on' because in this set the glory is truly coming
from some unseen place beyond the west and
penetrating into the airworld, filling all with the afterglow of its presence.

painting bottom to top:
simple grey in shadows
growing to shining whiteness
that becomes translucent as it starts to accept soft yellows
that turn to bright oranges
which later fade to glowing red embers.
as the carpet gives way to the sky goddess
the orange becomes dazzling and bright
which moves ever quickly into a bright blue
like a blue diamond catching the sun,
only fuller and deeper and more lasting.
the blues turn deeper and deeper to a midnight color
almost black but never quite there.

directly above the glory stands the perfectly round moon
shimmering in glowing black highlighted by
the white-hot thumbnail of the glory's reflection
along its bottom rim.

two single bright stars align equal distance from the moon
and each other
in a perfectly straight line that angles slightly to the left
as it reaches up away from the moon and the fading glory below,
like a brilliant diamond necklace gracing the neck of the
seductive night sky.

the beauty before me calls to me softly and loudly: "come."

and my soul is drawn to not just see but
to join,
to enter in,
to partake.

surely this is not a fantasy of useless musings
but an echo of reality,
a small glimpse of the shadow of Glory,
an invitation not just to dream of coming
but to actually come and partake in
the Ultimate Beauty, the Infinite Glory
from which all echos and shadows
which enter the present earthly realm
find their True Referent.
A Beauty which gives pleasure
for which we are made to enjoy.

a thirst that cannot possibly be quenched
by any of the echos or shadows which are before me now.

"look beyond, my soul, find the One for whom your longing craves."

GTB

2012-01-07T00:20:00.000-05:00

Last week one of my students caught my attention while I was roaming the room checking their group discussions. He had the initials G.T.B. scribbled on his paper and he held it up to show me and said "GTB." I said "GTB? What's GTB?" He replied very matter-of-factly: "Great Teacher Ben."
There's no grades or tests in this class so I know he wasn't brown-nosing. Made my day:)

Tai Kwon Do

2011-10-21T09:24:00.000-04:00

As I'm learning more about the Korean education system, it seems common for a high school to specialize in one or two specific areas of study which will draw students interested in pursuing those areas at the university level. For instance music is not a high priority at my high school - there is one music teacher for over a thousand kids (as far as i know). If you are serious about pursuing music at the university level you will probably not come to Taesung. However, if soccer or competing in taikwondo appeals to you, Taesung is one of the premier high schools in the country. In 2010 the Taesung soccer team was crowned national champs and the taekwondo competetors regularly challenge the best in the country.
Recently, the taikwondo squad put on an artistic performance in front of the student body as part of the festivals to celebrate Chuseok, the largest Korean national holiday. Check out the video below for some artistry and some impressive athleticism.

picka name

2011-10-15T03:34:00.000-04:00

Trying to build rapport with 340 students that you see twice a week can be a bit difficult. At least I thought it would be better to call them by names rather than "hey you" so at the beginning of each semester I have them choose an English name or write their Korean name transliterated into English letters. Some of them, actually many of them, are quite creative. Here are some of the best name tags from the first semester.

Celebrities

Dwight Howard

Eminem

Undertaker

Jim Cary

Obama

Ronaldo (as representative of many soccer names chosen)

Johnny Depp

John Lennon

Kobe Bryant

Jack Sparrow

Chuckles (Not worth a full laugh but not bad)

Mouth

The North Face

Sweet guy

Feel (I had several students with this name oddly)

Macho

Zero

yeah

Social leader

Environment leader

Headmaster

Prophet

Cartoon characters

Bugs Bunny

Oscar

Pororo

Sponge Bob

Historical Figures

God

Ghandi

Ghandi’s Slave (chosen by the student sitting next to Ghandi)

Einstein

Julius Caesar

Davinchi

Brownnosers

Ben

Small Ben (chosen by one of the larger students I had)

I love God (“then why are you talking in my class?!” lol)

Cecillia (former English teacher at Taesung)

Cigarettes (yes I devoted an entire section to cigs)

Marlboro Red

Marlboro Lights

Marlboro Menthol (the ‘Marlboro gang’ as I called them were all in one class)

Mild Seven

Funny

Dorothy

Jackie

Hey

You (yes these two sat next to each other also)

Sexy guy

Cool guy

Mr. Pink Pig

Seal Bob

Jun Kyu Super Giant Pig

Spanish names (it works right?)

El Nino

Best of the best

Mr. Big (One of the smallest students I had in any class)

Korean (If you’re looking for a way to blend in with 340 korean boys, this was probably a good name choice. Ironically I can remember his face because it was funnyJ)

Mr. Bong (funny mostly because I don’t think he had a clue what a bong is.)

Precious hair (enough said)

Pithagorus (like the guy who came up with that triangle formula? Yeah that’s the one. Who thinks of that??)

Sounds

2011-10-06T21:21:00.000-04:00

I can hear the birds singing in the morning chill – only 2 or 3 are loud enough to make it to my window.

I can hear the rush of traffic, wheels on pavement, engines working hard or shifting gears, combining to make one continuous stream of noise that sounds like slow rapids from far away.

Occasionally I can hear a car horn or the squeak of truck breaks.

In my room some of the sounds are closer. I can hear the tick tock of the clock on the back wall.

I can hear the stroke of my computer keys as I write this.

Upstairs a few students move their chairs occasionally and the rubber stoppers moan as they drag across the tile.

Several classrooms away something is dropped that sounds like a hundred tiny keys being poured out of a bottle.

Somebody whistles softly as they walk down the hall and I can hear the shuffle of sandals on tile.

Some voices are talking softly upstairs.

A distant sounds reminds me a hammer drill burst, but there is no staccato pattern. Now the sound grows steady and closer and I think of a large metal filing cabinet being half carried half dragged across the floor.

Perhaps it sounds like a noisy morning, but as a high school English teacher this is one of the quietest mornings I can remember in a long time.

The stillness is refreshing.

Korea so far...

2011-08-31T04:08:00.000-04:00

March 26, 2011 was the day I stepped on the plane in Cleveland and headed for Seoul to start my newest adventure. I had had many adventures previously, like the five day trip to Israel just one week previouslyJ, but this would be the first time living abroad for an extended period of time (not counting the one month I lived in France in 2007). March 27^th kind of got lost somehow as it was now March 28^th 5 AM when I touched down at Incheon International Airport. Of course 5 AM was still 4PM according to my body but it really didn’t matter – I was ready to sleep anywhere I could lay my head. That morning I was given the textbook I would use, shown my apartment, and told that I should be ready to teach the next day. Welcome to Korea.

That was five months ago, almost exactly, and the journey from there to here since then has been filled with small adjustments here and there, learning to adjust from normal everyday life in America to normal everyday life in Korea. Some of those adjustments have been quite small indeed. For instance my grocery shopping routine has shifted from Walmart once a week to Emart once a week – the Korean look-a-like version that actually bought out Walmart stores in Korea in 2006. Here the biggest differences are carts that have four swiveling wheels instead of two, and smooth ramp-like escalators that allow your cart to travel upstairs rather than just you. Oh yeah, that’s pretty Korean too – everything is up. They don’t typically have the ground space that a Walmart would fill in America so instead they build up: two stories of products (groceries downstairs and other stuff upstairs), followed by 2 or 3 additional levels for parking.

Of course parking for me is not an issue since my transportation consists of an environmentally-friendly, swagger-unfriendly, tops-out-at-50-MPH scooter (maybe 35 or 40 if you have somebody on the backJ). This is one transition that has been slightly annoying but mostly just fun. The annoying part of owning a scooter instead of a car is the storage factor; and of course the weather factors too. I’m always double checking how much stuff I have to lug home from the grocery store knowing I can only take as much as I can fit on my scooter. And if it starts raining, well, I guess it just adds another wrinkle to the day. But honestly the scooter that I bought from a friend about two months ago is one of the most practical and helpful decisions I have made here in Korea. Prior to that I was relying on public transportation which in Korea, is one of the most reliable and convenient worldwide. However, the scooter still cuts the time in half or more every time I go anywhere and provides a much more enjoyable ride (I say this not only because riding a motorized two-wheeler is fun, but also because riding a Korean bus is decidedly NOT fun due to the incessant and sudden braking that produces a headache in no time).

Another adjustment that has held its own set of challenges has been the adjustment into a full-time teaching role for the first time. Not only is this my first teaching gig, but it's also my first exposure to the Korean education system where things are done slightly different than in America. My classes consist of about 40 students with a wide variety of English competency. I have nine different classes totaling around 340 students that I see twice a week. Although each of them have English names (or transliterated Korean names) it’s still impossible to memorize very many, even over the course of the semester. Building relationship is thus very difficult and even basic interaction with students is severely limited due to the class structure and teaching methodology they are used to.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in teaching has been trying to teach material that demands student production (conversational English) to students who are used to learning in a test-based, fact transfer educational system. However the teachers at Taesung high school have been very accommodating to me in many ways and give me a great deal of flexibility to rearrange the class structure and material in ways that allow for more group interaction and student production. Nevertheless I still feel a bit frustrated in trying to implement effective conversational English into the existing Korean educational system. But frustration is not all bad especially because in this case it is forcing me to think through philosophy of education and teaching strategy. It is also teaching me general relationship skills and how to communicate and cooperate with coworkers and with another culture.

As with any life situation, the most intriguing aspect of living in Korea has been the relationships here in Korea. Although Koreans certainly share some commonalities in terms of worldview and everyday living, they also possess a great deal of individuality and uniqueness just as every people group does. It has been very intriguing for me to talk with various teacher friends and other Koreans and to observe what types of mannerisms or perspectives they seem to share with their people and what things are unique to them as individuals.

Getting to know my Korean teacher-mates has been somewhat of a double-sided coin. On the one hand it seems that Koreans are extremely community minded and very welcoming. They are also somewhat intrigued by foreigners – especially Americans (not to mention 6’3” Americans who play basketball). So there is definitely a desire to build relationship and to learn about each other. However another difference in the Korean culture is their emphasis on reputation or surface level respect. Looking good, or bringing a positive impression to the table, is very important in the culture. For that reason many Koreans have hesitated to speak to me simply out of shame in their English conversation abilities. That might sound strange given the fact that I’m living in their country, however English has been a point of emphasis in Korean education for some time which means that most Koreans have some expectations for themselves or for others (especially teachers, and most obviously English teachers) which creates a natural barrier around me.

However many at Taesung have broken that barrier on multiple occasions and I have enjoyed building relationships around different interests with many of them. One of the most enjoyable times I have had in Korea so far was my trip to Tongyeon Bay with the teachers. This was an overnight trip to the southern part of Korea where we toured some of the historic sites and saw some beautiful scenery around the islands of the southern coast. Opportunities such as this, to build relationships with people of a different culture are very fulfilling to me and that is one of the biggest reasons I decided to come to Korea to teach.

(It certainly wasn’t the kimchi J)

rules or stories?

2011-08-26T23:23:00.000-04:00

"That in fact, is (I believe) one of the reasons why God has given us so much story, so much narrative in scripture. Story authority, as Jesus knew only too well, is the authority that really works. Throw a rule book at people's heads, or offer them a list of doctrines, and they can duck or avoid it, or simply disagree and go away. Tell them a story, though, and you invite them to come into a different world; you invite them to share a world-view, or better still, a "God-view". That, actually, is what the parables are all about. They offer, as all genuine Christian story-telling does, a world-view which, as someone comes into it and finds how compelling it is, quietly shatters the world-view that they were in already."

P. 13-14 from N.T. Wright's article on biblical authority

http://www.joshuahouse.org/mediafiles/how-can-the-bible-be-authoritative.pdf

the Yellow Sea and Ice Fish

2011-04-28T07:43:00.001-04:00

2011-04-19T19:54:00.000-04:00

This study suggests language began in Africa.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704547604576262572791243528.html

Study Points to a Single, Original Language for All Humans - WSJ.com

The world's 6,000 or so modern languages may have all descended from one ancestral tongue spoken by early African humans between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago, a new study suggests.

Benjamin Spink - It seems like atkinson wants to have his cake and eat it too. If the phoneme pool was largest in Africa and disseminated as humans spread out, doesn't that suggest an opposing pattern of devolution rather than evolution? How would humans evolve to the point of 141 phonemes if "there is a gradual loss of genetic variation and complexity in the breakaway group."? I'm sure they might say that the humans stayed together in one group rather than breaking off and spreading prior to 10,000 BC or 50,000 or whenever...but my question would be: 'what causes this gradual loss to happen in the breakaway groups??' Isn't it more likely that whatever causes the loss in breakaway groups (perhaps some form of the 2nd law of thermodynamics) also causes the loss of genetic variation and complexity in new generations? Basically isn't he showing that language tends to break down rather than progress?

These two quotes were especially interesting to me:

"The origin of early languages is fuzzier. Truly ancient languages haven't left empirical evidence that scientists can study. And many linguists believe it is hard to say anything definitive about languages prior to 8,000 years ago, as their relationships would have become jumbled over the millennia."

"Only humans have the biological capacity to communicate with a rich language based on symbols and rules, enabling us to pass on cultural ideas to future generations. Without language, culture as we know it wouldn't exist, so scientists are keen to pin down where it sprang from."

It seems like his findings might be better explained by divine creation which uniquely endowed humans with abstract thought and language and relationship on a different plane to reflect the Creator.

2010-11-13T09:43:00.000-05:00

Don Carson – Gospel Coalition regional conference Reality church LA nov. 6, 2010

Session 1:What is the Gospel and how does it work from John 3

Here are a few scribbles from my day in Hollywood with Don Carson. All from my perspective – what stood out and what disappointed for what it’s worth. First session was basically an exegesis of John 3 – consequently you can find most of what he said here in his commentary on John (Baker Exegetical Series)

“Gospel’ is announcement! (I like thisJ) News about who Jesus is and what he’s done

As far as we know Jesus was the first one to use the term “born again” (Nic. Had never heard of it)

Nicodemus was called “the Teacher of Israel.” To attain such a prestigious position in Israel, DA says he would have had to memorize the entire OT as well as a body of oral tradition that was probably twice as long.

John writes with certain themes that he comes back to over and over again such as ‘light v. darkness’ or ‘night v day.’ When he says here that Nic came to Jesus by night he wasn’t simply commenting on the historical time of day (although this was true too), but rather he was commenting on the spiritual condition of Nic.

Nic says: “we know you’re from God.” Essentially he was saying here in a sort of pompous way ‘we have observed you and have calculated and concluded that you are indeed one sent from God and we have also

calculated that because of your miracles and power we can see the kingdom of God beginning to break in.”

Jesus responds basically by saying “you don’t see a thing!” Further, the kingdom of God is not marked by a new power (at least not yet) but rather a new people.

*Here I think Carson makes an outstanding point. People are always looking for something external to come and change the circumstances but no one is ever looking for new internal people. Then it was the Jews looking for a new power to liberate them from the Roman oppression. Today I think it is people hoping for a new political power or a new boss or a new job or a new community or a new church, salary, house, friends or whatever but nobody ever looks within! Nobody says the problem with ____ is people – ME INCLUDED! I guess Jesus was pretty radical then and today too we need to experience the new birth so we have new people more than we need new circumstances or new power (of course this is coming as well)

Nic replies : You can’t just start over dude. People are who they are and they can’t just be born all over again. (obviously as teacher of Israel Nic is familiar with metaphors so he is simply returning his argument within the metaphor. He understands Jesus is talking metaphorically – not a stupid guy!)

For those of you interested Jesus’ comment about being born of water and the spirit is taken from Ez. 36 and refers to one new spiritual birth.

When Jesus comments on the wind he is saying just this: you may not be able to explain the mechanics of the new birth as far as when it starts or where it comes from but you certainly cannot deny its effects! So it is with EVERYONE that is born of the Spirit!! Effects are truly undeniable!

So don’t insult the magnitude of this by unscrupulously passing out the label “Christian” or “born again.”

I think this was def. the best session of the day – Carson does a great job with historically contextualizing John 3.

Session 2: What is the Gospel and how does it work from Romans 3:21-26

Some statements by carson here regarding justification:

1. The OT looks forward to the righteousness of God being disclosed in Christ.

a. Through Passover

b. Through many other pictures also.

2. From Romans 3 – the righteousness of God is available to all without distinction of race – on condition of faith.

The perspective of a Christian should be:

I’m not what I ought to be, not what I want to be, not what I will be, but I’m not what I used to be.

Carson had some comments later in the day concerning NT Wright that I will get to eventually but here is a crucial passage on justification issues and he alluded to the controversies that have existed for a while, yet I was fairly disappointed that he did not even allude to Any of Wright’s emphasis at all in this passage – for instance the emphasis on Jew/Gentile union and the substitution of faith for the OT law. Even if he thinks Wright is mistaken he didn’t address it. Actually I get the feeling that Carson is really not too familiar with Wright’s work which further adds to my disappointment concerning his analysis and remarks later.

Session 3: what is the ministry and mission of the local church from Pastoral Epistles

Only one thought here, although it was good: be willing to suffer for the gospel

Ok one more thought, but this was actually Carson quoting Tim Keller

“For the Christian, optimism is naïve, but pessimism is atheistic”

Session 4: Q and A

Sorry I didn’t really take notes here b/c most of the questions they picked were crap questions that didn’t really have any answers even – they were basically just saying “hey Carson, look at us – we think it’s cool to use the term ‘Gospel-Centered.’ Aren’t we cool?”

One decent question though asking him his thoughts of NT Wright.

Basically Carson said that he knew Wright when they were both doing the PhD work in England and that he’s had lunch with him many times and that whatever he says now Wright knows he says and he considers Wright a good friend but then went on to basically mock Wright and get the whole place laughing. Which is all cool……. If Carson had represented him fairly. Get this, Carson even said “Wright often complains about people not representing him accurately or taking the time to understand him” and then went on to caricature him and mock him as one who basically thinks everyone else in the world is wrong except for himself – of course everyone was laughing b/c Carson is a funny guy sometimes…..unfortunately I don’t think Carson ever even addressed the issues at all!

Here’s what he did say in a very generalizing way:

-Wright was just plain wrong 20 years ago but has been continuously modifying his position since then so that now it’s not so much that he’s wrong but rather that he backgrounds what should be foregrounded and foregrounds what should be backgrounded. In doing this Carson makes it sound like he’s been a steady unchanging bastion of truth for the last 20 years while Wright has been stubbornly drug closer and closer to the ‘right theology.’ I have much admiration for a person who is constantly searching and seeking and modifying! If you ever listen to Wright you know he’s not an unstable mind being thrown all over the place. Wright unashamedly tells his readers/students that he will make mistakes in what he is telling them (even to 20% of what he says I think he mentioned); perhaps Carson would do well to take this more humble approach.

-Wright is very divisive – he forces young people to either be for him or against him. Here again – Carson just makes this opinion statement without any factual information at all.

Just disappointed with Carson’s Caricatured and sloppy critique of Wright. Pretty much have to agree with Wright that his opponents (at least Carson) have not taken the time to really understand his positions.

Session 4: what is the gospel and how does it work from Rev. 21:1-22:5

Sorry I was tired so I didn’t have much written for this session but it was a good one – Carson does an excellent job of explaining the metaphorical language in Rev. Had some great thoughts on the metaphors of lamb and lion and how they overlap in thought but certainly could not overlap in a picture – thus the Rev. metaphors are saying things about the OT predictions really. For instance the new city is a cube – only cube in the Bible….except for…….the Holy of Holies! You can draw the implications.

Think also of the theme of God finally coming to dwell among his people.

Carson also says that the new heaven and earth will be a place of righteousness.

Also that your heart will follow what you value the most. Thus ‘lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.’ It’s good to think about this – to treasure something is at least partly an act of the will.

That’s all – really enjoyed the conference for the sake of fellowship and worship……randomly sat down next Aaron Snell who graduated from Berea High a year after me……. conference was held in the high school where Glee was filmed…weather was amazing (writing this on the plane heading back to Scranton hurray)

'Man's message' or the 'Pure Word of God?'

2010-09-07T13:19:00.000-04:00

Something that is very crucial to the whole process of interpretation is linguistic intellectual integrity. by this i mean studying the nature of language and how it functions, studying Greek and Hebrew specifically, and studying English too! this is so important b/c the development of your thinking is limited to your linguistic ability (every thought is comprised of words and phrases and sentences - so your ability to form new thoughts is directly related to your linguistic categories).

to put more crassly: many preachers never even dabble in linguistics. many preachers assume that their particular interpretation of a text (whether it was newly formed as they studied or previously held) is self-evident. their job is to make the self-evident or obvious meaning more palatable to the audience. Or - their job is to awaken the soul type of a thing. "You know what to do, now go do it!" with this kind of approach, critical exegesis is overlooked often. this is where these men are so helpful to me because they are saying "wait a minute, maybe we haven't looked at this passage close enough....maybe it's not saying exactly what we all assume it's saying."

Now whether they are right or wrong in any given instance, what i am saying is this: 'words do not exist in a vacuum. they are vehicles of communication.' thus they must necessarily involve at least 2 parties - the speaker and the recipient. As soon as you bring in more than one recipient things get sticky because each person hears a little bit differently. Now we have hundreds of thousands or millions of recipients when it comes to God speaking - and each one brings his/her own set of ears into the equation. so the notion of the 'pure word of God' is kind of a misnomer because words are not static - they are alive and in this case they are being received by fallible recipients, each one hearing just a little bit differently then the next.

now you may want to argue this point but before you do consider this: why preach at all? If what we are after is the 'pure word of God' and this is in fact better than any 'man's message,' why not just get up and read straight out of the text every week? and never make any commentary? and of course the reason is - language is dead without interpretation. So we are responsible to receive God's word - which means we listen, and chew and chew and chew until we start to understand the meaning behind the words. and then we chew some more as we try to relate that meaning to our contemporary situation.

and of course this becomes even more obvious when we consider that the purest form of the pure word of God would have to exist in the original language and if we simply stood and pronounced the Greek text every week it would have virtually zero effect on the listeners because language again is only a vehicle that must include a minimum of 2 parties. So man's message or if i can refine this a bit to man's interpretation is always part of the equation. It was even part of the equation in every single translation from Greek to English or any other language. This is what translation is: discerning the meaning of a text in the mother language, and transporting that meaning into a new vehicle in order to connect two individuals who have different vehicles but nonetheless desire to communicate with each other. The only way to avoid this conclusion is to say that God inspired a particular translation just as he inspired the original autographs (AKA KJV only people). But that is absurd for a number of reasons that you already know.

So God's Word always by necessity comes to have impact through the vehicle of man's interpretation. This is why preaching is mandated in Romans 10. and of course - there is a universality to God's message that permeates ALL language barriers, but that message always comes through fallible language not outside of it.

on the flip side i'm not denying that there is a large difference between the person who is genuinely trying to discern the message of a given text and unfold the meaning for a people on one hand, and the person on the other who has something to say and throws a little scripture in there to make it sound like God's message (the classic proof-texting pastor).

i guess by way of application then - i don't think we should write people off because they are a strong voice and are preaching something different than us. We have to listen and critique like the Bereans. everyone like to point out that the Bereans were top-notch critics who did their homework. But they also had a good sense of humility as they "received the word with all readiness of mind." This is where it starts with me - i have to listen to a guy with the attitude of "ok God, i know i have areas of wrong thinking - expose those areas today and enlighten my heart!" And then i engage my mind looking to be challenged, but challenging every voice to see whether it be from God or not.

NOW

2010-01-22T15:10:00.000-05:00

We are people today who live with our minds absorbed in the present perhaps more than anybody. We are so consumed with the “NOW.” I mean it’s just natural. Whatever satisfies my immediate desires is what I pursue. So much so, that most of us exist in the "NOW" of conversation more than even the topic of conversation itself. I mean, rather than analyzing the the propositions or questions or topics that someone is speaking about, we the other person's perception of me during the conversation. So the conversation itself becomes elevated much higher than the topic within the conversation. This is why it has become so easy to lie. We care more about the NOW (what does this person think of me right now), rather than the future (what will he think of me when he finds out i'm lying). We would rather deal with the second question when it becomes reality, or when it becomes NOW. So, we are always consumed with the “NOW” and therefore we have little regard for the future, and virtually zero regard for the past. I mean we are historically stupid people! Do you even realize how much we don’t know history? And I’m not saying all of us struggle to pass history class….I’m saying we don’t know the story of the world! We don’t know what has gone on before us or outside of us!

So why should I care about history? So people don’t think I’m stupid? I am definitely NOT saying THAT. I don’t care much about what people think of you in the “NOW” or what they think of me in the “NOW.”

I think maybe the theory of evolution has taught us to be this way. Evolution teaches us that we are unique…we are not like the people who lived before us. We are the highest evolved beings and so the situations we face today and the ways we respond today are NOT COMMON, they have never been experienced before so the only way for us to deal is to live in the NOW and react however we feel is the best way to react. The best thing history can do for us is to provide us with similar examples, but there IS NO common Human race who all share the same tendencies. We are all at unique levels of development with unique situations.

But Ecclesiastes offers another approach: “History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.” (Ecc. 1:9 NLT)

So why should we care about anything outside the “NOW?” Because your “NOW” is not unique. And stepping outside of it for a while will give you so much wisdom to help you better understand your “NOW” and make better decisions in the “NOW.”

Book Review: The God i don't understand

2009-12-16T14:32:00.001-05:00

Book Review: The God i Don’t understand by Christopher J. H. Wright

This is a book I picked up at the 2008 meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. I got it for free so long as I agreed to write a review and post it somewhere on-line. So here’s the review. Keep in mind that my reading of the book spans over six months so not all of the book is exactly ‘fresh’ on my mind.

Overall Grade: C

To begin with, Wright tries to accomplish something almost unheard of: wrestle with four of the biggest theological questions ever, in just over 200 pages. He’s insane! That being said, he could have done much worse in his treatment of those four questions. I will break down my response accordingly; one per question, and then a summary statement.

Question: What about evil and suffering?

In the preface, Dr. Wright alludes to human limitedness in understanding, a concept which ought to lead to humility if understood. This is a tremendous place to begin. However, I also think this concept can be used to control people. It’s sort of like the ultimate trump card. If somebody else’s argument doesn’t fit into your system, or rubs you the wrong way, or is too complicated for you to understand, then playing this card gives you a bit of a head start in the debate. No reasonable person will argue that humans are omniscient or that they are capable of full understanding in any category. (by the way it seems to me that this is perhaps the trump card that full-fledged postmodernism may be abusing?) Therefore, if you will argue for any knowable position, you are starting off in the position of arrogant and the burden of proof is on you to show why one could humbly arrive at any degree of certainty regarding your position. So the trump card tilts the scales perhaps unfairly.

I think Wright recognizes this reality when he distinguishes that some things ought to be understood and believed in Scripture (page 19). So perhaps I simply draw different lines than he does. So, while I think he brings up some very good angles on the discussion, and revealed perhaps some further complexities to the issue, I thought he could have worked further to find a greater level of resolution between seemingly contradictory doctrines. Further, it is possible that Wright’s understanding of the problem of evil has led him ultimately to a position of cosmic dualism – God vs. Satan type theology (pg. 55). I think he is actually rejecting the reformation emphasis on the sovereignty of God and replacing it with a type of agnosticism towards the issue.

Question: What about the Canaanites?

This is sort of a follow-up question to his first one. In this question you begin to see his theology regarding suffering and evil played out in a historical setting. Wright argues (along the same lines) for a principle of accommodation in the Old Testament – where God accommodates his plan to the realities of human life, rather than recognizing the realities of human life as a part of God’s ideal plan (italicized words his – pg. 89). This is odd because at other points (pg. 96, 98) Wright affirms that in some sense everything is a part of God’s ultimate plan which is for his glory. However, his treatment of these principles is so brief and left me wondering if he actually had room for that idea in his system, or if he was simply affirming words and phrases that are in Scripture without making sense of them.

Question: What about the cross?

“There is a sense in which our answer is going to be somewhat similar. If we ask “Why did God love us enough to send Jesus to the cross?” the answer is: “because he did.” And if we ask “How did the cross achieve salvation for us?” the answer is: “Because it did.”

It seems to me that Wright tries to put himself squarely in between the substitutionary atonement camp on one side, and the anti – divine child abuse camp on the other. Perhaps if one denies the law of non-contradiction or the laws of logic (as postmodernity does), then this position can be consistent. However, I don’t think Wright is in this camp, and therefore I’m not sure his paradigm is consistent. (Wright does mention that he is NOT denying the penal substitutionary understanding of the cross – pg. 157-8).

Question: What about the end of the world?

I enjoyed this section the most and really did not find many problems with it. That may be attributed to my limitations in eschatology or sympathies with Wright’s understanding. He focused much on redemption and restoration themes and the impact that those themes should have on us.

Conclusion

Overall, I did enjoy reading the book. Although I don’t think I end up where Wright is, I still benefit greatly from reading his thought process on these very difficult issues. Some leniency should be granted to Wright also since he is trying to tackle such big issues in a short space (of course that was his choice tooJ). Perhaps there was a great deal more that he wanted to say. One thing on which I will heartily agree with Dr. Wright: these questions are very complex and demand thoughtful, patient inquiry. Further, the answers that have been posited so many times in our churches today, are far too simple and hasty – and people will see right through that! The answer is not to give up and affirm some sort of agnostic position however, I think instead we ought to learn a great deal of humility in our study and openness, while still pursuing answers.

France Journal

2007-08-24T13:02:00.000-04:00

FRANCE JOURNAL

Day 1
Monday, May 28, 2007
Because of the time change, yesterday and today morphed into one for me. I left Ankeny at 9:15 Sunday morning heading for the Des Moines airport after meeting the Express mail delivery woman this morning at the Post Office to pick up my passport. At the airport I checked in and got my tickets – I was originally going to fly through Atlanta but ended up going through Cincinnati instead. Flying standby can be a pain since you never know if you’re going to make from one place to the next – fortunately I made it out ok on the 11:10 flight to Cincy. I sat next to a woman named Pat who was from Philadelphia and had flown out with her mother to visit some family. She was flying back alone because her mother ended up in the hospital and wasn’t able to make the trip back. It was only in the sovereignty of God that we sat next to each other on that flight. I learned throughout our conversation that Pat was a Roman Catholic and so I was hoping for a chance to share Christ with her. She was a very open woman – going through a tough time because of her mom’s condition, and seemed to be very close to her family. I tried to give different references to God’s control in our lives – even over our suffering – hoping this would be a comfort to her. She was very grateful for our conversation, as I was also since Katie and I had broken up the night before and just talking about spiritual things brought great comfort to me. During the layover Pat allowed me to share some more verses with her and so I went through Romans 1-3 showing that every man is guilty before God. I wanted to make sure she understood the Gospel very clearly – she mentioned faith in God a few times but that can mean so many different things today. Anyways, she followed very closely and then when I read Romans 10:9 she stopped me and said: “you know, that verse is SO important!” She then explained to me how she used to be under a tremendous burden of guilt constantly, believing she was not worthy of God’s forgiveness, until a friend shared this verse with her and she was then able to trust that God had forgiven her. This convinces me that Pat has received the salvation of the Lord by faith though she continues to be a practicing Roman Catholic. She even mentioned something very interesting about a priest she went to one time who told her that she doesn’t need to confess her sins to any man per se, but that she could go directly to God with it. I am hoping to keep in touch with Pat and that she will grow in the Lord.
From Cincy I was able to catch the only flight into Paris which left at 7:30 that night – in fact I was lucky enough to get first classJ I could talk about the perks of first class for a page or so – but suffice to say I was very grateful to be able to sleep some on the trip over. I arrived in Paris CDG airport at 9:30 local time. First stop was baggage – everything was there thankfully. Next I found my way from my terminal to the Subway station which was in between two other terminals. Before getting a ticket I had to find a phone card which wasn’t too hard – then I was able to buy a subway pass as well as a one-way ticket to Thionville. Now the fun began.
I called my connection to tell them I was due in at 4:30, then I boarded the subway at the airport and rode into downtown Paris which was much bigger than I imagined. Downtown I got off one subway and found my way to different line. I rode this one for only 1 stop where I was supposed to find a different train system completely that would take me to Thionville. Finally someone pointed me upstairs and I came out in the middle of downtown Paris, right across the street from the Train station. In the train station I had to find my train on the tv monitors and wait for the platform number to be announced (30 different platforms or so). Everything went well with about 20 minutes to spareJ - I took this train to Metz where I had to get off and board a different train to Thionville. I got in right on time and Dr. Stauffacher was there waiting for me. The rest of the evening was relaxing thankfully and I went to bed pretty much right after dinner (7:30).

Day 2
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Today I met many people at the Bible institute. I had a good conversation with a man named MichelJ - he spoke fairly good English – and with a man named Xin who was from China studying abroad in France and also spoke good English. It was interesting to hear the different cultures relating to food as well as to church life and different things like that. This evening we had a Bible study – I didn’t understand a word of it, but it was fun to try and sing along and pronounce the words correctly.

Day 3
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Today I painted for 6-7 hours with a man named Jose who didn’t understand a word of English. He tried his best to give me instructions and I tried to follow them. Fortunately painting isn’t too complicated so we made a pretty good team. I think I’m supposed to help him put some flooring down later this week....that could get a little more interesting. So far the meals have been pretty decent. Nothing too exotic to eat. Tonight definitely wasn’t my favorite – even though it was a fancy banquet for them..........I had bread with smeared sausage (like a jelly), and smeared fish.....I had prunes wrapped in bacon.........salad with a bitter sauce and bitter cheese..........and little sandwich thingies with tomatoes and other interesting bits on them. Dessert was good – angel food cake with strawberry topping, brownie, and vanilla ice cream. This banquet lasted for over 3 hours – it was an end of the year thing and good-bye to the Stauffachers who are moving (they’re the ones I’m staying with). It consisted of a really long slide show and a game where each student guessed which student was being described. Once again I sat there and tried not to look like a dumb American who didn’t know any French. I’m out.

Friday, June 01, 2007
Well today I went out to Joelle Stauffacher’s house (John’s daughter) – she is now married to a man named Johan or something like that. His parents were also there so everyone spoke French most of the time and once again I was lost. Twice Johan offered me some wine to go with my meal and later with the cheese – this is very customary in France – wine is perhaps the thing they are most proud of in their houses. The meal consisted of lentils and potatoes, bread, and salad - pretty typical French lunch (their big meal of the day). It was good to talk with John on the way back about the culture and ministering as a Christian in France. I also got a chance to interview Xin today – it was very beneficial. His testimony is blessed. Well I’m pretty tired now. Yesterday I hiked along one side of the Algrange valley – at the top of the hill. I got to see some pretty cool cites – like Notre Dame (a catholic grotto on the side of the hill). Then I ran back from the Bible Institute to Stauffachers.’ Off to bed am I.

Sunday, June 03, 2007
Well it is almost 11:00 PM and class starts at 8 so I won’t be too long here. Yesterday was a full day. In the morning I helped Margaret unload the attic in preparation for their move in 2 weeks. In the afternoon I did yard-work for John......Mowing is an absolute pain here in Algrange. Every square inch of his law is sloped and it exists on 4 different levels. There are dividers, fences, shrubbery, and everything you can imagine to form obstacles and his lawn mower is electric to boot. Just a day at the mill for the European I suppose. Everything over here seems more difficult than in the states. I also went for a run and did some pull-ups on a railing over the entry way. Then I packed up and moved over to the dorms in the institute before dinner. After dinner Ariel (the other Faith student) and I played a couple of card games with Anne and Linda (Anne is French and Linda is from CHAD). Both of them speak very limited English – first Anne taught us a game, then we taught them a game. It was actually lots of fun trying to overcome the language barrier.
Today we went to an English speaking church in Luxembourg. We met several Americans and some foreigners as well. There were 2 girls in front of us – the one was from Germany but spoke very clear English; the other was from Luxembourg and knew 6 languages! (English, French, German, Luxembourgish, Norwegian, and Philippino)
After the morning service we went to the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg – that was quite a site. Very beautiful place and very sobering as well to think of all the men that gave their lives for our country and for the world. Every grave was decorated with a cross – a picture of the ultimate selflessness.
This afternoon we just hung around the institute – I watched highlights of the CAVS winning the Eastern conference finals for the first time everJ The other two guys from Central East are interesting – Jamie is really soft-spoken and a pretty cool guy...Dr. Windsor seems to be very knowledgeable. Tomorrow we start class – can hardly wait..........peace.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Monday we started class.....Monday night I went out to Thionville with Michel, Anne, Fred, Mi-Mi, David, Jamie, and Ariel to a fair. It was very American – even had a “Las Vegas” sign and a “Bellagio” sign. We rode the bumper cars, ate cotton candy and walked around for a while. After that we went to Madeline’s house – a middle-aged single woman who speaks very good English –she will be the Hebrew prof at the institute next year. We basically just talked to each other and laughed and had a good time. Communication flowed pretty easily even without the best understanding of words. We then came back and played cards for a while – hearts and Uno. It’s funny that some of the same variants to the UNO game were known over here (like jump Uno). Yesterday was tough because I didn’t get very much sleep. Class was ok – Jeff Brown taught Monday and Tuesday on Congregational Rule essentially. He talks very slow – sometimes that’s frustrating but for the most part it was a decent course. Today John Stauffacher began teaching European Church History – this has been very good; he is extremely knowledgeable. I also had a very good discussion with Jamie last night – he is definitely a changed man who is seeking Christ with all of his heart. It’s refreshing to someone so dedicated to Christ. He reminds of Allan Davidson a bit with his NC accent. Today I have much to do.

Thursday, June 7, 2007
Last night we went to a park here in Algrange and played basketball for a while. As soon as we started a dog came running through and tried to grab the ball – he succeeded a couple of times and the owners (kids around age 10) refused to tie him up – they said he should be free. So with the dog on the prowl we really couldn’t play at all so we started chatting with the kids (through Michel and Geraldine). There were 6 of them from ages 4 to about 11 and although they were very cold at first, we invited them to play with us and they loosened up and had a good time. (once they started to play with us they decided to tie up their dog).

Saturday, June 9, 2007
We have done quite a bit with the students this week and that has been a lot of fun. The students that are left here at the institute are: Michel, Jeff and Sarah, Geraldine, Natalie, and Samuel. We played soccer yesterday afternoon with Immanuel and another married student who I can’t remember his name right now (maybe Luciano?). We went down to the public field and a bunch of kids decided to play with us (ended up with about 15 or so). It was a good time. The average European kid is probably a better soccer player than the average American – but it was nothing to write home about. I think many times people like to exaggerate differences between Americans and Europeans (or any other people group) – maybe it makes you look smart if you can tell people how different another culture is or something. In any case – France is just like America for the most part – different architecture, different language, but many similarities.
One difference I have picked up on this week (this may be true only in the Bible Institute) is the time it takes to eat a meal – much longer than in the states. Not one person has accused me of being a slow eater here – and I’m eating much slower than in the states. Breakfast takes around 30 or 35 minutes. Lunch takes at least an hour. Dinner often takes an hour also. You’re sort of expected to hang around and talk for a while after the meal is finished.
Today we took a field trip to Fort Hackenburg built a long time ago by the French as a part of the Mageneau Line that was supposed to protect them from another German attack. It really was fascinating to see this fort – like 10 kilometers of tunnels under ground or something like that. The technology used back then is astounding.
Jeff is staying in my room now – he’s a pretty cool cat. Speaks very little English – but we still have a good time together.
We also had a cookout at the Visser’s tonight with the Risachers. This was enjoyable.

Monday, June 11, 2007
Yesterday we went to Thionville church – about 40-50 people attended. They had prayer time standing up for about 20-25 minutes and throughout this time 3 different individuals started singing a hymn and the congregation would join in. It was unique but well done – I enjoyed it. Yesterday afternoon I did a lot of reading – we went up to Notre Dame and read some up there – then we went and ordered Kabob sandwiches for dinner and brought them back and ate with Geraldine and Nadalie – once again it was fun to try and communicate through hand gestures and such. Today we started class again with Rich Visser. This afternoon was spent writing a paper. French class with Michel has been very profitable – it is similar to Greek in some ways. Tonight after dinner we had a birthday cake in honor of Michel’s birthday (he made it), then we sang for a couple of hours – I taught them many new songs and different ways of playing chords – John Felix learns very quickly. I have really formed some neat friendships here even though we don’t speak the same languages – it’s too bad I couldn’t stay here longer. Linda left today – I just found out that she knew some of the people in V. Ben Kendrick’s book of martyrs. I also said goodbye to John Stauffacher – since he is moving. Bonne nuit.

Wednesday June 13, 2007
Right now we’re telling parking stories/train stories in class – supposedly as an example of culture shock. It’s basically the same cultural shock as a farmer going to the big city for the first time. It seems like our professor is addressing us as people with inferiority complexes or severe paranoia. It reminds me of a counseling session more than a seminary class. I suppose the class is supposed to be on cultural adaptation so maybe it’s hard to find material to put together for it.
Yesterday we had class – then I finished my paper – then we went over to Steve and Viki Pounds’ house for dinner. They have three kids – Joshua, Anna, and Julie. We also met another guy named David who was a Doctoral student from Georgia Tech. We really had an enjoyable time together – Viki told us about her family growing up – her dad got saved out of alcoholism and packed the family up (10 at the time) and moved to Spain to plant churches (from S. America). He had no mission board and no supporting churches – worked as an insurance salesman – philosophy of ministry built off of the Apostle Paul’s methods in the NT.

Friday, June 15, 2007
After class got out we went and played soccer again with a bunch of the locals. Sports is such an easy way to build relationships – after we finished playing I stuck around and did some 1-on1 stuff with 2 guys – both of which had very good foot – skills. I wish I could speak better French so I could talk with them more – I also wish I could stick around longer and play with them some more. If I’m ever a missionary in France I’ve got to try to do something with soccer.
Tonight I stayed up pretty late hanging out with some of the students. First we had a sing-a-long with all the institute people and missionaries and that was fun. Then after most of them had gone we sang some more in just a small group. After that I tried to teach them how to play poker which proved to be very difficult but eventually we did get 1 round in.

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Well today was a very interesting day – a designated travel day for the most part. I got up around 8:40 – thinking we were leaving at 9:40 only to find out that we were leaving at 9:20. This I found out as I was finishing breakfast and before I had started packing.. So, leaving Algrange was a rush which is too bad because I really wanted to take longer to say goodby to everybody. As it was – I gave all the girls 2 kisses and the guys handshakes and ran to the van so nobody would miss the train. Most of the students came out to the street and gave the French version of a deck wave without a deck. From there we drove to Thionville where Dr. Christy caught the first train and Jamie and I caught the second. From here the plan was simple – Jamie and I would ride to Paris where we would have a two and a half hour layover before we caught the train to Bordeaux which we would take with Dr. Christy. So we were going to take the subway across town to see the Eiffel tower and the Arc d’Triumph and then go find our second train station. Everything went well until we got off the subway the first time and Jamie left one of his bags on the train. We then spent the next two hours chasing the train to the end of it’s route and then speaking with people through a translator who spoke very broken English and was under some alcoholic influence. All that and we didn’t even get the bag back – but we ended up hanging with that guy all the way to Bordeaux where he met Dr. Christy and got the address of the church. So maybe God ordained this to bring about his salvation. After arriving in Bordeaux I went straight to a young people’s meeting where they evaluated areas of spiritual growth from the year – I didn’t understand anything but I got to meet several people and kiss some more girls.

Sunday, June 17, 2007
Well, in the last two days I have kissed at least 15 different girls – some aspects of European culture are easier to adapt to than othersJ Today I went to church here in Bordeaux with the Christies – had a very good time. There are lots of fun Christians there who are friendly and easy to talk to in a different language. One boy named Benoit was 11 and sat next to me at the afternoon meal. He spent half the meal teaching me German on the tablecloth. German is difficult enough – but he was teaching me German in French – which made it really interestingJ It was fun building that bond though. In the late afternoon we went to Grant’s baseball game – he plays in a men’s league which is really the only way to play organized baseball in France. The level of competition was pretty sad – comparable to a rec. league baseball team around 16 years old in the states. One pitcher threw maybe in the upper 60’s – some of them were around 45 or 50 though. Tons of basic errors. Grant had a big hit in the last inning that brought his team back. After the game we went downtown Bordeaux to have dinner with his team (mostly men in their 20’s). We met at a Moroccan restaurant and had the upstairs to ourselves – ate on really nice couches and had a feast. Dr. Christy has really tried to bring out cultural differences – he mentioned on the tram that we would need to talk quieter than normal because Europeans are quieter. This group however was not quiet – very American like in their conversation. The difference perhaps was in the length of the meal which lasted about 3 hours.

Monday, June 18, 2007
This morning Pastor Bixby took Jamie and me down to Saint Emilleon and gave us the tour. It was quite an experience to say the least. We took a guided tour down through the Catacombs under the town – over 120 miles of catacombs exist under the city and the surrounding land. This included the largest monolithic church in Europe. The cites were pretty incredible. This afternoon Grant and I did some surveys together in a tram station – it was pretty fun except that I couldn’t understand anything that was said. I could read body language however – and this was similar to the people of the states.....one guy was very cooperative and talked with Grant for quite a while. A black guy dressed in sleek clothes listening to an ipod was polite but too cool to be interested. Several said they would not even participate. Almost all of them were fairly guarded since the survey dealt with what you believe. After this we came back and had dinner – stir-fry is becoming one of my favorites very quickly – I need to make it in the states. Last night we went to a neighbor lady’s house and trimmed her hedge for her – spent like a hour and a half on it – she was very grateful and hopefully the Christies will have further chances to share Christ with her.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Yesterday I did some painting at the church with Dr. Christy, and we also had prayer meeting last night. I gave my testimony while Grant translated. I also practiced with the choir (6 people) which was lots of fun. I noticed tonight that the prayer meeting ratio is poor like in the states. There were only about 10 people there as opposed to 50 or 60 there on Sunday. Today we went down to the tram stations again to evangelize – more surveys and conversations. This does seem like a good idea for ways to make contact with people. I also sat in on a discipleship session between Dr. Christy and John Pierre. I didn’t understand much but it seemed pretty similar to something we would do in the states for discipleship. Tonight we watched Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort DVD’s on evangelism – they gave some good things to think about. I’m not sure I totally agree with everything. We also watched “I Spy” – and all pulled chairs around the computer like my family would do also. Their family is very similar to my family in many ways.

Thursday, June 21, 2007
Today I went to Grant’s baseball practice and participated. Between the three teams that play, there were 5 of us at practice – including me. We took fly balls and BP and that was about it. I did ok for not playing in 6 or 7 yearsJ Nothing culturally caught my attention except perhaps the fact that nobody showed up. I think that’s the nature of the league – men with jobs and things. After practice, Grant and I went downtown Bordeaux for the Festival de Music. This was something to see. There were several hundred thousand people on the streets of Bordeaux all out for the party of the year – June 21st. On this night anyone can set up shop somewhere in a street and perform their music and crowds just gather around to watch. We walked down the longest walking street in Europe which is where most of the bands were set up. We saw almost every kind of music you can think of – including one American Indian on his flute. There were also a ton of drunk people and lots of broken beer bottles and vomit everywhere. At the end we watched some fireworks on the river – pretty decent. I don’t think I’ve ever been to something like this in the states – it was very interesting. I didn’t see any fights break out which surprised me but I did see ambulances and police cars coming and going all night long. We left around 1 and the party was still going strong.

Friday, June 22, 2007
Today I went with Dr. Christy to visit an older lady in the church – we went to read and pray with her – she took over however and preached a heart-felt sermon (I didn’t understand it however). This evening I went to a family’s house in the church to unload a computer for them. I guess he doesn’t come very often but they were a very nice family. Again – there wasn’t much English spoken so we didn’t converse a whole lot....but at the end he pulled out a bottle of South African Wine and asked me if I had ever heard of it. I told him no and he then gave me the bottle and said it was his gift to me. I have officially experienced French cultureJ We also went over to Bixby’s tonight and hung out with a big Bob Jones group which was fun – at least I met some OSU fans so that was cool.

Saturday, June 23, 2007
Today I traveled to Paris by train and met up with the Barnes. Then I toured Paris for the day. The sights were all wonderful and all that......I noticed twice on the subway men who gave preference to others and offered their seats. It was not something I expected to see on the subway. I also enjoyed talking with the Barnes a lot. He told me about the crime in his neighborhood – very rough section, their home has been burglarized on several occasions. I noticed that both of the Barnes not once slipped and spoke French to me – they have been in France for 33 years so none of the other missionaries really have an excuse. I say that only because it really seemed that sometimes some of the other missionaries would speak French to me – and sometimes a lot. It seemed really fake sometimes – like they were trying to show me how much they had adapted into the culture or something. The Barnes are very genuine and very hospitable and I really appreciated them a lot.

Sunday, June 24, 2007
Right now I’m sitting in the airport waiting to see if I will make it out today – it doesn’t look too good – I’m just praying God will work it out so I can make it to Miami before Tuesday morning.

Au’ Revoir!

Brazil Trip

2007-08-22T01:36:00.000-04:00

various pictures from France

2007-08-22T00:41:00.000-04:00