Go Deep and Go Wide

For my class this morning, I was assigned to read a book and then write a three page paper on it, summarizing the book for one page and then delving into one argument and discussing it for two pages.

One of the challenges in graduate study, apart from the requisite expectation of lack of sleep, is to broadly define and then specifically argue a topic. This often feels like an impossible task. How can I go so broad as to summarize a topic and then go so deep as to analyze it meaningfully? When you add in the third parameter of keeping all this to three short pages, I feel pressed from all sides.

How can I go deep while simulatenously going wide? And on top of all that, keep it short and concise? I have no answers today; just this one question I'm flinging out into the cosmic void.

That is all.

Christology and Soteriology

I'm taking a 2-week intensive for Systematic Theology 2: Christology and Soteriology with Veli-Matti Karkainnen. If those terms are foreign to you, join the club. They were foreign to me too. Essentially, Christology is the study of Jesus' "Messiah-ness" and Soteriology is the study of how we are saved or atoned for by Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. If that still doesn't make sense, you can rest assured that scholars are coming out with the Global Dictionary of Theology soon.

This might sound dry, because we have to delve into the nuances of penal substitution, but it's a plethora of fascination I'm swimming in compared to Systematics 1: Theology and Anthropology wherein I kid you not, I read an entire book exegeting ONE word's appearance in the NT.

Someone used this phrase on an Amazon review...

"not an imiganitive one."

I heartily accept this spelling of the word imaginative, because if you think about it, it makes sense phonetically.

God Bless English, in and of its lovely self and as our national language.

On gay marriage

Below is my response to an email petition I received a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks for passing this petition.

Whatever you may think of marriage (to a same-sex partner or anyone else), the voters in California have already overwhelming voted to limit marriage to one man and one woman in a landslide vote of 61-39 on Proposition 22 a few years ago. As of now, California voters have already collected over 1.1 million signatures, enough to initiate a constitutional amendment to overturn this most recent ruling of the court. When the voters bring that amendment to the State constitution it will be fairly clear what the will of the people is. So there's no need to continue circulating this email.

That said, if you are over 18 it's important to educate yourself on the issues. Go here for a balanced argument for traditional marriage. First, it's not a religious right-wing issue and as a Christian myself, I wish people would look more closely at the implications it has for society at large. It's not just about "God's will" or stopping nice gay people from committing to each other, this ruling changes how our whole society will function and on what basis we will make people responsible for things. If a father marries his daughter (which this law would allow), he can make you as a tax-payer responsible for the children they produce when she gives them up to foster care (because a 10-year-old girl has no means to take care of a baby); and you will pay for that. Not to mention the social services we will need to take care of her emotional turmoil as a victim of incest. This is what could happen when we open the door to these kinds of laws without thinking critically about how it will play out. Just wanting your nice gay friends (and my nice gay friends) to be able to marry is not enough.

Secondly, The State Supreme Court does not have the right (literally) to overturn the will of the voters. The Governor says he will "respect" the will of the court but if you read his actual statements here you will see that he is abdicating his role as part of the executive branch (that's what we get for electing an actor!) by saying the courts and the voters should decide. Well, the voters have already decided with Prop 22 and if the voters bring an amendment to the State constitution, the Governor should listen to them and consider their voice. If you want to make a difference, the best way is to call or write your elected officials and the Governor and ask them to listen to the will of the people. Because realistically, they will be in office a few short years, but we as citizens will have to live with this decision for a long time.

I'm in favor of people thinking critically about the real outcome before making up your mind. This is an emotionally charged issue, but it's not an issue we should decide based on only emotion. It's about how we live in society and who's responsible for what. This is America, it's advanced citizenship and we need voters who think critically, and don't just respond emotionally.

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 1:09 PM, (Name and Email Removed) wrote:

Thanks for the support. I have nothing against homosexuals, but it seems that they have problems with laws supporting normal marriages. Once these laws supporting the "normal" marriages, you really don't have much basis to prevent polygamy, bestiality, incestuous and all kinds of multiple partnerships. In countries where such marriage supporting laws have collapsed you have people marrying their cats, dogs, and few people adamant about marrying their own daughters these days.

Peace,
(Name Removed)

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 3:00 PM, (Name and Email Removed) wrote:

Sorry, I am in support of this law so I won't be signing the petition.

(Name Removed)

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 11:35 AM, (Name and Email Removed) wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: (Name and Email Removed)
Date: Fri, May 23, 2008 at 1:37 AM
Subject: Fwd: Help me stop the California anti-marriage ruling
To:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Grassfire.net Services <alert@grassfire.net>
Date: Fri, May 23, 2008 at 12:29 AM
Subject: Help me stop the California anti-marriage ruling
To:


+ + + +
(Name), thanks for signing the petition! Please
forward this message to your friends and ask them to join you.
Thanks again! -- Liberty Counsel
+ + + +


I just signed a petition supporting an emergency suspension of
California's outrageous court ruling that sanctioned homosexual
marriage. Same-sex marriage licenses will be issued by June 15 at
the latest. We have very little time to stop this ruling. Please go
here to sign:

http://www.grassfire.net/189/petition.asp?PID=16628370&NID=1

Ms. (Name Removed)

--
Sola Gratia.
(Name Removed)

Deflation...it ain't just a category for balloons

Um, yeah. I was searching for a word to describe my feelings yesterday and I discovered it. Deflated. I am getting some feedback on my work that is entirely deflating. I don't know what to do about it. I don't tend to be without self-assurance, it's more like I'm losing heart. I feel discouraged and deflated. I think I'm engaging in the way I need to be, but then I have to sit there and hear commentary on my process that doesn't engage personally with it.

I feel misunderstood and the worst part is that there's no avenue for me to respond. I hate being misunderstood and I hate feeling ineffectual. It's the worst.

What do I do with these feelings in a society that doesn't want to hear the sad, bad and angry? In a society that doesn't take time to lament?

mehwege, mehwege...

It is again a summer of weddings...I would say 2004 and 2005 were the most wedding-filled summers for me and this one's giving those two a run for their money.

So in honor of another summer of weddings...here's a song that reminds me of love...a little gift to you...:)