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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Snowball Fight!
While on a women's retreat in Gatlinburg, TN, we had a snowball fight. It was the perfect end to a great weekend!
Deck the Porch
My sister, Ruth, is so good at decorating. Her porch looks magical at Christmas. I love just sitting there sipping hot chocolate on a winter night.
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Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Humpty Dumpty
Read the entry below on Paradoxical Faith before you read this. I want to share another nugget from Steven James. He ends one of his poems with this paradox: "splinter me whole." Take some time to think about that.
I find that to be so true. In order to find healing I've had to be broken into pieces. I can't count the number of times God has had to take me apart in order to put me back together again.
I find that to be so true. In order to find healing I've had to be broken into pieces. I can't count the number of times God has had to take me apart in order to put me back together again.
Paradoxical Faith
I found another book by Steven James called "Sailing Between the Stars." I've decided he's the best writer I've ever read. That is saying alot because I've read a wide variety of authors. Every once in awhile Steven will include a poem in his book. His poetry is incredible. His prose is so poignant that it seems like poetry. I can't read too much at once because I have to let what he says trickle in deep. Did I mention I like this guy? This book is about the mystery of God. During the modern era (that period when science & reason reigned & evolutionists proclaimed that they had figured out a way to obliterate God) we thought we knew it all. Science actually means knowledge. The truth is that science/knowledge is always changing because it is limited to what humans know. We are very limited especially in comparison to God.
Now we live in the postmodern era. Now people embrace the spiritual and mysterious. (It has been like this since the beginning of time. People believe one thing for about 50 years and then the pendulum swings to the opposite side and they believe the total opposite. I wonder when we'll catch on and try to achieve some balance?) Anyway, there are good and bad things about postmodernism. Unfortunately, it breeds a tolerance for everything at the exclusion of common sense. Let's face it: how can all roads lead to heaven when some don't even claim to go there?
But one of the good things about postmodernism is that it has brought back an appreciation for mystery. I propose that science is the rape of mystery. Sometimes you can dissect, analyze, and explain something to the point that it has lost all of its beauty and value. There are some things God refuses to explain in His Word, not because He is trying to frustrate us, but because He wouldn't really be all that interesting if we already knew everything about Him. A good story keeps you guessing and contemplating it. It isn't overexplained. The trinity, God's sovereignty and human free will, the incarnation--these are mysteries I may never grasp.
Back to Steven James--he talks about the many paradoxes in Scripture. He says, "rather than sharing the paradoxes of Christianity with our neopagan neighbors, we're busy trying to make Jesus seem reasonable, sensible, and practical. But he's not. He's radical, paradoxical, and absurd . . . How could we hang our hat on so many paradoxical doctrines at the same time? Well, because the prism of paradox is the place God has chosen to shine his light. And because of that, it can't help but glow in so many different colors at once."
If you question that the Bible is filled with paradoxes, read 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 & 2 Corinthians 6:8-10.
Now we live in the postmodern era. Now people embrace the spiritual and mysterious. (It has been like this since the beginning of time. People believe one thing for about 50 years and then the pendulum swings to the opposite side and they believe the total opposite. I wonder when we'll catch on and try to achieve some balance?) Anyway, there are good and bad things about postmodernism. Unfortunately, it breeds a tolerance for everything at the exclusion of common sense. Let's face it: how can all roads lead to heaven when some don't even claim to go there?
But one of the good things about postmodernism is that it has brought back an appreciation for mystery. I propose that science is the rape of mystery. Sometimes you can dissect, analyze, and explain something to the point that it has lost all of its beauty and value. There are some things God refuses to explain in His Word, not because He is trying to frustrate us, but because He wouldn't really be all that interesting if we already knew everything about Him. A good story keeps you guessing and contemplating it. It isn't overexplained. The trinity, God's sovereignty and human free will, the incarnation--these are mysteries I may never grasp.
Back to Steven James--he talks about the many paradoxes in Scripture. He says, "rather than sharing the paradoxes of Christianity with our neopagan neighbors, we're busy trying to make Jesus seem reasonable, sensible, and practical. But he's not. He's radical, paradoxical, and absurd . . . How could we hang our hat on so many paradoxical doctrines at the same time? Well, because the prism of paradox is the place God has chosen to shine his light. And because of that, it can't help but glow in so many different colors at once."
If you question that the Bible is filled with paradoxes, read 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 & 2 Corinthians 6:8-10.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Hebrew vs. Greek Education
It was last May when I read “Pagan Christianity” and began exploring the Hebrew perspective on life, church, and education. That summer I wrote a 15 page paper for my class on the topic of how different the Hebrew mindset was from our Western mindset especially as that relates to education. I’ve been thinking on that lately. I guess it is so
frustrating because I actually work for a public school system.
Let me give some background. The very foundation of our society in the US is shaped by a Western mindset which is largely influenced by the Greek/Roman mindset—it is what we would call a classical education. The Hebrews whose history is recorded in the Bible think with an Eastern mindset. It is totally different from how we think. Some of you may know that Hebrew books are read from right to left (this is true of Eastern cultures). Their music is often in the minor key (and I have to say I’m partial to that). Those are some differences you may already be familiar with, but I want to share some others. Right now I’m going to talk about their viewpoint on education.
The majority of students today are educated in public schools controlled & funded by the government. There was no such thing for a Hebrew student. The responsibility for education was with a child’s parents. When students were old enough to prepare for an occupation this was done as an apprenticeship rather than at a university. This was true because of the Hebrew emphasis on the practical as opposed to the Greek emphasis on the theoretical & philosophical.
Another distinction is that God was central to education for a Hebrew student. Today we attempt to teach without ever mentioning God. I posit that this is not possible. God’s word says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. How can we know anything of import if we do not understand it from His perspective? Indeed, it is empty and unprofitable if God is not central. A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach science without God, for it is He who made the world and all that is in it?” A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach social studies apart from God, for it is His story that is important and our relationship with Him that is our primary purpose?” A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach math without God, because He is the standard by which all things are measured and it is God who knows the number of hairs on our heads?” A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach language arts apart from God, for it is He who is the Word.”
Often people ask if we plan on having children. Since I’m 32 and I’ve been married for 8 ½ years I guess it is normal for people to wonder this. My answer is no. I have several reasons but one of my primary ones relates to this topic of education. Because of our unique situation and the fact that Dwight is retired on disability, I will always have to work full-time. If I were to have children I would have to send them to public school. I refuse to do this. If I can’t homeschool them, I won’t have them. Please do not misunderstand if your children do attend public school. This is my personal choice and conviction for my family and does not mean that it must be the same for others. I just believe that the very foundation of public education undermines a Biblical worldview. God’s plan was for education to take place within the familial context in order to instill loyalty to family and God. Public education fosters loyalty to the state. Our country no longer reflects my values or beliefs so I don’t want to push responsibility for my child’s education off on an establishment that teaches the religion of materialism (a.k.a. evolution) under the guise of science, sacrifices truth for tolerance, ignores the need for spiritual growth, encourages self-esteem and independence rather than God/other-esteem and interdependence.
frustrating because I actually work for a public school system.
Let me give some background. The very foundation of our society in the US is shaped by a Western mindset which is largely influenced by the Greek/Roman mindset—it is what we would call a classical education. The Hebrews whose history is recorded in the Bible think with an Eastern mindset. It is totally different from how we think. Some of you may know that Hebrew books are read from right to left (this is true of Eastern cultures). Their music is often in the minor key (and I have to say I’m partial to that). Those are some differences you may already be familiar with, but I want to share some others. Right now I’m going to talk about their viewpoint on education.
The majority of students today are educated in public schools controlled & funded by the government. There was no such thing for a Hebrew student. The responsibility for education was with a child’s parents. When students were old enough to prepare for an occupation this was done as an apprenticeship rather than at a university. This was true because of the Hebrew emphasis on the practical as opposed to the Greek emphasis on the theoretical & philosophical.
Another distinction is that God was central to education for a Hebrew student. Today we attempt to teach without ever mentioning God. I posit that this is not possible. God’s word says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. How can we know anything of import if we do not understand it from His perspective? Indeed, it is empty and unprofitable if God is not central. A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach science without God, for it is He who made the world and all that is in it?” A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach social studies apart from God, for it is His story that is important and our relationship with Him that is our primary purpose?” A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach math without God, because He is the standard by which all things are measured and it is God who knows the number of hairs on our heads?” A Hebrew would say, “How can you teach language arts apart from God, for it is He who is the Word.”
Often people ask if we plan on having children. Since I’m 32 and I’ve been married for 8 ½ years I guess it is normal for people to wonder this. My answer is no. I have several reasons but one of my primary ones relates to this topic of education. Because of our unique situation and the fact that Dwight is retired on disability, I will always have to work full-time. If I were to have children I would have to send them to public school. I refuse to do this. If I can’t homeschool them, I won’t have them. Please do not misunderstand if your children do attend public school. This is my personal choice and conviction for my family and does not mean that it must be the same for others. I just believe that the very foundation of public education undermines a Biblical worldview. God’s plan was for education to take place within the familial context in order to instill loyalty to family and God. Public education fosters loyalty to the state. Our country no longer reflects my values or beliefs so I don’t want to push responsibility for my child’s education off on an establishment that teaches the religion of materialism (a.k.a. evolution) under the guise of science, sacrifices truth for tolerance, ignores the need for spiritual growth, encourages self-esteem and independence rather than God/other-esteem and interdependence.
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