Hey there Hesston

Hesston has been amazing! I have a class called biblical literature and I have to write 2 inductives for it; I have spent over 20 hours working on the first inductive... too much time in the library, ew. Still, I am learned so much about Judges 9 and Abimelech. I have not gotten my grade yet on that inductive; however, I received the passage for my individual inductive today Joshua 7! Ding ding ding, round 2!

Other than that my youth ministry classes are amazing, and I really believe that the direction I am heading in is pleasing to God! In youth ministry seminar last Thursday I was in charge of devotions; I had met with Michele earlier that week to discuss what that job entailed and also to share about my "dreams" for the future. One of the ways that I had the other youth Min's interact was to give them each play-doh to form while we were discussing Psalm 138. That went over well, and was great fun to play with!

The night I purchased the play-doh (which now reads Clearance-doh thanks to Nathaniel and the stickers) Garrett, Nathaniel, and I played with it for an hour and a half in the Larks nest and Kendra Horst joined us to help us make the sweet frog shown on the box.











the amazing group made play-doh frog















Nathaniel with his Jason mask





As for things being out of the ordinary...well, I do a lot more random things here. There is the yummy doughnut shop called Druber's in Newton which does not open until midnight. My friends and I hit that place up quite a bit. I mean who wouldn't want fresh peanut butter, maple, pine cone, squid, octopus, long johns, cream filled, or muffins! YUM! Then there is Newels; a truck stop in Newton with yummy yummy cheese fries (that are deathly greasy) and a small is a plate full and smothered in cheese. More grease than I can handle, so I often share a plate. I have heard that their milkshakes, and biscuits and gravy are tasty as well; I have not tried those yet..hmm maybe I'll take a group of people there tonight. Newels is definitely a place that would be really weird in the daylight, or early evening. Movies are a frequent happening most nights, somewhere between 11 and 1 a movie is started with my friends down in the pit (the basement of Erb), or KC lounge (which is the place I prefer because even though it is a farther walk from my dorm it was much much cleaner). Last weekend I went thrift store shopping in Newton. There was a huge sale at the et cetra shop, $1 for a paper bag filled with everything we could fit! Some my friends and I bought the most hideous outfits we could and have plans to wear them out sometime.

Ashley at walmart




Last Friday I went to Applebee's to ask if they were hiring and get an application. I ended up have the first 2/3 of my interview done right then! This Thursday I had my last interview and was hired as a hostess! Unfortunately I do not start until March 14 because they are in the middle of orientation right now and will not have the next training session until March. This means I have to come back from my spring break 2 days early because of the orientation 9am-11am on Saturday. That week I will have "class" from 3:45ish-5:30ish and will also have to follow another host for 5 shifts to learn what to do; it'll be busy. Still, I am quite excited!

Not sure what else to fill you in on, OH wait! Maybe y'all would be interesting in knowing that today the weather is gorgeous! by that I mean the high is 71outside and I love it! It has snowed 2 times since I have been here, barely if even an inch both times and the snow was completely melted within 2 days! This is such a fun and warm winter! Kansas weather is very bi-polar; I remember one day when I was looking working on my inductive I looked out the windows and saw that it was completely sunny, 20 minutes later is was overcast, and in another 20 minutes it was completely sunny again! No joke! That happens all the time here (because of the wind), how fun! It is like the sky is ADD and keeps forgetting what it was going to be!

on that sunny note I will leave you all my warm thoughts to keep you warm! hugs!
God Bless

The book "UnChristian"

I just finished reading the book "UnChristian" by David Kinnaman, a researcher for and the president of The Barna Group. This nonfiction book takes a raw look at what people who do not practice the Christian faith think of the people who call themselves Christians. Their findings from 3 years of statistic and interview research reveal that most people who do not practice the Christian faith believe that Christians are very UnChristian. Words like Judgmental, too political, and Hypocritical describe the Christan's. While the book seems to be written for the generation above me (who may not be as aware of these and other perceptions), I was intrigued by the evidence and challenged even further to be a genuine Christian. Good book, I do recommend "UnChrisitan."

Finding the Good Life

“This is the good life I've lost everything I could ever want and ever dream of…” (Stuart 4). Audio Adrenaline, a Christian rock band, believes that the good life is losing everything a person could desire; Aristotle and Kant have alternate opinions as to what constitutes as a good life. Aristotle believes that virtues, especially the highest virtue of reason, and the end goal lead one to the good life. Living in a way that would make cooperation and harmony possible if all man kind lived the same way is Kant’s idea of a good life. It is under my personal contemplation that I wonder if the good life is actually a compilation of Audio Adrenaline, Aristotle, and Kant’s visions.

“Happiness, therefore, does not lie in amusement; it would, indeed, be strange if the end were amusement, and one were to take trouble and suffer hardship all one’s life in order to amuse oneself.” (Aristotle 1). Aristotle is stating that entertainment is not happiness, or the good life, if it were one would always take the easy way out of situations in order to reach a situation that would entertain him or her sooner. Any person can give in to his or her bodily pleasures, yet he or she will not find the good life and happiness within these pleasure “For happiness does not lie in such occupations, but, as we have said before, in virtuous activities” (Aristotle 1). He take virtues a step farther when he writes “That which is proper to each thing is by nature best and most pleasant for each thing; for man, therefore, the life according to reason is best and pleasantest, since reason more that anything else is man. This life there for is also the happiest” (Aristotle 1). Aristotle is saying that reason, or studying and contemplation, is the most desirable virtue; reason leads all rational people to the good life. Contemplation will lead a person to focus on the bigger picture, or the goal of his or her life, thus the person will see that happiness is not found in amusement but in the end goal. When a person comprehends that the good life is much more than the moment by moment experience he or she will be willing to take the harder road with hardships and suffering in order to reach the most desirable end. For he or she is acting with the highest virtue Aristotle believes there is, the virtue of reason.

“If everyone in the world would just live by X, Y, and Z everyone would live the good life.” This thought process could be said to reflect Kant’s Categorical Imperative which is “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it would become a universal law (Hauerwas 30). Kant is stating that if a person believes something should be followed by everyone he or she must follow that rule himself or herself. For example, if Bill believes that everyone would be closer to the good life if he or she assists the elderly in crossing the street, then he must help the elderly cross the street himself. Likewise is Jane believes that everyone would be happier if visited with his or her parents at least once a week, she must visit with her own parents at least once a week. While these may be petty examples they display Kant’s belief; a person’s actions should reflect what he or she believes is the way everyone should act. Kant believes that if all people lived ethically all people would live the good life because “ethics has characteristics that make cooperation possible between people with different “beliefs” or “backgrounds” (Hauerwas 30).

Combine Aristotle’s theory that virtues and reason lead to the good life with Kant’s theory that a person must live the way he or she believes others should live and my opinion will emerge. A person should live in accordance to the good and just virtues he or she believes all people should posses. Like Aristotle’s theory, not everything can be considered a virtue. A person obtains virtues by interacting with the right people in the right way and then practicing what he or she learns. Not all activities are virtuous, lying, for example, is not virtuous because it does not lead to happiness as its final end for human action as Aristotle states that the good life does. If one takes these virtues and applies them to Kant’s idea that one must act how he or she desires other to act and I believe the good life is even closer. If a person has virtuous but does not live in accordance to those virtues, what good are the virtues? Still, if a person practices his or her virtues in everyday life he or she will be closer to living the good life. It is my belief that one is not capable of living such a virtuous life without a reason. This reason, like Aristotle, is one that leads to happiness as the complete end of human action; a belief in God and God’s son Jesus leads one to desire a virtuous life. A virtuous life, which is a life lived in accordance to God’s desire, God’s desires are recorded in the bible and through Godly revelations, will end as it reads in John 3: 15-16 “That whoever believes in him [the Son of Man] may have eternal life. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Audio Adrenaline says it this way in their song Good Life, “This is the good life, I've lost everything I could ever want and ever dream of. This is the good life I found everything I could ever need here in Your arms.” All that a person could desire outside of a virtuous life does not lead to happiness; instead the good life is found when one lives a virtuous life in accordance to God.

The good life, it is what most people desire, but how does one obtain the good life? Live a virtuous life of reason, focused on the final end of human action according to Aristotle. Kant believes that one should let his or her actions reveal the way that all people should live. Compile the two approaches to the good life adding the most important ingredient, God, and my approach is found. A person should live the virtuous life that God desires and allow his or her actions reveal the good life for all who desire the good life to witness and follow.



Bibliography
Aristotle. "From Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book Ten." Anabaptist Convictions after Marpeck. 26 Nov. 2008 .
Bechtel, Trevor. “Christian Ethics”. Bluffton, OH. November 2008.
Hauerwas, Stanley & Wells, Samuel. “Why Christian Ethics Was Invented”. The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. 28-38.
Pinckaers, Servais. “Excerpts from the Nichomachean Ethics”. Sources of Christian Ethics. Washington: Catholic University of America, 1995. 106-109.
Stuart, Mark. "Good Life." By Mark Stuart, Will McGinniss, Bob Herdman and Charlie Peacock. Rec. 1999. By Audio Adrenaline. Underdog. Rec. 1999. ForeFront Records, 1999.
The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version: With the Apocryphal/Deutercanonical Books. Ed. Wayne A. Meeks. Rev. ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Writen for Biblical World View: Ethics: Professor Trevor Bechtel

The Good Life: Community

People strive in countless ways to achieve what seems to them to be the ideal good life. Some strive after cash and riches, others strive to become famous, and still others drowned themselves in drugs and sex. Overall these people have the same concept of what the good life is; they all believe that the good life is achieved when they feel fulfilled. Personally, I have never known a person to find fulfillment in cash, cures, sex, or drugs; after one accomplishment has been fulfilled the person is left longing for something more. I pose that fulfillment can be found through relationships. First and foremost a relationship with God will teach a person how to have positive and healthy relationships with other people.

“There is always someone you can count on, and there are a million special moments that can chase the shadows from your face in an instant and will cost you nothing but a few spare minutes” (Greive, 40). A relationship with God teaches one to be content with the blessings that one has been given. Having a constant presence one can rely on and confide in gives a person a sense of community and belonging. One way God fills this need is by having people interact and create community with each other. When a community is built people trust each other, depend on each other, and assist each other with all of their needs, both emotional and physical. The community is build on trust, which we learn by following God’s teachings, and each member of the community supports the others causing each member to be essential. When each person is essential the good life is not a goal or point, it is a way of life.

A community builds precious moments that make each member feel needed and loved. The community is trustworthy and dependable; all it takes is time to build relationships. The good life is a way of life built on God, interdependence, and community, not wealth, fame, sex, or drugs.

Bibliography
Greive, Bradley T. Tomorrow: Adventures in an Uncerain World. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel. 40-41.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Writen for Biblical World View: Ethics: Professor Trevor Bechtel

Who Art in Heaven

“Who art in Heaven,” take another look; it is deeper than it first appears. It is the second phrase of The Lord’s Prayer found in both Matthew 6:9-13, and Luke 11: 1-4. Still, the line lends itself to deeper truths than just ‘God is in heaven.’ What does it mean that God is in heaven? If God is in heaven, how can he be on earth? Is God contradicting Godself? Heaven is not like earth because God created heaven separate from the universe. God is transcendent making God always present. God may seem to contradict Godself, but God is truth and can be both words that create an antonym. God is outside of God's creation making God outside of creation's boundaries.

Heaven, where is it, what is it, and how do I get there? Genesis 1:1 reads “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth,” so heaven is separate from earth. The bible mentions numerous times in history when The Lord, or angels, choose to make themselves known to those on earth through a voice, vision, dream, or another phenomenon (Genesis 22:11, 15; Exodus 20:22; Deuteronomy 4:36; Matthew 3:16; Luke 2:15). Heaven is usually thought of as above earth, and as the place where God and the place where Christians’ will live an eternal life (The Miller, 248). John 14:6 reads “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Since this is true, and God lives in heaven, the way to heaven is to believe the Jesus is the Son of God and to follow his teachings.

Since God created the heavens and the earth and God is omnipotent; God is in heaven and earth. God is transcendent by living in heaven yet watching over earth and providing for it. Although we may not understand how this works, it is okay because we recognize that many of God’s works are beyond our comprehension. “Let him be content to say ‘What is this?’ (Exodus 16:15) So too let him rejoice and delight in finding you who are beyond discovery rather than fail to find you by supposing you to be discoverable.” (Saint Augustine, 8). God is far beyond any human comprehension; God is not a thing because God created all things. God is unlimited therefore God is transcendent.

God is transcendent not only in relationship to place, but also in action. Clashing words that are antonyms seem to fit well together when God is described. Take for instance Saint Augustine’s words “deeply hidden, yet intimately present…immutable yet changing all things.” (Saint Augustine 4). God never leaves us and is always present with us, yet the closer we are to God, the less we feel we know about God, and the more we desire to be in God’s presence (Hebrews 13:5). God changes the things God made, still God remains constant and unchanging. Hebrews 13:6 reads that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever,” while creation may change the designer does not.

God is beyond the limits of God’s creation. Heaven and earth are separate creations; therefore, God is sovereign of both places. God is transcendent and capable of doing all that God desires without changing Godself. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus meant for his disciples to learn to know God at a deeper level than first glance allows. Jesus desired his disciples to know more than God’s location when he said “who art in heaven,” so to Jesus meant more than surface level glance allows one to see in each line of The Lord’s prayer.


Bibliography
The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version: With the Apocryphal/Deutercanonical Books. Ed. Wayne A. Meeks. Rev. ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.
Hauerwas, Stanley andWilliam H. Willlimon. Lord, Teach us: The Lord’s Prayer and the Christian Life. Nashville: Abingdon Press 1996.
Lash, Nicholas. Believing Three Ways in One God: A Reading of the Apostles’ Creed. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993.
Miller, Madeleine S., and J. L. Miller. The New Harper's Bible Dictionary. Eighth ed. New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1973. 248-49.
Saint Augustine. Confessions. Trans. Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.





~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Writen for Biblical World View: Theology: Professor Alex Sider

Lex Orandi Lex Credendi

The Latin phrase Lex Orandi Lex Credendi directly translates to mean law is prayer law is belief. In other words, we pray what we believe. If a person believes that one must die in battle to enter heaven he or she will pray that he or she dies in battle. Likewise if a person believes that their god is a protector he or she will pray for their god’s protection. While a child’s, or a person young in faith, prayers may start out basic and recited, the concepts behind the basic prayers are learned. Alex Sider pointed out that often times as a person matures in his or her faith the concepts stay a part of his or her prayers, even though he or she may or may not recite the same prayers he or she recited as a child or as a person young in his or her faith.

Prayer is a work of Christ, and as “Martin Luther said wherever the work of Christ occurs, demons move into action…” (Hauerwas and Willimon 14). This may be one reason basic ritualistic prayers, such as the prayer of blessing over food that many are taught known as “God is great and God is good,” may be taught is so that a person has prayers to rely on while the demons move. While young in faith a person may not have enough background to know what else to say besides a previously learned prayer. If the person is able to remember “God is great, God is good,” he or she can hold onto that concept. Later in that prayer the line is “by His hands we all are fed, give us Lord our daily bread,” the concept here is that God is a provider who will supply the peoples’ needs. Some religions teach the people to pray other more “personalized” prayers, still the basic concepts can often be pulled out of the prayers. If a person prays a prayer of thanksgiving for his or her new job, car, family member, or peace of mind, that person believes that God cares about his or her situations in life such as the person’s new job, car, family member, or peace of mind. If a person prays a prayer in frustration asking God to help him or her overcome an obstacle that is before him or her in life, this person believes that God is a god who will bring justice into his or her life, and that God is a god who guides his or her footsteps in life helping him or her make the correct choices.

Most prayers I hear begin with a call out to God in some form and end with “amen.” What does this mean? First the call out to God can also be considered as an introduction to who we are calling out to. If a person begins a prayer with “Father” he or she believes that God is like a heavenly father who cares, listens, and protects. “Dear Jesus” is an introduction that suggests that the person believes that Jesus is the son of God, and now dwells with God in heaven, or as part of the trinity. When a person begins a prayer by simply saying “God,” he or she is recognizing that God is higher and holds authority and deserves respect. When a prayer is ended the word most often used is “amen.” I was taught by my parents that amen means “Let it be,” or “and so it is.” Thus by ending a prayer with amen a person is handing their prayer to God almost as a sacrifice, as a way of saying “take this prayer.”

We pray what we believe. When taught to pray a person learns concepts that stick with him or her, as he or she matures in his or her faith. The difference may lie in the exact words spoken, some may retain the exact prayers taught, while others may form individualized prayers. Still, the concepts of the beginning prayers will remain. As a person begins a prayer he or she addresses the party with whom he or she is praying to as a way of recognizing and honoring the party. At the end of a prayer a person offers the prayer as a sacrifice saying “amen,” offering the prayer that he or she just spoke as a sacrifice to his or her god. The Latin phrase holds true “Lex Orandi Lex Credendi, the prayers spoken give voice to the beliefs held within the soul.



Bibliography
Hauerwas, Stanley and William H. Willimon. Lord, Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer and the Christian Life. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996. Pages 13-33.
Lash, Nicholas. Believing Three Ways in One God: A Reading of the Apostles’ Creed. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993. Pages 42-49.
Saint Augustine. Confessions. Trans. Henry Chadwick. Oxford: Oxford Univeristy Press, 1991. Pages 3-23.
The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version: With the Apocryphal/Deutercanonical Books. Ed. Wayne A. Meeks. Rev. ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.





~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Writen for Biblical World View: Theology: Professor Alex Sider

Created to be pumped for Jesus

this convo was edited for clarity
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~



…

11:37pmBrooke
by the way you're talking, it had to be a God feeling you're having you're pumped for Jesus!

11:38pmJonathon
I'm pretty sure we were created to be pumped for Jesus a lot more often than we tend to be

11:39pmBrooke
oh my, you have just hit a train of thought I've been riding for a while now


11:39pmJonathon
ooo

11:40pmJonathon
Like, even when we are focusing on something that isn't Jesus (like for example, talking to a friend, working on some mundane project, anything), we still should have this underlying intensity in our soul... it is called joy And I think that is the difference between joy and happiness, Jesus is at the center of Joy, happiness is on the outside of anything it accompanies and Joy is at the center of us (is supposed to be anyways)

11:42pmBrooke
(different angle then what I was thinking, but I enjoy this take)


11:42pmJonathon
what is your angle?

11:42pmBrooke
I have a slightly different definition of joy and happiness
no no, let's talk about yours first!!!!

11:43pmJonathon
I probably do too, but I am tired and typing fast lol
but what I said has something to do with my definitions

11:43pmBrooke
I like it! To me joy is something that come from the Holy Spirit and because of this we can be filled with joy even when our emotions do not reflect joy emotions or life situations*for example I may be having a bad day and feel blue; however, I still can be filled with the joy of Christ

11:46pmJonathon
I agree, actually, that fits very much with my train of thought, Holy Spirit/Jesus (God basically, but if we get down to it I suppose we could define it by specific parts of God's trinity) and your example is sorta what I'm thinking when I talk about Jesus Intensity underlying everything (including the bad times) well... it sounds like it fits my train of thought anyways

11:47pmBrooke
however happiness is just the emotion, it can be a part of joy; however it can never fully exist outside of the presence of joy.

11:47pmJonathon
hmm, interesting


11:48pmBrooke
so down and out Joy can exists without happiness, yet happiness cannot fully exists without joy


11:48pmJonathon
what about unholy happiness? for example, happiness because someone else got hurt (emotionally or physically)it seems there has to be a term for that sick and twisted feeling that people get from sin


11:50pmBrooke
this is true, but this is not a feeling of true happiness it fades


11:50pmJonathon
ah, the word true

11:50pmBrooke
right
…

11:52pmJonathon
does only true happiness come with joy or does both happiness and true happiness come with joy according to your definitions?

11:54pmBrooke
Id say both can be experienced with or without joy...but i suppose I'd have to think on that...try this situation…

11:55pmBrooke
you receive a toy that you really wanted for Christmas whether you have joy or not you will still be happy
…

11:55pmBrooke
but since happiness is just an emotion it will fade in time


11:55pmJonathon
right.
…

11:56pmJonathon
and joy doesn't fade (or isn't meant to anyways, it could if fade by not being connected to God)
...

11:57pmBrooke
right, that is what I am thinking happiness = and emotion, and emotions come and go
joy= something much deeper than an emotion

11:58pmJonathon
oh yes, I think our slightly different angles revolve around the question "Does happiness always stem from joy?"but then again, what if we had different angles concerning our angles? (ooo... that is complicated)

12:00amBrooke
and good, i love hearing all different angles. they help me develop/alter/or abandon my own angles


12:00amJonathon
same here!they make me figure out what I really think


12:01amBrooke
mmhmm! so, how would you answer the ? "Does happiness always stem from joy?"


12:01amJonathon
I would say it doesn't, but happiness as God would have it felt always stems from joy emotions, like everything else in this world, are corrupted by sin in a perfect world, happiness would always connect to joy somehow that would be "true" happiness (to borrow the term)


12:03amBrooke
(borrowing terms makes it easier to follow)


12:03amJonathon
emotions can be felt in ways and in situations which aren't natural according to God's plan for how everything (creation) works


12:04amBrooke
JONATHAN YOU ARE AMAZING!this is what i was trying to say, but couldn't figure out how to say it....

12:04amJonathon
(conversations are awesome!)

12:04amBrooke
our views on this are the same you simply worded it better, thanks

12:04amJonathon
I had a funny feeling they were
welcome :):)

12:05amBrooke
yeah Jesus!
…

12:13amBrooke
oh going way back to how the convo got started

12:13amJonathon
lol
way way back

12:14amBrooke
when you said "I'm pretty sure we were created to be pumped for Jesus a lot more often than we tend to be"

…

12:14amBrooke
i started thinking about skin deep commitment
…
and about how so many people are half baked Christians (Lukewarm like it reads in Revelations)
I like to think that it is simply because people do not realize that they do not understand
..but I do not know

…

12:17amJonathon
yeah, I see what you're saying
(I think)

12:20amJonathon
to make a statement that might take the thought on a slightly different path, I think the more a person understands Jesus, the more committed they want to be, and the more committed a person is, the more they understand Jesus
(it is co-dependent)
ooo!!!!!!!

12:20amBrooke
I believe this to be true as well

12:21amJonathon
I've been thinking about how people come to understand Jesus and want Jesus more, specifically about the role of others in the "growee
“growee's" life
life/process anyways
now, this is kinda simple, but it is easy to just think of it and say "duh, yeah of course" and then not change
anyways

12:23amBrooke
i agree, if those with a "deeper" understanding would do all that they could to help others understand more
..then more would grow

12:24amJonathon
example. When people are exposed to understanding Jesus lived out in another persons life, that life being shared with the "growee", it is like getting a little taste of what could be had
basically, I'm just getting fired up about the whole idea of mentoring others through just having a close relationship
(lol, I get fired up about the simplest things)

12:25amBrooke
I agree, which leads me to something I strongly believe the church has lost
community

12:25amJonathon
YES!
And, there lies a whole other conversation lol

…