March 16, 2010
March 14, 2010
Journal entry 1 - learnings so far
Every couple of weeks we have to write a journal entry on what we have learnt so far... below is my first attempt to sum up 6 hours of lectures and 4 chapters of Newbigin.
I have often viewed Jesus and his teachings in the gospels in an isolated sense, removed from the rest of what happens in the bible. What I have realised through last weeks teaching on
creation is that as a part of the entire meta-narrative opposed to isolated in his own context.
> Jesus < not < Jesus >
The story of the gospel and where we look for ultimate truth is not yet finished we can only view this story in faith. The only certainty we can have is in the Father, the creator, the author.
I have learnt about Augustine and how his statement ‘we believe in order to know’ radically shifts the position our starting point to know to the bible. I like the clarity of this statement. How it isn’t in order to know better but in order to know full stop.
I understand Descartes thinking around doubt however am still trying to grasp Descartes ideas overall and his position in our learning as Christians?
I haven’t thought before now on the gospel’s impact on epistemology. I think the idea that we can’t know certainty but that we can only know God is fundamental in this.
Jesus who had equality with God didn’t cling to this. He knew his father and trusted entirely on this.
I have often viewed Jesus and his teachings in the gospels in an isolated sense, removed from the rest of what happens in the bible. What I have realised through last weeks teaching on
creation is that as a part of the entire meta-narrative opposed to isolated in his own context.
> Jesus < not < Jesus >
The story of the gospel and where we look for ultimate truth is not yet finished we can only view this story in faith. The only certainty we can have is in the Father, the creator, the author.
I have learnt about Augustine and how his statement ‘we believe in order to know’ radically shifts the position our starting point to know to the bible. I like the clarity of this statement. How it isn’t in order to know better but in order to know full stop.
I understand Descartes thinking around doubt however am still trying to grasp Descartes ideas overall and his position in our learning as Christians?
I haven’t thought before now on the gospel’s impact on epistemology. I think the idea that we can’t know certainty but that we can only know God is fundamental in this.
Jesus who had equality with God didn’t cling to this. He knew his father and trusted entirely on this.
Ways of Knowing...
So I thought I was in need of a challenge... things were getting grey and life was beginning to look less exciting... some study I thought! (stupid thought) alas though I have begun doing a paper at bible college... for credit!!! ugh!
why why why i ask myself now! when i signed up i remember me chiming i have heaps of time and I need a challenge and i dont learn good by just listening... no for credit it is!
so about to embark on my 3rd lecture I thought i would write some reflections of my time at "bible college" so far.
Firstly lets clear some things up... It did not even cross my mind that this could be a place to meet lovely... young... christian... (single) men... the amount of slack I have been getting with the whole bridal college thing! not my key motivation people! (instead its an added bonus)
I also have spent most of my life silently mocking the idea of going to bible college... its a place to go when you dont really know what you want to do with your life... hoping a couple of years out of the real world may just clarify your "true calling" in life... this may perhaps be one of the most misguided judgements I have ever made in my life... so sorry for all those silent thoughts I held before experiencing this place of learning...
Also something that someone said to me was as believers... how shocking is it that we commit to devoting our whole life to following this deity that we spend about 30 minutes learning about in church on a sunday (30 mins if im lucky... i usually have the average attention span of about 8mins) but how we make this decision this commitment to follow yet spend no time researching and delving deeper into history, culture, word and teachings. So i guess thats kinda exciting...
my course its called Ways of Knowing and looks at Epistemology! Yep i can use that word cos i know what it means!
So really exciting my brain is expanding... and I hope to continue to share my thoughts and learnings as I go along...
Basic outline of what my course is on below...
Ways of Knowing seeks to answer the question “What difference does the gospel make to our ways of knowing?” The course spans how we know (epistemology), how we interpret (hermeneutics), how we think from the Gospel (theological method), how ideas have shaped society (history of thought), how ideas can be changed (leadership and public discourse), and the personal challenges of knowing well. Our aims are intellectual, personal and practical: to introduce the themes of epistemology; to throw useful light on the lived experience of making sense of ourselves and ideas, events and things; to foster improved skills of scholarship; and to suggest how we might engage and influence in the marketplace of ideas.
ps. thanks to M&K Haines for funding this... best birthday present ever (tears included!)
why why why i ask myself now! when i signed up i remember me chiming i have heaps of time and I need a challenge and i dont learn good by just listening... no for credit it is!
so about to embark on my 3rd lecture I thought i would write some reflections of my time at "bible college" so far.
Firstly lets clear some things up... It did not even cross my mind that this could be a place to meet lovely... young... christian... (single) men... the amount of slack I have been getting with the whole bridal college thing! not my key motivation people! (instead its an added bonus)
I also have spent most of my life silently mocking the idea of going to bible college... its a place to go when you dont really know what you want to do with your life... hoping a couple of years out of the real world may just clarify your "true calling" in life... this may perhaps be one of the most misguided judgements I have ever made in my life... so sorry for all those silent thoughts I held before experiencing this place of learning...
Also something that someone said to me was as believers... how shocking is it that we commit to devoting our whole life to following this deity that we spend about 30 minutes learning about in church on a sunday (30 mins if im lucky... i usually have the average attention span of about 8mins) but how we make this decision this commitment to follow yet spend no time researching and delving deeper into history, culture, word and teachings. So i guess thats kinda exciting...
my course its called Ways of Knowing and looks at Epistemology! Yep i can use that word cos i know what it means!
So really exciting my brain is expanding... and I hope to continue to share my thoughts and learnings as I go along...
Basic outline of what my course is on below...
Ways of Knowing seeks to answer the question “What difference does the gospel make to our ways of knowing?” The course spans how we know (epistemology), how we interpret (hermeneutics), how we think from the Gospel (theological method), how ideas have shaped society (history of thought), how ideas can be changed (leadership and public discourse), and the personal challenges of knowing well. Our aims are intellectual, personal and practical: to introduce the themes of epistemology; to throw useful light on the lived experience of making sense of ourselves and ideas, events and things; to foster improved skills of scholarship; and to suggest how we might engage and influence in the marketplace of ideas.
ps. thanks to M&K Haines for funding this... best birthday present ever (tears included!)
February 4, 2010
cynicism, bitterness, hopelessness, anger, jealousy, and self-pity - online
I once heard character defined as who you are when no one is looking.
I think one of the problems with blogs, Facebook, and Twitter is that no one is looking while we type. It’s just us when we type things we probably wouldn’t say out loud - We craft posts, status updates, and comments that drip with bile, cynicism, bitterness, hopelessness, anger, jealousy, and self-pity. We set out to attack organizations, celebrities, and peers because they need to be taken down a peg. Then, we click the “Publish” button. As I see it, there are three tragic aspects of this kind of behavior.
Full Article : Scott McClellan
I think one of the problems with blogs, Facebook, and Twitter is that no one is looking while we type. It’s just us when we type things we probably wouldn’t say out loud - We craft posts, status updates, and comments that drip with bile, cynicism, bitterness, hopelessness, anger, jealousy, and self-pity. We set out to attack organizations, celebrities, and peers because they need to be taken down a peg. Then, we click the “Publish” button. As I see it, there are three tragic aspects of this kind of behavior.
Full Article : Scott McClellan
February 3, 2010
"Nature never taught me that there exists a God of glory and of infinite majesty. I had to learn that in other ways. But nature gave the word glory a meaning for me. I do not see how the "fear" of God could have ever meant to me anything but the lowest prudential efforts to be safe, if I had never seen certain ominous ravines and unapproachable crags. And if nature had never awakened certain longings in me, huge areas of what I can now mean by the "love" of God would never, so far as I can see, have existed."
The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
January 25, 2010
Community
I was recently listening to a sermon by American Pastor, Bill Clem. He provided a whole lot of insight to community for me.
He suggests that as humans we are anti-community at the core. Our culture and society has driven us to a place where we are self indulged to a point where we are more obsessed about proving our own point then being part of a team. Community is about prefering someone elses welfare at the expense of our own.
I thought that community was entirely about being together and having a good time... which to a certain extent it is. But more often then not as an extrovert I am romanticised by the thought of being in community... until... I read a bit more about it.
Bill says this amazing quote in his sermon which went KaPow to me...
Community is not Mirror Friendship!
He then goes on to say Community is built between hearts that are redeemed and redeeming, transformed and transforming, loving and loved.
So often I think Community is about being with the people who are like me, in the same place as me, who like the things that I like and get annoyed at the things I get annoyed about. But thinking about the multifaceted nature of community is such a beautiful picture and perhaps what makes it so attractive but also so difficult.
Henri Nouwen says living in community means living with the people that you would least like to live with!
Thinking about community... you cant be in community without other people... but also you arent demonstrating any characteristics of community if the people that you are with are exactly the same as you... for example you cant demonstrate patience if there is no one in your community who is frustrating or annoying. Interesting thought!
In my heart I get excited by community about the possibilitys... the beauty... imagine if we began prefering other peoples welfare rather then feeding our selfish nature. But I know that my heart is far far away from this...
Sermon: Its all about Community... By Bill Clem
He suggests that as humans we are anti-community at the core. Our culture and society has driven us to a place where we are self indulged to a point where we are more obsessed about proving our own point then being part of a team. Community is about prefering someone elses welfare at the expense of our own.
I thought that community was entirely about being together and having a good time... which to a certain extent it is. But more often then not as an extrovert I am romanticised by the thought of being in community... until... I read a bit more about it.
Bill says this amazing quote in his sermon which went KaPow to me...
Community is not Mirror Friendship!
He then goes on to say Community is built between hearts that are redeemed and redeeming, transformed and transforming, loving and loved.
So often I think Community is about being with the people who are like me, in the same place as me, who like the things that I like and get annoyed at the things I get annoyed about. But thinking about the multifaceted nature of community is such a beautiful picture and perhaps what makes it so attractive but also so difficult.
Henri Nouwen says living in community means living with the people that you would least like to live with!
Thinking about community... you cant be in community without other people... but also you arent demonstrating any characteristics of community if the people that you are with are exactly the same as you... for example you cant demonstrate patience if there is no one in your community who is frustrating or annoying. Interesting thought!
In my heart I get excited by community about the possibilitys... the beauty... imagine if we began prefering other peoples welfare rather then feeding our selfish nature. But I know that my heart is far far away from this...
Sermon: Its all about Community... By Bill Clem
January 8, 2010
Living in a tension of truth and rightness...
So I was thinking this morning...
I was sitting in my car at the top of mt Eden and there was this little old chinese lady with one of those awesome sun hats walking round giving out fallun dafa pamphlets and the old newspaper they hand out...
she came to my car window 2wice just to make sure that I was sure that I didn't want one... and then once again when I was wandering aimlessly around the mountain...
I said to myself how does this persistant lady think that she has the right to approach me and then attempt to force her beliefs dowm my throat unaware that I hold and value my own beliefs...
i felt revenge dwelling inside of me as I pictured me forcing a physical bible down her throat... (probablly a pocket sized cos any bigger would be nasty)!
But then i thought we live in this post-modern world where everyone thinks that they are right and as much as we get frustrated when other people attempt to inflict their beliefs on us we are reasonably open to everyone believing their truth. All truth becoming relative to each person...
Which I think seems openly fair and reasonably settling... it provides us with an everyone wins situation! But no no no my truth is THE TRUTH isnt is???
Living in this tension... ooooooooooooooo!
I was sitting in my car at the top of mt Eden and there was this little old chinese lady with one of those awesome sun hats walking round giving out fallun dafa pamphlets and the old newspaper they hand out...
she came to my car window 2wice just to make sure that I was sure that I didn't want one... and then once again when I was wandering aimlessly around the mountain...
I said to myself how does this persistant lady think that she has the right to approach me and then attempt to force her beliefs dowm my throat unaware that I hold and value my own beliefs...
i felt revenge dwelling inside of me as I pictured me forcing a physical bible down her throat... (probablly a pocket sized cos any bigger would be nasty)!
But then i thought we live in this post-modern world where everyone thinks that they are right and as much as we get frustrated when other people attempt to inflict their beliefs on us we are reasonably open to everyone believing their truth. All truth becoming relative to each person...
Which I think seems openly fair and reasonably settling... it provides us with an everyone wins situation! But no no no my truth is THE TRUTH isnt is???
Living in this tension... ooooooooooooooo!
January 6, 2010
Transport of the Foreign Kind...
I just refound this thought process I had drafted about 4 years ago... thought it was sharable!
5 years ago I visited the continent of Asia... staying in India and Thailand.
Having been to Asia several times in the past, the cultral experiences most recieve when visiting a foreign country were'nt really as evident to me as the may have been the next person. One thing however that did astonish me and to be honest send me at times into a diabolical life threatning panic as well as extreme hysterics was the traffic.
Through this blog i hope to give you a glimps of my experience, yet I can never portray to you the sheer enjoyment one will encounter when travelling in Asia.
Beggining at the bottom of the transport chain (although there is no real order)
Bicycles -
There are so many bikes in india... everyone seems to ride a bike or at least try to ride one. The bikes they ride are really old ones with buckled handlebars and dodgey tires. They dont have footpaths either, and the bikes dont ride anywhere near the side of the road (you cant really call it a road though its more of an area) instead they dominate with a mind of their own, just dwadling through trafic.
Motorbikes -
You couldnt really call them motorbikes they are more of a scooter/moped type thing. Seem to think they own the road aswell as all the other vehciles. Are really noisy and zip in and out of traffic.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1648.jpg
Rickshaws -
These are people running with little carts behind them. It's like they are something out of the 19th century. I didnt actually get to go in any while I was there, all up I think they just looked a bit too dodgey. The drivers are called Rickshaw Wallers (spelling?) and they have little bells which they ring to let you know they are out looking for business. They also have rickshaws pulled by bicycles which are slightly better as its not a frail old man pulling you along with his bare hands, but its still pretty hard labour.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1635.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1660-1.jpg
Tuktuks -
motorbikes with a half enclosed roof things but no sides. Drive really fast for what it is. The drivers get sick of sitting behing cars so they squeeze through although they are about the same size as a car. Tuktuk drivers use their hands out the side of the vehicle as like indicators. There was one point in Bangkok where we were waiting behing a car for a pedestrian at a crossing and our tuktuk just overtook the car and drove straight through the crossing. Unbelievable!!!
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/tuktuk.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1664.jpg
Taxis -
Thai taxis are air-coned which is a great relife when you are constantly in the humid stuffyness of outdoor Bangkok. They also rip you off especially if you are WHITE! and the metres that the use for calculating money are so ilegit. They drive in the middle of the lanes on the motorway like over the cats eyes and not just while passing but constantly, they also dont indicate which isnt a biggy but when your on a motorway travelling at 125 KMph its like um excuse me please indicate when changing lanes!!! They also sway from side to side across the road and within the lanes that they are in. When changing lanes they do it at bizzare angles, ignoring a smooth transition from lane to lane. Reasonably cheap when you dont get ripped off, it cost us 165Bhat from the airport which converts to about $6.50 for a 45 minute drive.
Indian taxis are a whole different ball game...
In India they still drive Embassador Classics, they are everywhere in all different colours. The Taxis are bright yellow and look hilareously ancient. They are much worse then Thai taxis, mainly due to the Road Code - Rule 1: There are no rules.
There are no lanes on the road making navigation slightly difficult, and on what could be a road that has 2 lanes going both ways there could be 5 lanes going one way and 1 going the other.
They all HONK rediculously and beep ferociously at each other but especially the rickshaws, bikes and Autos (Indian Tuktuks) because they are bigger and stronger on the road. I counted once about 20 honks in 1 minute! and that wasnt in rush hour, and the horns are really loud and the drivers dont just beep them once but several times in a row. Again the dont indicate or have any sense of straightness. There are no seatbelts, making the journey a whole lot more exciting.
5 years ago I visited the continent of Asia... staying in India and Thailand.
Having been to Asia several times in the past, the cultral experiences most recieve when visiting a foreign country were'nt really as evident to me as the may have been the next person. One thing however that did astonish me and to be honest send me at times into a diabolical life threatning panic as well as extreme hysterics was the traffic.
Through this blog i hope to give you a glimps of my experience, yet I can never portray to you the sheer enjoyment one will encounter when travelling in Asia.
Beggining at the bottom of the transport chain (although there is no real order)
Bicycles -
There are so many bikes in india... everyone seems to ride a bike or at least try to ride one. The bikes they ride are really old ones with buckled handlebars and dodgey tires. They dont have footpaths either, and the bikes dont ride anywhere near the side of the road (you cant really call it a road though its more of an area) instead they dominate with a mind of their own, just dwadling through trafic.
Motorbikes -
You couldnt really call them motorbikes they are more of a scooter/moped type thing. Seem to think they own the road aswell as all the other vehciles. Are really noisy and zip in and out of traffic.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1648.jpg
Rickshaws -
These are people running with little carts behind them. It's like they are something out of the 19th century. I didnt actually get to go in any while I was there, all up I think they just looked a bit too dodgey. The drivers are called Rickshaw Wallers (spelling?) and they have little bells which they ring to let you know they are out looking for business. They also have rickshaws pulled by bicycles which are slightly better as its not a frail old man pulling you along with his bare hands, but its still pretty hard labour.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1635.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1660-1.jpg
Tuktuks -
motorbikes with a half enclosed roof things but no sides. Drive really fast for what it is. The drivers get sick of sitting behing cars so they squeeze through although they are about the same size as a car. Tuktuk drivers use their hands out the side of the vehicle as like indicators. There was one point in Bangkok where we were waiting behing a car for a pedestrian at a crossing and our tuktuk just overtook the car and drove straight through the crossing. Unbelievable!!!
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/tuktuk.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n196/roxieclaire/IMG_1664.jpg
Taxis -
Thai taxis are air-coned which is a great relife when you are constantly in the humid stuffyness of outdoor Bangkok. They also rip you off especially if you are WHITE! and the metres that the use for calculating money are so ilegit. They drive in the middle of the lanes on the motorway like over the cats eyes and not just while passing but constantly, they also dont indicate which isnt a biggy but when your on a motorway travelling at 125 KMph its like um excuse me please indicate when changing lanes!!! They also sway from side to side across the road and within the lanes that they are in. When changing lanes they do it at bizzare angles, ignoring a smooth transition from lane to lane. Reasonably cheap when you dont get ripped off, it cost us 165Bhat from the airport which converts to about $6.50 for a 45 minute drive.
Indian taxis are a whole different ball game...
In India they still drive Embassador Classics, they are everywhere in all different colours. The Taxis are bright yellow and look hilareously ancient. They are much worse then Thai taxis, mainly due to the Road Code - Rule 1: There are no rules.
There are no lanes on the road making navigation slightly difficult, and on what could be a road that has 2 lanes going both ways there could be 5 lanes going one way and 1 going the other.
They all HONK rediculously and beep ferociously at each other but especially the rickshaws, bikes and Autos (Indian Tuktuks) because they are bigger and stronger on the road. I counted once about 20 honks in 1 minute! and that wasnt in rush hour, and the horns are really loud and the drivers dont just beep them once but several times in a row. Again the dont indicate or have any sense of straightness. There are no seatbelts, making the journey a whole lot more exciting.
Have been completley inspired by this thought recently... just the sheer beaty in the the vision...
Christianity is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If you can bring anyone into that hall, I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall that there are fires... and chairs... and meals. When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house.
C.S. Lewis
Just imagine...
Christianity is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If you can bring anyone into that hall, I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall that there are fires... and chairs... and meals. When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house.
C.S. Lewis
Just imagine...
January 3, 2010
excitement in Denver...
So im really excited cos some friends of mine released an album this year... a truly amazing album... and i played a bit on it... and it made a top ten list and it wasn't my top ten...
Reverb - The Denver Post
7. Bear Cat, “Xiong Mao” (Bear Cat)
This self-released, Moldy Peachesesque gem is the year’s best indie pop release. This Auckland, New Zealand-based duo rocks without pretense, and they get extra points for writing an entire album about a panda.
And if you like me was wondering about Moldy Peaches... they are a band who are leading proponents of the anti-folk scene!
Reverb - The Denver Post
7. Bear Cat, “Xiong Mao” (Bear Cat)
This self-released, Moldy Peachesesque gem is the year’s best indie pop release. This Auckland, New Zealand-based duo rocks without pretense, and they get extra points for writing an entire album about a panda.
And if you like me was wondering about Moldy Peaches... they are a band who are leading proponents of the anti-folk scene!
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