MrImperial's Xanga

glints of hope

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:11:50 GMT

There are certain times when you're bogged down in academia when you come up to the surface to breathe, the sun shines on your face, and you realize there's a world above the clouds of seawater. Every two weeks I fairly consistently have one of those moments because of my independent study in the development of doctrine in the face of heresy in the Early Church. Yes, I realize the first sentence seems to have little to do with the second, but hear me out.

Over the last month, I've been reading tons about the Early Church, and finally I am getting to read the Early Church - much Augustine in my Augustine course (so far The Confessions and De Trinitate, next week On Christian Teaching), and now Irenaeus in my independent study. What kills me is the fact that these amazing writings have essentially been buried in history as far as the typical church is concerned, and especially in how doctrine and theology are being "popularly" developed nowadays. When you look at the major hinge-points of Christian history, the Fathers have stood out (even with guys like Luther), and the Fathers themselves pointed to Scripture and the Rule of Faith handed down through the Apostles by Christ. And looking at the things the Fathers faced in their days is where my brain really explodes - some of this stuff is still going on now! We treat the Christological heresies of the first seven or eight centuries of Christian history as things that were "taken care of" back then, not to be bothered about now. We think of the Gnosticism guys like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus had to deal with, but sleep well under our cozy blanket of ignorance, thinking those things belong to ages past. How wrong we are.

And that's when I come up and feel the sun shining - realizing not only that I now have something to write about (and hopefully a dissertation to follow), but more importantly realizing that there is a buried, submerged connection between the past and the present that is more potent than congregations trying to be "cool" and "ancient" by using candles and more structured liturgies in their meetings. The saints want to speak to us, and we have to be willing to enter their thought-worlds to hear them more clearly. Granted, we are going to get some things wrong about them (hence the need for more than one person at a time to write about these guys/gals); but saying something is better than saying nothing when this urgency is sensed, and when it is being said through the power of the Holy Spirit, with the Son, and to the Father.

If you don't think there are Christological heresies running rampant nowadays, you're wrong. If you think Gnosticism is a thing of the past, think again. I'm not touting myself as a "heresy hunter," but it's time to wake up and realize, calling these things out, when we aren't following the Rule of Faith handed down to us by the Apostles from our Lord. It's time to notice that the wheels of history are still spinning.

all's quiet in blogtown

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:29:10 GMT

Not much to speak of. We have officially joined the ranks of GPS users, after realizing that maps aren't quite sufficient in navigating through cities we've never been (or that are really confusing, that neither Google Maps nor MapQuest can seem to get right).

In other news, probably my most intriguing work right now is being split between my heresies independent study and my Augustine course. First off, if you've never read his work on the Trinity, you need to get on that. I highly recommend New City Press' version, which was translated by Edmund Hill, O.P. Not only is this a functional, highly readable version, but Hill's notes and introductions draw everything together in a way that makes sense. You could probably read this alone and have a basic grasp of Augustine's theology, seeing as it took him nearly his entire life to write this thing, but I would actually recommend reading his Confessions first, as it is a great introduction into Augustine's thought-world.

I'm really, really captured by the way Augustine describes the Trinity, and especially how he seeks to "clarify" (if you can actually do that) the relationship between each member of the Trinity. First of all, it's amazing how Augustine gets such a bad rap for how his theology informs his understanding of sin/grace and the state of humanity; it seems that the Reformers, building on the work of some of the Medievals, who were trying to appropriate Augustine's work into a more sort of "logical" mindset, put a nice cloak over the "true" Augustine. Things change when you actually read him. He's constantly accused of just being an average neoplatonist who hates matter, who views the flesh as a shackle keeping us down. This accusation, I'm starting to discover, is the sort made by someone who doesn't really understand Augustine's development of aesthetic theology. I think that's all I really want to say about that right now.

Of course, that being said, I didn't really realize how influential Augustine has been on Western thought. One of the primary reasons the Church back then refused to believe the world was round was because of Augustine, unfortunately. And, one of the reasons the issue with the filioque broke out a few centuries later was because of Augustine; or, perhaps more fairly, because of the weight his theology had in the West. I don't think we can't blame him specifically, seeing as he wasn't alive when the big imbroglio broke out.

Anyway. Still trying to figure out what God wants to do with me. If he tells you, could you let me know?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:37:10 GMT

As I sit in my Augustine class and follow along with the Astros game, I realize that we have officially blown the season. Fantastic.

this is how i know that i'm a nerd

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:05:10 GMT

marriedtothesea.com

Because I think this is hilarious.

lunch in a can

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:30:56 GMT

You know, I think I'm an expert now at making meals that are at least tasty, at best healthy, that use as few dishes as possible. You people out there with dishwashers (or someone in your home who always does the dishes) have it too easy. When making a meal, for instance, instead of reusing a utensil or two (after giving them a good rinse), you think you can just keep pulling out new ones. Instead of putting your salad or other dinner "extra" on your plate, you think you need an entirely new bowl. Know what all this leads to? Needing to do dishes every day, or almost after every meal.

Well, I'm not a fan of that, mostly because I'm responsible for dishes around here. So I tend to try to kill a few birds with one stone when eating and cooking. For instance, today's lunch was composed of a banana, slices of mandarin oranges, vanilla yogurt, a kiwifruit, and a peanut butter and nutella sandwich (remember, I said at best healthy). Dishes used: one knife and one spoon. Theoretically, it could've just been a spoon, but they're not great for peanut butter or nutella. At any rate, I ate the oranges out of the can, ate the yogurt out of the can, and the sandwich over the can. The banana and kiwifruit were on their own. See, it can be done. And it makes people like me happier when it comes time to do the dishes.

next semester's lookin' up

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:40:06 GMT

This rarely happens to me, but I think next semester has worked out exactly as I hoped. I'm taking Exegesis of the General Epistles (700-level) (which I need to graduate, and which should be good), Old Testament Theology (also needed to graduate, and despite my New Testament/Early Church preference, Dr. Stone is great at going all the way back to Patristic exegesis of the OT), and the Theology of Augustine (also 700-level), which'll count for my basic church history requirements thanks to all the advanced standing I got from undergrad. That's going to be a fantastic class as well, seeing as Dr. Pasquarello has sort of come out of Patristic retirement to teach the course. And to round things off, rather than having to take Method & Praxis in Theology, a bottom-level generally-required course, I was able to recruit Dr. P to also lead an independent study for me in the history of heresy and orthodoxy! Woo! But that's just what I'm taking for credit. I've officially crossed the "is he crazy" line, because I'll also be auditing Dr. Stone's doctoral seminar on the History of Biblical Interpretation, which means that I'm not graded, but there will be some intense reading to do.

And at some point in all this, I'm supposed to take the GREs and apply to other grad schools. Maybe I am crazy.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:25:48 GMT

I love going weeks and weeks without posting. Usually, it's because 1) I'm too busy to blog, or 2) by the time I get to where I can write something down that I'm thinking about, the thought's gone. This tends to happen when I spend my days down in the bowels of the library doing inventory on periodicals. It also happens because I have brief snippets of thought that doesn't end up amounting to anything because I have to answer the phone. Or, because I'm too busy feeling like a complete moron because I can't remember how to do simple algebra for the GREs (if you knew me in high school and what my vocational aims were then, you'd really get a kick out of that).

Which brings me to another point: I've also been too busy to blog because I'm obsessed with figuring out my future and worrying about where I may get in for my next Master's degree. I've got five or six places lined up, some I'd be happier with than others, but all-in-all, I'm having a hard time actually seeing myself getting in somewhere. Don't ask me why.

I think some of it comes down to some late self-revelation, though: I don't think I'm a scholastic. Scholar, yes (don't worry, the club's easier to get into than you think...some of the admittance questions: Do you like to read? Do you enjoy being in school? Do you love learning? Do you love teaching? Would you rather write a 50-page paper or do a group presentation?), but scholastic, I'm just starting to think not. Why? Because I'd die without fiction. Because I can't imagine my life without playing music. Because I love photography. Because I enjoy video games. And because of all this - because the two hemispheres of my brain are constantly warring with each other about how to spend time living - I'm not sure I fit the qualifications of being a scholastic. You know the scholastic type, too; you know that guy who spends all his time thinking about what paper he's going to write next for a class he hasn't even taken yet? That's a scholastic. That person who reads nothing but books and subscribes to at least two journals? Yup. By the way - if you think I'm talking about you here, I may very well be. But don't be offended, be honored. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for a person who can focus his/her life in such a way as to be drowning in the thing he/she wants to spend the most time doing. Seriously. And yes, part of me is envious that that's not who I am. But the other part of me - the part that would rather watch Reading Rainbow than read an article - is glad that that's not who I am. I may not get into my top choice for my next school, but I don't think that's a deal-breaker for my professional goals. I think it's probably better to be able to look at the Lord and say, "Huh, so I guess this is how You made me, so it's about time get on with my life" than to constantly look at other people and wish I were them.

After all, my wife didn't marry me because of who else I want to be like (besides Jesus, of course); she married me because of who I am. Shouldn't that be good enough for me?

so, i'm back

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:59:32 GMT

Man was that a good, long, tiring, non-vacation of a trip. I earned all three credits of the last three weeks. Thankfully, I managed to find a few goodies in the dirt to keep me motivated, as well. I'll try to get some good pictures up to the Flickr in a couple days or so. Unfortunately, I can't post much of what I captured from the actual dig, as there are many out there tempted to steal images and publish about digs and their finds even if they didn't participate...so be content to know that I found: a seal, a seal impression on a jug handle, a bead shaped like a bunch of grapes, a stone pendant, part of a cult stand (think: non-YHWH mini-altar), and helped uncover an iron sickle-blade. Needless to say, for being a NT/Early Church guy on an OT dig, I was razzed quite a bit for my bounteous luck.

The general schedule saw digging Monday through Friday and travel Saturday and Sunday. The first weekend we went north to the Galilee and beyond, and the last two weekends were Jerusalem and southern sites, including the Dead Sea and Masada. I'll try to outline things a bit better when I get a little more time...which may or may not be this afternoon. I need to write up some reflection papers from the trip for the last 30% of my grade...fun!

well, here we go...

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:50:13 GMT

Cherith and I leave tomorrow afternoon for Israel. The funny thing is, it still hasn't hit me. Which is probably bad, seeing as I need to pack still...

Anyway, this past week was pretty good. I finished the pre-trip paper, finally. It's not great, but hey, it's done. Following that, Jason came up to visit before he leaves for Australia next week (I'm not sure if it's truly hit him yet). That's going to be a good time for him...6 months of great tutelage under Stan Baker, former National Superintendent of the Wesleyan-Methodist Church of Australia. Too bad he was on leave during the debacle that partly caused Cherith and I to leave Oz...

And tonight, bringing a grand finale to the last month or so, Cherith and I went to the Melting Pot for her 25th birthday! Holy cow was it good, too. Well worth the cost, though it's not something you'd want to do very often. Happy birthday hun!

Only an hour and a half to go on my last shift for the next month. Crazy!

Oh, by the way...if you're a Coldplay enthusiast and you haven't listened to Viva La Vida yet, point at yourself in the mirror and yell "Shame!!!" I've had it on repeat for the past, oh, week. And I'm not a single step closer to being tired of it yet. It's getting pretty good reviews, but it seems like most of the naysayers are more caught up in how much like other bands this one sounds, combined with a weird feeling of disappointment that the album wasn't even more experimental, I guess.

random

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:08:48 GMT

Four things:

1) The weekend blew by as I found myself mostly in a car for the long drive from Wilmore to northern New Jersey. Greg and I travelled there so he could get his license and car registration sorted out. As an added bonus, we were going to hit up the Mets game, but only got so far as to sit/stand in Shea Stadium with our mini-replica Shea Stadiums while rain hammered us for a couple hours. But hey, at least I can now say I've been to NYC, Times Square, and Shea Stadium. I have a $10 umbrella and a tiny Shea Stadium to prove it.

The main upside is, Greg's parents cooked some amazing Greek food for us.

Check the Flickr for relevant photodocumentarityness.

2) Current research interests include: healing in the Early Church. So far most of what I've found is from the East, and that mostly relating to theosis, but we'll see what else comes up.

3) I have a possible job opportunity with Dumbarton Oaks, which is associated with Harvard University Press. As far as I've been able to discover, only three of Jerome's commentaries on Scripture have ever been published in English from the original Latin. They would have been extremely helpful in a paper I needed to write last semester, but I didn't have time to brush up my Latin and translate the pertinent passages. This might give me that opportunity, as they are planning a Medieval Library series in addition to their Byzantine collection. I'm waiting to hear back from some people, but I'm definitely not getting my hopes up.

4) Israel...is coming soon. And I still need to finish my paper before we go. Maybe I should get on that.