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The Silent Choice

I have just completed my paper on the use of silence in Night by Elie Wiesel (pictured below).

I have published the paper to GoogleDocs for anyone who is interested (I know it's probably no one, but you never know).

The paper can be viewed here.

Moving, Blogging Hiatus and the Middle East

As was mentioned in the previous post, we are moving soon...Saturday, actually. On top of that, right now is the end of the semester, so I am insanely busy finishing up a paper on Elie Wiesel, working on some journals for two other classes, finishing my credo (which is what I believe, right now anyway, on topics such as christology, pneumatology, eschatology, ecclesiology, etc.) and getting ready for exams.

Due to all of this going on right now I have not been blogging lately and probably will not be blogging for a few more days. 

After which, though, I will begin to ramp it up again. Hopefully this will include some insights/excerpts from my research on the use of silence in Elie Wiesel's Night and some anticipatory posts for mine and Trinity's upcoming trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

Stay tuned.

Apparently My Wife is an Office Max Rep

We are moving in 2 weeks and that is most of the reason as to why I've not updated in 5 days. This move, though very much anticipated and needed, truly comes at a horrible time for us as it is just before the end of the semester, when, of course, EVERYTHING is due. 

It is surprising how much stuff Trinity and I have even though we have only been married for 11 months. It is also surprising how much there is to learn about a spouse even when we live together (I know that's an obvious one, but I thought I should add it just to clear up any confusion), go to school together (both working on Masters degrees) and work together. I learned today that apparently my wife used to be and still is a rep for Office Max. I literally think that we could supply our county's entire school district with pens, pencils, markers and Sharpies for a year. I saw Sharpies in colors that I didn't even know existed. And don't even get me started on Post-It Notes. The various sizes, shapes, colors and styles would impress even Spencer Silver. I don't even know why we have a MaxPerks card. I think that Office Max needs to start coming to us for their supplies. The good news is though, that we will probably never have to take our kids (that we don't have yet) school-supply shopping. 

And, then, to add insult to injury, we are moving from a 3-bedroom house to a 2-bedroom house so that we can be closer to our church, where we both work and go many times a week, and to save on rent and utilities. We have this house more than full, so thinking about down-sizing its not the most joyous thought in my head right now. It should be a fun few weeks. 

P.S. What's the point of using packing tape if it can't be used for at least one painful practical joke?

My Knee Hasn't Exploded...Yet

Well, I did run the Cooper River Bridge Run on Saturday and was able to finish it.

I ran it in 1 hour 3minutes and 28 seconds (see above). Also, look how high I placed. Not horrible for my first 10k race and on a bum knee.

Anyway, I should hear about when I will have this MRI tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

NOTE: If you can't read the results they say that my time was 1:03:28 and that my overall placing was 10245...that's out of like 40,000. Out of all the males I was 6447 and out of my age division I was 747.

The World in Which We Live...

For those who do not know, today is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s death. Most of us are familiar with the work of MLK and, hopefully, we respect his work. He was indeed the type of man that we need more of in our world. He had his shortcomings as we all do, but he spoke with wisdom words that must be heard. I have been reading his speech, “Beyond Vietnam – A Time to Break Silence” and came across something quite profound. Part of his speech is pasted below:

Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: "Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King?" "Why are you joining the voices of dissent?" "Peace and civil rights don't mix," they say. "Aren't you hurting the cause of your people," they ask? And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.

The last line struck me hard and I began to think. Do I truly know the world that I live in? Do those around me truly know the world that we live in? True, times are different from what they were in 1967 when MLK gave this speech, but much is the same. Do I know how much injustice is in my world? Do I know how many children die of starvation each week? Do I know that 84% of the world lives on less than $10,066 a year? Do I know that more than 1 billion people live on less than U.S. $1 a day? Do I know that there are 781 million illiterate adults worldwide and that 64% of them are women? Do I know that more than 6 million children die from malnutrition yearly? Do I know that there is genocide going on in Darfur? Do I know who is working against these evils? Do I know the good work that the United Nations is doing? Do I know how much inequality still exists not only in our world, but in our churches and our homes? Do I truly know the world in which I live? Do you know the world in which you live?

I am not saying that we should all go out and protest the current war because that’s what MLK did. I am simply saying that we need to get to know the world we live in. Our world is in desperate need of redemption. True, we need redemption in the form of salvation, but we need so much more than that as well. We need to care for all of creation the way that God does. The world has a deep need and we have the resources necessary to not only alleviate, but to erase the need and the pain and yet we do nothing about it. On this anniversary on MLK’s death let us remember him for sure, but let us also reflect. Let us see our world for what it really is. The facts are gloomy and can be disheartening, but we can offer hope.

Here are some sites that you should check out:

• ONE
• Compassion
• Kiva
• JesusGreaterThan
• UN Millennium Development Goals

Note: Statistics taken from Compassion.

Overturned Tankers and MRIs

I'm in Charleston today. Trinity and I got here yesterday after an extremely long ride due to this overturned tanker. See below:

Today is rainy and we're doing the insanely joyous homework that consumes our lives, even while on vacation.

I was supposed to run in this race on Saturday, but messed my knee up yesterday. The x-rays were fine. Now, I'm just waiting on my dr to schedule an MRI. Fun times indeed.

Hopefully no more major joint surgeries are in my near future. I've had enough of those.

I'll keep you updated.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

I have said/thought some things for a while and now some others have said them in ways better than I can so I'll let you see what they have to say.

Why is there a lack of creativity in Christianity?

Christians Don't Get to Suck

Check them out and let me know what you think.



P.S. Like Andrew I have nothing special for April Fool's Day. However, Andrew's post detailing his lack of April Fool's Day festivities is much better than my puny post script here.