Oxford 05: Bodleian Library

Hurray! I've finished my British History, Culture, and Society course. We had the test today; I probably did fine; And it's done!

Well, actually we'll have more lectures and stuff throughout the semester. And I've got to write a 4000-word essay on some aspect of the course. But I'm done with that test! Can you sense the relief.

Some of the other students are putting on a notes-burning party. Of course, even if my notes weren't all on my computer anyway, I wouldn't burn them. I'd much rather archive them for a hundred years to benefit posterity. (Just kidding! It was obvious that I was kidding, right?)

All the students were also officially inducted into the Bodleian Library, which is the central library of Oxford University. The induction was held in the Divinity School--a beautiful decorated gothic room--and involved each of us individually taking an oath to not remove or deface books, not smoke or set fires in the library, and abide by all the other library regulations.

And this week (on Sunday) I'm going to Italy with three friends--Christy, Stephanie, and Brooke. We're going to Rome, Florence, and Venice over six days. I'll post pictures when I get back.

Blessings,

Reflection 03, Theology: Christianity, Communitarianism, and Democracy (A)

This is the first opportunity I’ve had to use this blog as a forum for posting some of my philosophical and theological thoughts and reflections. Those who are interested in entertaining my ramblings are welcome to read and encouraged to comment on them. The following entry is the first in a series that I will gradually develop, as I have time. My rough heading, for the present, is: Christianity, Communitarianism, and Democracy: Freeing ideas to be transcendent and universal again. We’ll see how this goes:
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Introduction:
Does the Bible express and articulate truths that are universal and transcendent? Does it speak to people in exactly the same way regardless of their place in history, cultural background, social upbringing, or geographical location? Some will point to the differences between the world of the ancient Near-East and that of the contemporary United States; surely we, today, read Scripture differently from the peoples of yester-year.
Can we be confident that the Bible is relevant to us today? Should the gospel be modified to speak to the changing needs of the church and public? Is it appropriate to make an exclusive claim to the truth?
I am going to, over several entries, lay down some thoughts and reflections as preliminaries to answering these very serious questions. Are the words of Scripture universal and transcendent or time-bound and audience-specific? Do we need to interpret them in light of our own time and place or ought we to take them at face value? The implications of the answers to these questions are far-reaching.
In this first entry, I am going to try and lay a basic framework. In my first conclusion, I basically acknowledge that some of Scripture is time-bound and audience-specific, and some of it is transcendent and universal—whoop-dee-doo. But in addition to that, I try to demonstrate that the line separating these two may not be so easily discerned and requires careful and critical consideration.
Much of what is to follow will examine these issues in light of cultures—Christian culture, Western culture, and cultures of the world. It seems to me that many of the objections to Christian claims of exclusivity, transcendence, and universality are tied to the assertion that Christianity belongs to a certain culture—just one of many in the world. (That the dialogue has taken this tone, I think, is a credit to the influence of the growing disciplines of sociology and anthropology, which often look at ideas, values, traditions, customs, and beliefs in terms of the culture of the people group from which they arise.) But is Christianity tied to just one particular culture? Please, consider the following.

Part I:
It is a fact that the Hebrews, the early Christians, and the vast majority of Near-Eastern peoples in the ancient world were solidly communitarian. Within their societies, they recognized the primacy of the whole. They viewed individuals as part of that larger whole, acknowledged their responsibilities to that whole, and believed that individual actions had consequences for that whole.
In modern America, the situation is quite different. Americans, largely, are individualistic. Individual rights are taken more seriously than social responsibility. The, so-called, right to privacy is taken very seriously. Looking out for number one is far more common than, or, at least, often takes priority to, looking out for one’s neighbor.
Here is the situation: two distinct worldviews—both of them tied to culture. In this context, how is the contemporary person to view Scripture? Consider the example of Paul’s instructions about the armor of God. In Ephesians 6:13, he writes: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm.” Those who have studied this passage, in its original language with a thought to its original context reveal that Paul’s command “to stand firm” is most accurately understood as a command “to stand firm together.” This is a nuance of the Greek that does not come across in most English translations and underscores the fact that Paul is not addressing an individual but a collective community—exhorting them to take up the full armor of God and stand together.
But how is the contemporary American Christian to read this passage, which was originally addressed to a first-century Christian audience. There are basically two approaches. (1) The passage can be read as expressing transcendent and universal truths. Such a reading would likely lead to the conclusion that individualism is not a good thing; that egoism, setting with one’s own welfare before that of all others, and it attendant habits, ought to be change. Or (2) the passage can be read as a time-bound and audience-specific piece. In this case, one might be inclined to reinterpret Paul’s instructions after a manner that does not entail obligations to others—that allows us to stand alone.
I suspect that the majority of readers generally acknowledge that the pervasiveness of individualistic tendencies in our culture is not a good thing. They will admit that we are the worse for not knowing our neighbor and have lost something important and substantial along with our sense of community. And I suspect that most Christians will say that we, today, need to take seriously the Bible’s teachings about community. When the church is described as a body, that imagery is not just cultural but says something about the way that Christians today ought to relate to one another.
In light of what has just been said, then, I invite you to consider the state of the contemporary church. The church is changing—no one denies this. Some of this change is tied to a questioning of the ‘old’ or ‘conventional’ way of doing things. How do we make the Bible relevant to today’s audience? —is an oft-circulated question. How do we meet the needs of, cater to, speak to, and touch the contemporary man, woman, youth, or child? Some think that the gospel needs to be changed. Some think that it simply needs to be repackaged.
But in repackaging the Gospel (or any part of Scripture)—in making it relevant to today’s audience—I think that we need to be careful that we do not lose the Gospel altogether. We need to think very carefully about what parts of Scripture (and there are some parts) are time-bound and audience-specific, and what parts are transcendent and universal. Above all, we need to be organized and systematic in our analysis. One cannot simply say, “I don’t like this part,” or “That verse seems offensive,” or “This section seems out-of-date,” and chuck it at will. Interpreting scripture is a rigorous exercise requiring careful deliberation, reflection, study, and prayer.
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In the entries to follow, I will consider, further, this issue of cultures and Christianity. Again, I would covet any feedback—positive or negative. I hope to be able to refine my ideas by incorporating suggestions and answering objections. I don’t have the answers but I’m on a quest for them and would appreciate your help.

Reflection 02, Philosophy: The Nature of Philosophy

Philosophy asks the questions that everybody answers without knowing it.

Reflection 01: Inspiration

What inspires you?

That's a rather odd question. What inspires you? And besides that, To what are you inspired?

Yesterday, I took the bus into London. I wandered around a lot, got a little lost--I'll say more about that in another entry; but I spent almost three hours in St. Paul's Cathedral. It was incredible.

To take photographs inside the cathedral is not permitted. (The pictures I've attached are of postcards that I purchased.) In any case, pictures could not do justice to the beauty, the grandeur, the magnificence of that place.

Like most cathedrals, the floor plan is laid out in a cruciform shape with the quire and high altar at the head, toward the rising sun. The dome, itself weighing several thousand tons, with its top reaching two hundred feet above the church floor, rests on eight sets of composite double-pillars. You can climb 259 steps to the lowest rim of the dome, one hundred feet above the church floor, to a gallery where the merest whisper can be heard on the opposite side, over one hundred feet away. Around the dome are marble statues of eight doctors of the church: St. Gregory, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. Gregory (NAZ), and St. Athanasius. The dome surface is painted with images from the life of St. Paul. At the base of the dome are eight frescos portraying the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and the four major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel) diligently transcribing the the words of Holy Scripture received by the hands of angels. These frescos rim four alcoves on which are laid the words of Psalm 150:

Praise Him in His noble acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.
Praise Him in the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him upon the lyre and harp.
Praise Him in the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him upon the string and pipe.
Praise Him upon the well-tuned cymbal;
Praise Him upon the loud cymbal.

Images of Christ's nativity, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection also rim the central chamber. In the crypt are interred the remains of many of the honored dead and throughout the cathedral are countless memorials to, and statues depicting the consolation of, the faithful and righteous deceased.

I marvel, not only at the exquisite beauty but also at the depth of meaning and richness of substance that fill every corner of that place. Sir Christopher Wren (the designer) was inspired. Nothing else could motivate an undertaking of this kind, scale, and magnificence.

And it inspires me.

Inspiration is an awakening to the reality of God in this place. It involves stepping back from the situation, the circumstances, the place, the time, and the people and acknowledging that God is in this place and that this is of God. And that awakening is accompanied by a desire to respond. God's presence and moving and working have consistently been accompanied by the inspiration of people--men and women--to do some work for God, to be a better person, to follow God more closely, to serve more obediently, to act creatively... the list goes on: to write stories, paint pictures, play music, sing songs, run faster, hit harder, fly higher, dive deeper, share more, listen better, reflect, meditate, defend, commit.

What inspires you? To what are you inspired? Who do you want to be? What do you want to do? Are you pursuing that?

Do you realize that God is always present and always working, even when you don't "feel" it? What does that say for your ability to accomplish, through Him, that to which He has called you?

Oxford 04: Home

So where on earth am I actually living? Mel reminded me that I ought to say something about this.

I live at 13 Walton Well Rd in the north-western corner of central Oxford. (That is not my mailing address, by the way.) It's a three-story house (including the ground floor) but extremely narrow. The living room, dining room and kitchen are on the ground floor. (In England, the first floor is called the ground floor; the second floor is called the first floor, and the third floor is called the second floor.) The bathroom, toilet, and two bedrooms are on the first floor, and there are two more bedrooms on the third floor. There are currently five students living here, including myself and two APU students (Russ and Jesse). Brandon is from Cedarville University and Brad is from Kent State University.

Altogether, it's a very decent arrangment. We have a working washing machine and dryer (though neither works especially well); we're thankful for them. And OSAP (Oxford Study Abroad Program) has furnished us quite well. I've gone shopping at the local Co-Op so I've got food. Things are good. God is good.

More updates will follow.

Oxford 03: OUP

Okay, this is how you know you're a nerdy student: when you get excited by the fact that Oxford University Press stands five minutes from your house. Seriously. And when I saw it, the image came to my mind of Grandpa Joe telling Charlie Bucket something like, "The only thing that comes out of that place is the books," and whispering horsely, "I'd give anything to see what was inside that amazing publishing house."

(In case you didn't catch it, that was a crude adaptation of material from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," by Roald Dahl.)

Alright, it loses something in the word-transposition--I admitted that I was a nerd anyway. But I do wonder if there's anything at all interesting to be had beyond that gate.

Oxford 02: "British-isms"

I haven't quite got the hang of all the English idioms and various British-isms. This one, for example; I still don't know exactly what this is supposed to communicate to drivers. This particular sign can be found all over Walton Well Street (where I live) and I have yet to see any zebras there, let alone humped ones.

Oxford 01: Jetlagged but happy

Well, well, well,

I’ve arrived. It’s been a couple days and I’m still trying to catch my breath.

Let’s see. Things got started on Monday when I arrived at Heathrow Airport, London.

In passport control, the clerk that checked my paperwork took one look at my passport photo, one look at me, and loudly exclaimed: “Crikey!”—so much for the British reservation and understatement. Admittedly, my appearance has altered slightly since that photo was taken (back when I still had my mane); the incident made for an interesting opening to my time in England.

The flight was long (over nine hours) but relatively painless. Thankfully, I was able to sleep for about six hours of it. The airport exchange rate was appalling—almost two to one. So a £15 bus is costing me almost $30. Plus the airport commission was murder. *Gaah!* The exchange rate in the city has been better.

I thought things were going pretty well until Tuesday morning. I must have been jetlagged and more tired than I thought because I slept fourteen straight hours the first night. My alarm did not wake me and I missed my the first set of lectures in my British History, Culture and Society course. So I promptly went out and overspent on an alarm clock. *Withering sigh.*

But things are now much better. I’m starting to get comfortable. The city is absolutely fascinating and there is so much to see.



I'll upload more pictures later. Thank you to everyone who is praying for me.