I am truly sorry for the lack of updates everyone! It has been a busy couple of weeks, be it the long stretch before thanksgiving and all of the homework that I had, to the actual busy week of thanksgiving itself.
I'll just itemize things that I want to talk about.
Uno :
I do not get to go to Cal State Fullerton in '08. I am incredibly bummed on this fact but the sad truth is that most schools do not accept lower division transfer students. I don't understand why this is, but it means that I get to attend Fullerton college for the next three semesters while I acquire the necessary units for the transfer. I am definitely excited to start my new major however and next semesters I get to start taking photography and communications classes. Hot dang! In the meanwhile, if you knkow anyone who needs photography services then please put me in touch with them! That would rule.
Dos:
This whole switching majors thing has made me a little bitter toward some of the classes that I am taking right now, namely the bible classes. I am a little mad that I am paying so much to take these classes but their units will not transfer to any other school that I will go to. I still love the subject matter but I am completely over writing 2 to 3 bible papers a week for no credit. It's a major bummer. This got me thinking a lot about bible college in general, and i have come to the conclusion that bible college makes you test your relationship with God to an insane degree. I came here thinking that I had solid foundations in my faith, only to have professors' comments and questions from my peers and coworkers lead me to begin to seriously question my own faith. It's very hard to hear someone tell you that perhaps monogamous homosexuality isn't a bad thing, or that maybe God DOESN'T have a plan for your life. Solid Christian foundations suddenly removed from underneath you, it's a hard thing to deal with. I feel like I am regaining my trust and faiths in God's truths but I really wish it were easier. I have found myself wishing for a modern days levitical law, at least then it would be clear as to what good and bad are. To reconcile faith and philosophy in the same head has been the most difficult thing that I have ever tried to do. There is obviously a lot more thinking that goes along with this section and I'm sure there are holes and gaps and things missing, so this will probably get cleaned up a little bit in the comments.
Tres:
I love my girlfriend very much and I am bummed that I don't get to see her for two and half weeks. We had such a good week, with highlights including her family having thanksgiving dinner with my family and an epic amount of VERY early morning black friday shopping. We hit J.C. Penny's at 4 in the morning, Old Navy at 5, and Target at 6, and to be honest, I had a lot of fun with it. It was fun to literally run through the crowds to try and get the best deals. We also went to a "reunion" party that consisted of all of the people in our senior AP english class. The kids in this class were the brightest kids at school, the supposed stars of this generation. Political science majors, pre med students, engineers, all were represented. Knowing how much potential all of these people have made me want to talk to everyone about their plans, whether their goals have changed, what they've learned this semester - something! But no, all everyone ended up talking about was how much they love getting smashed and going to clubs. I was so saddened by everyone's lack of seriousness about life that ;ajshbgjkashg, I just don't even know. What a waste of potential, what a waste of brains. It's ok not to drink guys. It's ok not to drink.
These were three of my main points from the last couple of weeks and I'll try not to get to behind on my posts in the future. Sorry everybody. Goodnight.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A young man's quest for answers.. and good sushi.
8 comments:
That does sound interesting and foundation blowing.
I've been dealing a lot with number dos as well Niall. I know exactly what you mean and what you're going through. My faith foundations have been shaken. And on the homosexuality thing, the bible is vague at best. Which is disapointing. I know what you mean that you want a list of what is clearly right and wrong. Personally, I want God in my pocket all day long, and that I could get a clear audible yes or no. But ah such is life.
And it is ok not to drink, but its still ok to party. :)
But isn't it also ok to drink and ok to party?
Everything is debatable. I really can't find to much of a good reason to drink. It just isn't there.
Nathan - The whole homosexual thing, as I heard it argued, if you research the words in the traditional Greek, then every instance of the word in the New Testament only condemns homosexuality when it is paired with another extreme, ex. Pedophilia or orgies. There is no reference or mention of monogamous homosexuality in the bible at all and any Old Testament references are negated due to fulfillment of covenant. This is a very rough outline of the argument but you get the gist.
Trent - Sometimes life is just a strange thing that we have to hold on to. That's where I'm at at this point. It's ok though :), it makes for something different for once!
Also, on the homosexual thing, the Greek word used for homosexual denoted only people who were lack of a better phrase "the girl of the relationship." These young men acted as prostitutes for rich men, and in the Greek, on the young men were called wrong, not the rich men.
on the bible college bitterness...
yeah. it happens. but it's actually a part of the whole experience. it seems to me that those who go through BC without going through a bout of bitterness or disillusion (or without acknowledging such) finish their college experience naively thinking that the world, and especially the realm of faith, is a different place than reality would show.
and don't give up on learning--soak it all in! going to Fullerton College first might be a blessing in disguise; they may take your Bible credits. when Erin went to a community college after OCC, her 70+ credits transferred as philosophy credits, which then transfered to a state university. all in all, she almost had enough to minor in philosophy.
and remember, God doesn't waste any experience.
Let's talk.
parks
Fun to read about your Bible College experience. I don't know that I ever went through a period of disillusionment per say. Being raised in a non-denominational, restoration movement church (DFCC) I was raised with the (implicit) understanding that it is God I trust (not my own doctrinal clarity or understanding) and that while good doctrines abound, central and essential doctrines are quite few. In a large theology class I was in with Scott Martin at Hope, a prof gave us a sheet of doctrines, had us rate them as essential, good and optional, and then he started counting down. By show of hands, how many of you have 20 essential doctrines? 14? 5? 2? Well, Scott and I were the only ones still raising our hands at 2. This has played out in my educational and spiritual life in this form: I believe Christ is God, and that he died for my/your sins, and I won't break fellowship with you over any 2 doctrines but these. There are plenty of doctrines important enough to discuss and struggle with one another about, but changing my mind about any of those other doctrines simply doesn't shake the core beliefs. I may not be clear on a belief, or my beliefs may feel shaky, but God is not shaky and I rely on him for my salvation, not on my own doctrinal correctness and clarity.
With that said, the Bible makes FEW references to homosexuality and all in a 'negative,' meaning it's not a desirable/ideal thing, vein. So how do we deal with Christian brothers and sisters dealing with homosexuality? On a compassionate case by case basis. We uphold monogamy for the unmarried, and show compassion and exhortation to those unable to uphold an ideal (cuz we're all falling short of 1 or 2 moral ideals.)
And finally, the struggle is exactly what makes Bible College valuable. Those who haven't struggled with their faith and their God have yet to experience and so believe that their faith and God are capable of bearing scrutiny, doubt and challenge.
Sorry so long. Seriously.
Post a Comment