I should be working on a paper right now, but I am going to avoid productivity for a little while longer. I have enjoyed my break from school this week! It has been nice sleeping in as late as I want and only feeling obliged to get out of bed so I can watch Gilmore Girls reruns at 10:00 a.m. in my pajamas. However, the week is almost over. I am trying to live in the moment and not get sad knowing that I just have a few more days of liberty.
There is only about a month and a half left in the semester. I can’t believe I have almost completed my first year of seminary! It will be nice being home for few months this summer. I have a pretty big list of books I want to read, and I am looking forward to seeing the new Harry Potter and Twilight movies (nerd alert). Speaking of Twilight, my friend Katie sent me the link for the new trailer for Eclipse. It still looks like Kristen Stewart couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag. She only has two facial expressions that indicate she is experiencing any state of heightened emotion: furrowing her brows and blinking her eyes profusely.
I did some more reading on food production last night. I had a friend recommend the movie Food Inc. and suggest that I check out the website. So, I went to the website for Food Inc. and ended up coming across another site that had a video on factory farming. I only was able to watch about half of it before I started crying.
On some of today's factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy windowless sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems. These animals will never raise their families, root in the soil, build nests, or do anything that is natural to them. They won't even feel the sun on their backs, breathe fresh air, or feel the touch of a human hand. The factory farming system of modern agriculture strives to maximize output while minimizing costs. Cows, calves, pigs, chickens, and other animals are kept in small cages, in jam-packed sheds, or on filthy feedlots, often with so little space that they can't even turn around or lie down comfortably.
I think this just shows what the consumerist mindset has done to our reverence of life. This mindset has not only infiltrated they ways in which we treat the earth and its creatures, but how we treat each other. It is no wonder we hurt each other and use each other only for individual gain.
All creation is God’s and we are responsible for the ways in which we use it. Water, air, soil, and animal life are to be valued because they are also God’s creation. They are just one of the ways in which God provides for us. I think when we lose sight of this, or begin to take it for granted, we lose sight of one of the fuctions of our call to be the Imago Dei. After all, God puts man in the garden of Eden and charges him to work it and take care of it. And it is through the creation story that we are allowed to see God's vantage point and the goodness of creation. This should evoke responsible action in us for the care of the earth, its creatures, and each other.
Well, I better try to get some more pages written for this paper. I hope I find some inspiration for four more pages! :)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
How long, O Lord?
So last Thursday I had my Old Testament midterm. I think I did pretty well. I always leave feeling a little less than confident about my essays, though. It is a challenge to write two high-quality essays, along with the rest of the short answer and identification on the test, in just an hour and a half. It takes time to create a thoughtful and well structured essay. I felt like I was just hastily writing down every fact I knew about the prophets and psalms. But I’m hoping for the best! My TA is Lutheran, so he should be full of grace…right?
One of the essays I selected to answer was on the lament psalms. I ended up having only like 10 minutes to spend on this essay, but I enjoyed writing it. It felt like I learned something while writing, and to my surprise I got a little “preachy” towards my conclusion. So I guess I’d just like to share what I wrote and learned.
Lament psalms are psalms of grief, anger, or pain. One of the prompts was for us to discuss the implications of the loss of lament. My professor has talked about how the language of lament isn’t in our prayers and how the lament psalms don’t really show up in church liturgy.
So what happens when we lose the lament form? Well, in the words of the esteemed Walter Bruggemann (a retired Old Testament professor and author of like 100+ books), the lost of lament is costly. When we lose lament, we lose genuine covenant relationship with God. We lose a relationship that is personal, honest and sometimes brutal. The fact that we are in a covenant relationship with God means that we can offer more than just praise. Interaction and communion between both parties involves vulnerable authenticity and trust. Genuine covenantal love flows out of the faith that integrates confessions of questioning, doubts, and fears with songs of worship.
I think maybe our culture doesn’t allow us the time to express grief or fear, especially with others or in the public eye. It is a sad testimony to culture that has made the individual sacrosanct and self-sufficiency an eschatological aim. We are afraid to share our fears and pain with each other, maybe because we think we should have it all together. But church shouldn’t be a place where everyone feels like they have to have it all together. If we don’t allow ourselves to express the full range of real human experience with God, we’ll end up denying and covering up parts of ourselves. There is no new life or transformation via cover-up and denial. God is no longer a God who transforms our lives but just guarantor of the status quo. Our faith becomes infantilized if all we do is tune in to positive thinking. As a future church leader, I hope I am able give space to the language of lament as a part of worship.
Hmm…well, I could probably say more but for now I must get back to my studies. I have a pretty big “to-do” list this week. The first installment of my History of Christian Thought midterm is tomorrow. That’s right, my professor is giving us a two-day midterm. I am starting to get a little nervous.
On a different note, I am beyond excited for Spring Break. I will be in Mobile for 9 whole days! It has been too long since I have been home for a visit. I can’t wait to see family, friends and a special someone. :)
One of the essays I selected to answer was on the lament psalms. I ended up having only like 10 minutes to spend on this essay, but I enjoyed writing it. It felt like I learned something while writing, and to my surprise I got a little “preachy” towards my conclusion. So I guess I’d just like to share what I wrote and learned.
Lament psalms are psalms of grief, anger, or pain. One of the prompts was for us to discuss the implications of the loss of lament. My professor has talked about how the language of lament isn’t in our prayers and how the lament psalms don’t really show up in church liturgy.
So what happens when we lose the lament form? Well, in the words of the esteemed Walter Bruggemann (a retired Old Testament professor and author of like 100+ books), the lost of lament is costly. When we lose lament, we lose genuine covenant relationship with God. We lose a relationship that is personal, honest and sometimes brutal. The fact that we are in a covenant relationship with God means that we can offer more than just praise. Interaction and communion between both parties involves vulnerable authenticity and trust. Genuine covenantal love flows out of the faith that integrates confessions of questioning, doubts, and fears with songs of worship.
I think maybe our culture doesn’t allow us the time to express grief or fear, especially with others or in the public eye. It is a sad testimony to culture that has made the individual sacrosanct and self-sufficiency an eschatological aim. We are afraid to share our fears and pain with each other, maybe because we think we should have it all together. But church shouldn’t be a place where everyone feels like they have to have it all together. If we don’t allow ourselves to express the full range of real human experience with God, we’ll end up denying and covering up parts of ourselves. There is no new life or transformation via cover-up and denial. God is no longer a God who transforms our lives but just guarantor of the status quo. Our faith becomes infantilized if all we do is tune in to positive thinking. As a future church leader, I hope I am able give space to the language of lament as a part of worship.
Hmm…well, I could probably say more but for now I must get back to my studies. I have a pretty big “to-do” list this week. The first installment of my History of Christian Thought midterm is tomorrow. That’s right, my professor is giving us a two-day midterm. I am starting to get a little nervous.
On a different note, I am beyond excited for Spring Break. I will be in Mobile for 9 whole days! It has been too long since I have been home for a visit. I can’t wait to see family, friends and a special someone. :)
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