God's Existence

During week three of Theology we learned about good arguments and reasons for why God exists. Here are some that I listed throughout the week.

God exists because….

• Everything is in motion. There must have been something that put everything into motion. God is the act, the determining principle, that gives everything else potency, the ability to change. Everything has a potential to move, but does not actually move without a mover. The first cause must be unmovable in order to qualify for being the ultimate, first mover.
• If there are possible beings, then there is a necessary being. There are possible beings, therefore, there is a necessary being. I have the possibility of not existing, but I do exist, because I was born. Something must have given me that possibility. Everything that exists has the possibility of not existing, so at one time, nothing existed. There must have been something that made all those things exist.
• Some things are more true or good than other things that are less true or good. There must be something that is the best or the truest, a maximum that sums up everything. You can’t give what you don’t have. God can’t give us things that he does not have.
• All natural things, humans, animals, plants, act for a certain end. Everything wants to get the best that they can get, food, water, material things, etc. This cannot be caused by chance, but by design. We all lack knowledge in some way, so something directs us towards an end.
• The design and function of the universe requires a maker like God. Just like a watch, the universe has intricate parts, a pattern, a form, a design, a function, and a purpose. You would not say that the watch just appeared out of nowhere without a designer, so why say that the universe which is so much more complex than the clock, appeared with no designer.
• The universe began to exist. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. Therefore, the universe has a cause. Some say, “Who caused God?” But this makes an error in the first premise, for God did not begin to exist, so he does not have a cause.

I am really excited to be discovering all these truths that support my beliefs instead of just believing without knowing why. But, I still have a very long way to go in this journey of discovery. With God's patience and guidance, I will continue on this path.

Loving Church History

I am definitely not a scholar of Theology, which is the module I started this week, but I love learning about it. Church History was my favorite class at Summit Semester, and I am already incredibly interested in it here at Rivendell.

At the beginning of this week, our class read and discussed The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Ninety Five Theses, Excerpts from the Council of Trent, The Augsburg Confession, and the Puritan Catechism. It was so intriguing to compare the different traditions, customs, and beliefs of the church throughout the years. However, as I listened to the discussion, I began to realize something. The church is so divided. Look at the hundreds of different denominations of the Protestant church. Look at all the beliefs and traditions that the church disagrees on. I know that beliefs are very important to people, beliefs about baptism, salvation, mass, sacraments, etc. However, I kept asking myself, why can’t we be humble? Why do we have to be so stuck in our ways that we can’t come to a mutual agreement? All these confessions were written in order to form a unified church. But the church has never been unified. The church has had disagreements since it began. Are some of the beliefs we have even important? Take eschatology for example. Why argue and fight over it when we will never know what’s going to happen to us in the end times? What’s the point? And transubstantiation. Does it matter if Jesus’ body becomes alive in us? Why can’t we just do what the disciples did by taking the bread and wine to represent Jesus’ body and continue to do it in remembrance of Christ? And again baptism. Why does it matter if you are dipped, sprinkled, or dunked three times for baptism? The Bible does not say that Christ was put in the water three times, so why should we? Why can’t we just go back to Christ and the way he did things?

Then I was struck with another thought. I wondered, would I ever give up the beliefs that I think are true and biblical in order to come to a unified agreement with other churches? My beliefs are important to me. And every other Christian's beliefs are important to them. So how can I ask them to do something that I wouldn't even do? I know of course, that many things we disagree with today are not mentioned in the gospels from Jesus’ words, which is why we have disagreements. Although I may not agree with them, the beliefs I critiqued above are valuable to other people. Other Christians may look at my traditions and belief and think of mine just like I'm thinking of theirs.

Therefore, what I've come to understand this week is that we are weak, proud human beings, myself included. I doubt the church will ever solve all of the disagreements it has, but hopefully we will learn to love and work with each other to further God's kingdom by coming to a middle ground on beliefs all of us hold. In the mean time, I will continue to read, study, discuss, and learn as much as I can and formulate the beliefs I hold most dear to my heart.

My Mind...

...is exploding

Only four weeks into classes at Rivendell, and my mind is bursting with new facts and truths. I have been wanting to write a blog about this new information, but whenever I try to put together a sentence of what I have learned, I find it quite difficult. I picture these facts floating in my mind, but not connected into an understand of how everything fits together. These facts include truth, being, fact corresponding with reality, relativism, post modernism, fallacies, and much, much more.

My time inside class and outside of class during our studying consists of reading various articles by authors such as Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Bertrand Russell, Richard Rorty, and others. Usually I will read, re read, re re read, high light, and mark up an article while discussing it with most of the girls in my dorm in preparation. This past week we have been focusing on fallacies. The professors had each of us write various fallacies and present them in front of the class. These were some I came up with:

Fallacy of Ambiguity:

(Amphibole): I chased the girl around the bakery with the bread. Does the “I” have the bread or does the bakery have the bread?

Attack Fallacy:

(Appeal to Force): You weirdos! Go! Or I’ll get out, and punch your car, so you’ll go.(Only those who watch Kid History will understand this one.)

(Argumentum Ad Hominem abusive): We shouldn’t obey Paul’s commands regarding living the Christian life, because he once persecuted Christians. Using Paul’s past circumstances against the authority he now has through God.

Inappropriate Authority:

(Appeal to Pity): Please pay for my college tuition, or else I will have to sell my kidney to earn money. I try to get my way by making you feel sorry for me.

Fallacy of Stacking the Deck:

(Begging the Question): These perfectly normal pancakes are perfect because they are normal. This uses the conclusion to support the premise. (Kid History again)

Fallacy of Diversion:

(Red Herring): “Abi, why don’t you have a contention in your map?” “I don’t believe in maps”. The reply avoids and does not answer the question.

Fallacy of Generalization:

(Cliché): Don’t leave because absence is to love as wind is to fire, it extinguishes the small and kindles the great. The cliché does not support the statement. (I found the cliche on the internet. I think it's quite amusing)

Reductive Fallacy:

(Faulty Analogy): Persuading someone to eat dinner with you is like screaming spaghet in their face. The analogy is faulty because it does not correspond with the premise.

(Nothing Buttery): Kid History is nothing but a show for children. It is a show for children, but is not only for children because I watch it and I’m not a child. So there!

Other types of Fallacies:

(Faulty Dilemma): If I had stayed at home this semester, I wouldn’t be learning about all these fallacies. There is no point in thinking about what would have happened if I had done something differently.

(Fallacy of Composition): Reading sentences is simple and flipping through pages is simple so understanding a book is simple. he conclusion is not necessarily true even if the premises are true.

And just a bonus: Snuggle you back to health. Irrelevant conclusion. Snuggling doesn’t affect health.(Only a select few of Metzgers would understand this).

I spent two hours formulating these fallacies, and it was quite entertaining.

For the next couple of days, I am preparing for our final tests(already?) next Tuesday and Wednesday covering the material we have learned in our Critical Thinking Module. After that, we will begin Theology! I am stoked for that.

The academic life at Rivendell is more challenging than I ever imagined. Understanding the concepts and arguments and having to map those arguments is quite a feat. My professors, however, are incredible. They go sentence by sentence in the articles, explaining them and making sure all of us are understanding the difficult concepts. Sometimes we spend over two hours on an article while at other times the class is split in half and we get through two pages in an hour. Paying attention and forcing myself to think deeply is vital for class time. At times, if I miss one minute of the discussion, I am lost for the rest of the time. Although I am being challenged immensely, I am loving the challenge. God has definitely blessed me by allowing me to come here. I am so thankful to him for this time.

Thanks for reading!

A Peek Into Life at Rivendell

Well, I have been at Rivendell for over two weeks now. Time passes by quite swiftly here, but most of the time I like it that way. I was planning on writing something profound and intellectual, but I will save that for another time and instead let you in on how life goes about here in Minnesota.

My class consists of 14 students including myself. There are eight girls with whom I share a dorm, and six guys. We represent 6 states: Wisconsin, North Carolina, Louisiana, California, Illinois, Minnesota, and Utah(that's me!). Two professors, B.J.(a theology and philosophy major) and Donald(taught law), and a faculty mentor, Missy(the president of Rivendell's daughter in law), lead us in the classroom. Unlike most colleges, here at Rivendell we study one class at a time. A semester consists of 18 weeks, in which we have three modules lasting six weeks each. For example, right now we are studying Critical Thinking for six weeks. In February we will move on to Theology for six weeks, then onto Philosophy for another six weeks. Our class stays together the entire eighteen months. So far we have read and summarized over twelve articles covering topics such as philosophy, apologetics, the nature of truth, and fallacies. During the first week we read and discussed these articles in class. The next week we learned about the importance of discipling nations from a video lecture by a woman from YWAM and a guest lecturer, Darrow Miller. This previous week we were taught how to use the software that Rivendell uses. It's difficult to explain, but basically we will read articles, essays, the Great Books and we'll map out the arguments on the computer. It's an incredible software and I'm already learning how to find arguments and fallacies in what I'm reading and watching. I am really looking forward to using the software in the future. In addition to the software, this week we began Socratic Circles. What happens in a Socratic Circle is that half of the class will go into the middle of the room, pick a topic and a question to discuss and will discuss it for about thirty minutes. While the seven are discussing, the seven in the outer circle will take notes and write down questions they have. After a half hour, the outer circle then will point out what they think and what they heard. Before we began, I was a bit nervous about giving my opinion and speaking out about what I thought. But now I love Socratic discussions. They are one of my favorite things about class. I love that we set time aside to think deeply and to discuss important questions. It brings me great joy.

In addition to the intellectual pursuit in the classroom, we also are partaking in an Inductive Bible Study. Every day, we read three chapters of a book(we've started with Genesis) highlighting, marking, and taking notes in our new inductive Bibles. Then every morning before class begins, we read aloud what we have read previously and discuss what we have learned, what jumped out at us, what the themes were, who the key characters were, etc. I am really enjoying this study. I have read Genesis numerous times, but actually reading it multiple times in one setting trying to figure out the themes and concepts brings the Word to life.

For this module, class is Monday through Friday, 8-12 and 1:30-3:00. The rest of the days are spent studying and doing homework, getting to know the girls in my dorm, trying to keep up with politics, reading, etc. Sometimes movies are played in the classrooms, while other times sports are played in the gym. I am definitely never bored here with the variety of activities and studying to do.

Yes, it's cold. I know many of you were worried I would freeze to death or something, but I'm still alive. :) There is very little snow here, but the temperatures are in the teens and sometimes negatives. I guess it is a mild winter for Minnesota, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to see the many feet of snow people keep talking about. Thankfully I don't have to drive in it.

God has been teaching me many things during my time here at Rivendell. In addition to learning to balance my socializing and my need for alone time, learning how to be relational and communicative, and learning to think deeply and spend my time wisely, He has been teaching me to abide with him through prayer and reading the Word. He has shown me how much I need daily time with him, and though a difficult process, I'm learning to give him my time and to not put other things in front of him. I'm seeing that this is a lifelong process.

Well, there is a peek into my life here in Minnesota. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Following Christ

Matthew 9:16

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

A couple of weeks before I left for Minnesota, I was studying Matthew and read this passage. This passage had never perplexed me before, but it did this time. Why would Matthew get up and follow Jesus no questions asked? Had God been preparing his heart beforehand? Was there something in the tone of Jesus’ voice that made Matthew say yes? What made him follow? I had not found an answer when I was offered a quite handsome scholarship to Rivendell Sanctuary in Bloomington, Minnesota on Thursday, December 29^th.

I had been planning on going to this college next January when I had saved enough money. But with this scholarship, it gave me more money than I could earn in one year. So if I stayed home I would be wasting money in a way. I know that money is not the most important thing, and I definitely considered many other things before I decided.

The week after I got back home from Summit Semester, I thought that God desired me to stay in Utah for whatever reason he had in mind. Therefore, I got used to living at home, had developed a schedule, and had started my job at Maceys. When I got the call with the offer of the scholarship, I was totally unprepared. The day before I had called Rivendell and told them that I couldn’t come due to finances. That Thursday, I was completely confused. At first, I barely considered it. Then as the night went on and I was given advice from family members, I began considering it more heavily. The next day at work, I fasted and prayed, yet my stress increased when I realized I had to call and give Rivendell my decision that night. In the middle of my work day, the scene from the book of Matthew popped into my mind. Matthew left everything, his family, his job, his home, to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Now I knew that my decision did not compare to Matthew’s at all. His service was probably more important than my going to a college a thousand miles away. But I was faced with the problem of leaving my family after only having four weeks with them after being away from home for three months; I would have to leave a good paying job; I would have to give up my money and go into a bit of debt; and I would have to go into the unknown. When I thought of Matthew, I decided that I could do it too, if it was God’s will(as sure as you can be in those kind of situations). My sister reminded me that I hate making decisions quickly. I always have to pray and think and seek wise counsel before making a serious decision; this sometimes takes months. However, she brought up the point that maybe God wanted to test my trust in him by putting this decision and this opportunity before me. Maybe he wanted me to take a leap of faith into the unknown and to trust him, for he is a faithful God. These two points were the major ones that helped me to decide.

So I said yes to God and yes to Rivendell. Some obstacles appeared, but thankfully they were taken care of. On Friday, my dad booked my plane ticket. On Saturday I told my boss I had to quit my job(thankfully he was understanding in my crazy predicament and put me on seasonal instead of having me quit altogether). For the next couple of days, I spent time with family, packed, and said goodbye to as many people as I could. Every single day I struggled with second thoughts, sadness about leaving my family again, stress, anxiety, not knowing if I was really doing God’s will…so much went through my mind. On Tuesday I worked for a couple hours, my parents picked me up, and took me to the airport. There I said goodbye and boarded my plane. I was sad, but as I focused on where my God was taking me, excitement filled me! The stress left. It was amazing. I arrived in Bloomington, Minnesota around ten on Tuesday, so exactly a week ago(I just realized that). It’s crazy that I’m here..haha. I will definitely fill you in on my journeys so far, but I thought I should let you know about my journey before coming here. Thanks for reading! And yes I am crazy, but God calls some of us to do crazy things.

New Habits in My Mind.....

....inspired by "Habits of the Mind" by James Sire

At Semester, we talked a lot about being an intellectual and what an intellectual looks like. During our family meetings we discussed a book called Habits of the Mind; however we never were able to finish it. So when I got home, I finished it, and loved it so much that I thought I would blog a little bit about what I grasped from it and how I’m practically applying it to my life. And why not start off with intellectualism?

What exactly is an intellectual? A dictionary definition says this: possessing a highly developed intellect. A Christian intellectual possesses a highly developed intellect but it is used for the glory of God. A Christian intellectual pursues two things: holiness and truth. To be holy one must set themself apart to serve God alone and to form their character to be like Christ’s. Pursuing truth encompasses knowing the truth and obeying it. The author of this book brought up a point that I had never considered before. To know the truth, one must obey the truth. To believe the truth, one must act on it. However, even as Christians, how many of us really obey and act on truths we believe in the Bible? How much fuller would our lives be if we obeyed the truth that Christ presented? I find this very convicting in my life. There are many things that I “believe” in, however, I don’t obey them. Does this really mean then, that I don’t believe in them? For example, I believe that God is trustworthy; however, many times I don’t find myself trusting in him especially in not knowing what the future holds for me. So it follows that I really don’t believe that God is trustworthy. And this is a major dilemma in my mind. I want to trust God, but I do not. My weakness saddens me, yet I know that God is merciful and will have compassion on me as I slowly learn to trust him wholeheartedly.

Being an intellectual does not mean that the main focus is the mind. The mental life is directly related with the physical life, or in other words, the thoughts with character. What one thinks about, what one spends its time studying and reading in turn affects the way one acts. What one thinks about is what they do, or at least should do. I know I am not yet an intellectual, but I long to be one. I do not love ideas as I should. I do not play with them, laugh at them, turn them upside down, or judge them as I should. I give up too easily. I don’t find the answers I need. I give up to easily. However, I can see a great difference in the way I thought and acted on my thoughts from before I went to Semester compared to life at home again. And I will press on towards being a Christian intellectual, glorifying God in all that I think about, read, study, and talk about.

Reflections on Summit Semester

For our last project at Semester, Dustin had all of us write a reflective paper on our time at Semester. Mine summarizes my time there and the most important changes that occurred to me; there was so much more that I could write, however I remembered how long my blog was. :) My sonnet written for the English Literature class is located at the end of this blog as well. It definitely describes what I am going through now that I'm home. So I thought I would share them with ya'll. Enjoy reading.

Months before coming to Summit Semester, I imagined what life would be like here, having many aspirations in mind. What excited me most was the privilege of living among like minded Christ followers, being challenged daily through work and study, learning and gleaning wisdom from scholars, and having my Creator shape my character to look more and more like his. I never imagined my yearnings to be fulfilled in the ways they were.

Through the community aspect, I have learned exactly what relationships are. A relationship is Christ centered and is not one way but consists of two persons. In order for a relationship to be fruitful, I must give all my efforts into it without expecting anything in return. I must be selfless, not focusing on what I need, but on what my friend needs. In addition to this, I learned that relationships are vital in this life. At one point during this semester, I had the inkling to give up on relationships. I did not see growth, and my desires were not being fulfilled. However, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the wrong I was committing. My focus had only been on myself and my needs, instead of on the other person’s needs. Once I discovered this, I began to change my attitude towards relationships. I started to focus on a few friendships instead of trying to become friends with all thirty students. Due to this revelation and repentance, I now have a few kindred spirits with whom I spend most of my time. Moreover, I learned how to communicate, whether confronting another student with a problem or expressing my thoughts on a particular subject. Communication is key to healthy relationships and to every aspect of life in general. This knowledge I applied even to relationships among family members and friends at home through phone calls, letters, or emails. Because of it, I have peaceful, honest relationships that I have longed for a long time. I learned much about myself and the reasons for why I act the way I do. The students at Semester encouraged me to be patient with myself as I strive to act and think like Christ. Also, I learned to respect their beliefs and opinions, although not always the same as mine. I thoroughly enjoyed living among like-minded believers. I have seen young guys act like polite and caring gentlemen and young women defend and fight for their beliefs with fervor. Their words and deeds are an encouragement to me that I will not forget.

Challenges at Semester were evident daily: trying to glorify God while sanding with a painful wrist; formulating my thoughts to verbally defend my beliefs; reading page after page of thought provoking books; studying for quizzes; sharing my struggles in small group; lacking sleep due to late night conversations; being patient with extroverts who verbally process all their thoughts; surviving two bouts of head colds; and not being able to drink milk daily. I would not trade these difficulties for anything simpler or easier because through each trial, my character improved slightly. Although I have a long way to go, I can tell that I have become less impatient, less proud, and less frustrated when challenges come my way. I can count it all joy when trials are prevalent because I have seen how I have grown through the trials here at Summit Semester.

I am overjoyed and so grateful to my Father for the privilege of studying and learning under Mike Mandt, J.P. Moreland, John Stonestreet, Eric Smith, Donald Williams, and especially, Dr. Bauman. My mind is compressed with information regarding physics, philosophy, culture, the Bible, poetry, philology, church history, politics, and English literature. Although all the professors instilled in me new ideas and subjects, methods of study, and a desire to learn more, Dr. Bauman impacted me the most. He taught me to think logically, concisely, and deeply. His voice will ever be in my head: “Do your theology like Jesus did. Think and act like Jesus did.” His style of teaching, questioning and attacking everything, scared me to death when I first arrive at Summit. I feared him calling on me, and when he did, I fumbled, I shook, I sweated. But as time went on and I was called on more often, and when not called on, I began preparing my thoughts just in case he did call on me again. That was his purpose, to cause me to think hard about consequential ideas. He desired for me to have solid, sound beliefs and opinions based on Jesus’ way of thinking and acting. Because of Dr. Bauman, my thinking, my writing, my teaching, and my reading methods will never be the same.

All these aspects of Summit Semester have shaped my character into one that reflects Christ. I am aware of how much more I have to learn and accomplish, but I believe that I am well on my way to finishing the race set out before me. I will endure the trials that are before me with perseverance through my renewed trust in Jesus Christ my Lord. His faithfulness and patience towards my failings have cause me to love and adore him more than I ever have. His showers of grace have caused me to realize the sinner I am, but also how much I am loved by him. He has shown me my need for his presence and his word when I become discouraged in this fight for his kingdom. His compassion and mercies are new every morning. My character and spirit have been strengthened, restored, and renewed in great many ways here at Summit Semester. I do not believe I would be the person I am today without going through the trials and joys in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

I thank God for this “once in a lifetime” chance to live at Snow Wolf Lodge among the beauty of creation and people, the grandeur of ideas and beliefs, the thrill of study and work, the delight of discovering and learning, and the joy of being shaped and challenged. I give my Lord Jesus Christ all the glory and honor for what he has done in me and through me at Summit Semester. He is an outstanding God who has given me an exceptional experience. May he be praised forever.

Future Free

His plans for my life are vaguely hidden.

Troubled, I contemplate what will come next.

Striving to listen, my heart is perplexed,

Asking what precisely has He bidden.

Imagining life in the world after

These three months of living in solitude

Causes great apprehension in my mood.

Assurance in His promises shatter.

Faintly He speaks to my burdensome heart,

“Remember, always will I be with you.

My faithfulness to you is indeed true.

I will not forget to fulfill my part.”

I shall not dread the unknown days to come,

Instead will trust in Him, the Faithful One.