Sunday, December 9, 2007
Visions
As I was reading up about Constantine's vision of the Chi-rho before he went into battle, I started to think about how closely this could be linked to sacred communication. Not just this vision, but visions in general. What constitutes a vision? Is a vision only something that happens only when one is concious, or can a vision exist in the unconsious realm during sleep? I believe that a vision can be either or. Sometimes, however, it can be hard to interpret a vision. In the Bible, Daniel was famos for his gift of interpreting visions. Sometimes, I feel that maybe some of these visions or dreams can be important. Although, I personally hve never had any visions actually happen. who knows, maybe someday I will get to have this experience.
My Dad, My Hero
By Stephanie Snyder
My dad was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer my freshman year in college. It was out of the blue the day before finals started my fall semester and I received a phone call from my mom that said they had just come from the hospital and that my dad found out he had a T3 tumor, an advanced form.
My life screeched to a halt. I completely tanked all my finals, withdrew from my new relationship with a boy I had just started dating, and completely avoided interaction with my friends. I was heartbroken and distraught.
I remember coming home that day to my dad and recall promising myself I had to stay strong and be the encouragement that he would need. I was running through my head all the things that must’ve been going through his. I came home ready to see my dad somber and sad, but to my surprise, he was smiling and gave me a great hug and asked me how I was doing!
The next 6 months were life changing for me. I was living at home as a commuter student at CNU. This was a blessing in that I was able to be home with my mom, dad, and little sister and was able to help take my dad to his treatments and cry and talk with my mom and sister.
The thing that surprised us all was how positive my dad was. Immediately after he found out he had cancer, he had a fighter’s spirit. Anyone who asked him how he was, he said God was good, life is good, and that even if he would not have chosen cancer, he knew it was God’s plan and there was a greater reason beyond our own understanding. I saw how my dad used something that threatened his life to bring life to others.
While we tried our hardest to be encouraging to my dad, he turned out to be the encouragement for us. Everyday we wanted to cry and our spirits were down, he was the one to pray with us, to encourage us with scripture, and to lighten the mood with laughter. I remember that I had hit rock bottom and my saving grace was my dad. It has now been 5 years, and my dad is still cancer-free. I look at him everyday and reminded of what it is to live life fully, to fully trust God, and to always believe that God has a bigger plan than I can imagine.
My dad was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer my freshman year in college. It was out of the blue the day before finals started my fall semester and I received a phone call from my mom that said they had just come from the hospital and that my dad found out he had a T3 tumor, an advanced form.
My life screeched to a halt. I completely tanked all my finals, withdrew from my new relationship with a boy I had just started dating, and completely avoided interaction with my friends. I was heartbroken and distraught.
I remember coming home that day to my dad and recall promising myself I had to stay strong and be the encouragement that he would need. I was running through my head all the things that must’ve been going through his. I came home ready to see my dad somber and sad, but to my surprise, he was smiling and gave me a great hug and asked me how I was doing!
The next 6 months were life changing for me. I was living at home as a commuter student at CNU. This was a blessing in that I was able to be home with my mom, dad, and little sister and was able to help take my dad to his treatments and cry and talk with my mom and sister.
The thing that surprised us all was how positive my dad was. Immediately after he found out he had cancer, he had a fighter’s spirit. Anyone who asked him how he was, he said God was good, life is good, and that even if he would not have chosen cancer, he knew it was God’s plan and there was a greater reason beyond our own understanding. I saw how my dad used something that threatened his life to bring life to others.
While we tried our hardest to be encouraging to my dad, he turned out to be the encouragement for us. Everyday we wanted to cry and our spirits were down, he was the one to pray with us, to encourage us with scripture, and to lighten the mood with laughter. I remember that I had hit rock bottom and my saving grace was my dad. It has now been 5 years, and my dad is still cancer-free. I look at him everyday and reminded of what it is to live life fully, to fully trust God, and to always believe that God has a bigger plan than I can imagine.
Faith Like A Child
By Stephanie Snyder
Dear God, surround me as I speak,the bridges that I walk across are weakFrustrations fill the void that I can't solely bearDear God, don't let me fall apart,you've held me close to youI have turned away and searched for answers I can't understandThey say that I can move the mountainsAnd send them falling to the seaThey say that I can walk on waterIf I would follow and believewith faith like a childSometimes, when I feel miles awayand my eyes can't see your faceI wonder if I've grown to lose the recklessnessI walked in light of youLittle girl:"I've got joy like a fountain!""Be kind UNTO others""In Jesus Christ Your son"They say that love can heal the brokenThey say that hope can make you seeThey say that faith can find a SaviorIf you would follow and believewith faith like a child
These lyrics by Jars of Clay capture my place in my spiritual walk right now. I find myself too grown up for my own good and in desperate need of a youthful makeover of the heart.
I remember growing up and embracing the mysteries of who God is. Jesus walked on water, He turned water to wine, He died on the cross and rose again for my salvation. And in return, I am to love unceasingly, to turn the other cheek, to worship and praise in life’s storms, to trust him with all of my heart, and to go to all nations and preach the gospel of Christ.
As a young adult, age 22, I find myself losing that child-like faith that I so desperately seek to have again. I find the simplicity in Christ’s commands daunting especially when I find that while they are simple, they are never easy. But that’s okay because I am called to do that which Christ will allow me to do with His strength.
I heard this Jars of Clay song the other day as a reminder of the faith that I am called to. And I realized the cynical world I live in need not consume and weigh down my faith. It is a world that needs the fresh, open love of a child who never questions the God they know is faithful. I want to be the child that runs with open arms to do the work Christ has called me to.
Dear God, surround me as I speak,the bridges that I walk across are weakFrustrations fill the void that I can't solely bearDear God, don't let me fall apart,you've held me close to youI have turned away and searched for answers I can't understandThey say that I can move the mountainsAnd send them falling to the seaThey say that I can walk on waterIf I would follow and believewith faith like a childSometimes, when I feel miles awayand my eyes can't see your faceI wonder if I've grown to lose the recklessnessI walked in light of youLittle girl:"I've got joy like a fountain!""Be kind UNTO others""In Jesus Christ Your son"They say that love can heal the brokenThey say that hope can make you seeThey say that faith can find a SaviorIf you would follow and believewith faith like a child
These lyrics by Jars of Clay capture my place in my spiritual walk right now. I find myself too grown up for my own good and in desperate need of a youthful makeover of the heart.
I remember growing up and embracing the mysteries of who God is. Jesus walked on water, He turned water to wine, He died on the cross and rose again for my salvation. And in return, I am to love unceasingly, to turn the other cheek, to worship and praise in life’s storms, to trust him with all of my heart, and to go to all nations and preach the gospel of Christ.
As a young adult, age 22, I find myself losing that child-like faith that I so desperately seek to have again. I find the simplicity in Christ’s commands daunting especially when I find that while they are simple, they are never easy. But that’s okay because I am called to do that which Christ will allow me to do with His strength.
I heard this Jars of Clay song the other day as a reminder of the faith that I am called to. And I realized the cynical world I live in need not consume and weigh down my faith. It is a world that needs the fresh, open love of a child who never questions the God they know is faithful. I want to be the child that runs with open arms to do the work Christ has called me to.
Aaron Stein - What Have I Done?!
I have a book that was recently recommended to me by a friend titled Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. This is a narrative novel that deals with an interesting subject matter; the importance of people in our lives that we never even know. As explained in the book, fifth business is the character in an opera completely unrelated to the main story. This character however ultimately does something that changes the entire course of events for all of the characters. In this case the main character of the book is the fifth business of a greater story. In his youth Ramsay is with his friend when they decide to throw snowballs at a couple walking home, his friend however puts a rock in the snowball he throws and hits the woman in the couple causing her to be sent to the hospital. This woman is pregnant and the rock to the head puts her into a forced early labor and causes permanent brain damage. A few years later Ramsay teaches a small but curious boy in the town how to do some card tricks. About 20 to 30 years after that a strange magician comes to town and murders his friend who was with him in the incident with the snowball throwing. Then as a reader you realize that this magician was the boy who Ramsay once taught card tricks too. While this situation is extreme it does make you wonder what (if any) major events in other people’s lives you may have been a part of. This book reminds me of a part in another book, Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven. In this book the first person the story’s protagonist meets in heaven is a man who he inadvertently killed when running into the street to get a ball as a child. He never knew that the man died because of him, or even that anything had happened at all. I wish there was a way to know whom I’ve truly affected in this life.
Aaron Stein
jespah lara - morality + religion
Gary E. Kessler identifies four ways in which the relationship between morality and religion can be considered. These are psychologically, sociologically, historically, and philosophically. The mode of philosphical interpretation to this issue claims that morality and religion can never be fully separated, even if someone thinks that it is (for example an atheist). The philosphical view of connecting religion and morality in particular draws my attention because I was raised in an atheist household. Presenlty, I have not decided on any specific religious view, but I no longer hold the absolute view that "God" doesn't exist. The question of whether or not an atheist can act moraly intrigues me. I believe that I have a good set of moral values comparable to anyone else that might have a religious background. I wasn't taught these morals in a religious setting, but instead simply throught my parents and through life experience. So I do believe that non-religious persons can act moraly. However, the question then becomes whether or not an atheist's morality is separate from religion, even though that person is not religious. They might be mistaken in believing that their moral values are completely secularly based. I, personally, cannot think of a way in which my moral values have received any influence from religion since I have had very little exposure to it in my life. I, however, do not possess true knowledge of the nature of morality, and cannot account for its presence within me. It simply is within me. So does that mean that it was placed there by "God"? Or does it mean that humans have that innate capacity regardless of a divine source? Time and life will perhaps bring me closer to an answer.
Mt.Rainier class discussion
One class period, I recall us discussing one of your class trips to Mt. Rainier. The pohotograpphs were amazing! The Pacific Northwest is sort of a soft spot for me, being from Alaska, I could totally relate to the mountainous landscapes out in Washington. And yes, The misquitos are absolutley terrible out there. Most often times, I feel that the pests like to swarm in the most beautiful of areas where you would least expect them to be. It makes it quite unbearable sometimes to try to enjoy a placid scene when you constantly have them all over every un-covered bit of skin. Sometimes it sure is worth it though! Great pics!!
jespah lara - spheres
whenever i am posed "do you believe in god", i always answer with a question: what is your definition of 'god'
if they mean the christian conception of god, god who made man in his image, and thus, is an image of man, then my answer is no.
the most accurate version of 'god' i have ever read about was contained in Borges' non fiction piece, "Pascal's Sphere". in it we read that "the sphere is the most perfect and most uniform shape, because all points on its surface are equidistant from its center...God is spherical because that form is best, or least bad, for representing divinity." this is a very abstract idea, but its makes much more sensede to me than the christian concept. Later he quotes Alain de Lille-Alanus de Insulis: "God is an intelligible sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference in nowhere." therefore, god is everywhere at all times, yet 'he' has no boundaries; he is omnipresent. 'he' is always at the center, and therefore, perceives everything in relation to 'him', 'he' knows everything, 'he' is omniscient. in my opinion, this abstract image is one of the best i've come across in attempting to define or characterize 'god'. in my own symbolic language, i would describe the universe as a spider web. everything in existence exists on the spider web, and from any one point on the web it is possible to access many other points. i am somewhere on the spider web, and i have come to know many other points on the web. CNU is a specific point which i now know of, RSTD 236 is a point on the web too, even things like knowing what a burn feels like, or a certain thought, are all points on the web. while it is possible to access many points from your own point, it's impossible to access them all except at the center of the web. god is at the center of the web, the sphere.
if they mean the christian conception of god, god who made man in his image, and thus, is an image of man, then my answer is no.
the most accurate version of 'god' i have ever read about was contained in Borges' non fiction piece, "Pascal's Sphere". in it we read that "the sphere is the most perfect and most uniform shape, because all points on its surface are equidistant from its center...God is spherical because that form is best, or least bad, for representing divinity." this is a very abstract idea, but its makes much more sensede to me than the christian concept. Later he quotes Alain de Lille-Alanus de Insulis: "God is an intelligible sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference in nowhere." therefore, god is everywhere at all times, yet 'he' has no boundaries; he is omnipresent. 'he' is always at the center, and therefore, perceives everything in relation to 'him', 'he' knows everything, 'he' is omniscient. in my opinion, this abstract image is one of the best i've come across in attempting to define or characterize 'god'. in my own symbolic language, i would describe the universe as a spider web. everything in existence exists on the spider web, and from any one point on the web it is possible to access many other points. i am somewhere on the spider web, and i have come to know many other points on the web. CNU is a specific point which i now know of, RSTD 236 is a point on the web too, even things like knowing what a burn feels like, or a certain thought, are all points on the web. while it is possible to access many points from your own point, it's impossible to access them all except at the center of the web. god is at the center of the web, the sphere.
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