Anonymous Academic Intimacy?

As many know I am assisting in an OT class this summer. I have always felt very fortunate to have this opportunity but I really do not think I appreciated it in its entirety.

The professor recently posed an assignment for the students to write letters home, reflecting on the course to date and the most challenging "what I've learned from this" or "what I'm still struggling with" bits and pieces. Their honesty and depth of sharing is remarkable. I have witnessed students move from "What is this silly blog thing?" to commenting on very deep thoughts of one another about everything from an understanding of God to domestic violence to "wait, you mean that isn't historical? But I've been quoting that as fact for years!".

One of the students commented on how they preferred learning in a live classroom setting. This initially brought much agreement. As such, I composed a short response that offered a different view. In a classroom, not everyone is heard. Sometimes it is a matter of time. Not all students are great orators. Some produce better stuff once they have had a chance to digest the material. And some just get distracted by Facebook. You might get to know a person by their attire, their ability to orate well, their loudness or meekness, their body language, or even by their intellectual contributions. But do you really get to know them well? Do they know you? What have you really learned from one another? In a class I took this past spring, I really only learned from two other students. Most of what I obtained was from the professor, the assignments and from processing discussions with non class members over "Margarita Mondays" - a weekly discipleship group so dubbed by a table top weekly promotion card at our local gathering spot.

On line learning allows for everyone to participate and in fact, requires it. Everyone has a voice and every voice is considered. I have found them all to be valuable, especially when they interact as many interesting things surface that would never come to be in a classroom of 25 or 30 (or even 12-15). The time given the reflections and contributions makes them more thoughtful and deep. A certain level of intimacy develops. I may not know these people by their body language but I know what is important to them. I know where they are on their journey to understand certain texts. I know how the information is going to influence their ministries and how they personally interact with others who are important to them. I have learned about many of their passions. I know more about how they understand God and what they think God knows about them. And I have learned this about every single one of them.

It is indeed humbling and I thank God as I am privileged to witness it.

Digging

I logged into Facebook this morning to catch up on friends news as I have been away from an internet connected computer for a whole day. What I found was somewhat saddening...

1. An article by an atheist who writes on religion. He's decided to dig through the number of clergy in pastoral positions who don't believe in God. Unfortunately, he sort of dances gleefully through the article missing the point that doubt is not atheism. Broke my heart on a number of different levels.
2. A quote from John Wesley about Christianity being a social religion and how turning it into a solitary religion destroys it brought dissent from one person. He first attacks Wesley for being greedy (which was rebutted well) but then argues that faith is personal: single, solitary and personal. Major problem with this. First off, it's impossible. Faith is something that changes your heart and your way of being. simply as you live your faith, others are affected. Secondly, faith should help you recognize that God has granted you gifts and those gifts should be used among one another in community. You share yours. You receive others. Etc. That cannot be done apart from a social engagement. Third, the "personal choice for Jesus" stuff drives me bonkers if for no other reason than it oversimplifies faith and baptism, it assumes a commitment that may not be there, and it often falls short of helping nurture the person along in their faith walk into deeper understanding of the triune God. I could go on digging but I'll stop here as there is a number three...
3. A classmate from grad school is on dig at the moment, working through some nifty bronze era stuff. You can follow her chuckle heavy trip here. I love having smart, successful friends!

Bible, In Context

Thanks to Allan Bevere for sharing this nice little clip by N.T. Wright on understanding the Bible in context. Good stuff!

Computers are Like Old Testament Gods

'Tis not every day this student is invited to serve as an aid for an Old Testament class. Perhaps that is why I am enjoying the work so very much despite the technical issues for some students who are learning to master the servant of software in the battlefield of ones and zeros. For them, I offer these thoughts from great thinkers of our time.

Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy. ~Joseph Campbell

Home computers are being called upon to perform many new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog. ~Doug Larson

The problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back. ~Author Unknown

But they are useless. They can only give you answers. ~Pablo Picasso, about computers

In God we trust, all others we virus scan. ~Author Unknown

Rebooting is a wonder drug - it fixes almost everything. ~Garrett Hazel, "Help Desk Blues," 2002

Jesus saves! The rest of us better make backups. ~Author Unknown

There are three kinds of death in this world. There's heart death, there's brain death, and there's being off the network. ~Guy Almes


And a little poetry...

Chaos reigns within.
Reflect, repent, and reboot.
Order shall return.
~Suzie Wagner, 1998

Three things are certain:
Death, taxes, and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.
~David Dixon, 1998, winning entry of the Haiku Error Messages 21st Challenge by Charlie Varon and Jim Rosenau, sponsored by Salon.com

Yesterday it worked
Today it is not working
Windows is like that
~Margaret Segall, 1998

Windows NT crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams.
~Peter Rothman, 1998

A file that big?
It might be very useful.
But now it is gone.
~David J. Liszewski, 1998

Lastly, "If you have any trouble sounding condescending, find a Unix user to show you how it's done." ~Scott Adams. *snicker*

A "Thank you!" to QuoteGarden!

Virtual Blushing

This semester seems to be the semester of the techno geek. My Theology of Evangelism class considered evangelism and mission in a virtual world setting like Second Life. I have jumped on board as a tech assistant for a DL class on the Hebrew Bible. And for an ethics class, I composed a little paper on the merits of church in virtual space. The paper is entitled, "Wherever Two or Three are Gathered in My Name, I am Virtually There" (Ekklesia in the Metaverse Church). Research required 17 straight hours of worship in virtual space, bible studies, interviews, and fellowship experiences, some good, and some really really (did I mention really?) bad.

After toiling with this paper I popped out for a grade, a former professor asked to post it on his blog. It's enough to make a girl virtually blush. Post he did. Here. Hope you enjoy something I think to be a thought provoking and somewhat mind bending topic that challenges our way of thinking about what makes church, a church. Special thanks to Allan Bevere for his interest, encouragement, ability to turn a bad paper into something hopefully interesting, and patience with putting up with a smart mouthed kid in two of his classrooms.

It's Official! I'm a TANAK Techno Geek!

As I dig through the pile of texts on atrocity and human agency (not to mention free will and doctrine of humanity), I received a spiffy little email from one Dr. Brooke Lester informing me that I have been selected by the faculty committee of OT distance learning (consisting only of said Lester) to serve as assistant to a summer course. This is exciting news especially as all I have really ever wanted to do was teach. Okay, and maybe bring about world peace. But now really is not the time to discuss it. Popcorn?

That all said, we should be seeing some newbies pop in here in a bit. Those brave enough to wander by the Blogfire of the Vanities, I welcome you. May the links on the right be helpful in your quest to make sense of Coogan and to order your time line. If it helps, this photo depicts my time line and is the result of a semester of work that now hangs in my dining room. My boyfriend attempted to touch a sticky once... he now is without two fingers. Meanwhile, my adviser tells me that The Sticky should not be allowed in a graduate student's life. I have since made arrangements for an armed guard to stand watch in the event of any funny business. (Even the critter walks to the other side of the dining room table now. Wise critter.)

Rabbi Herman Schaalman once commented that one cannot be a Christian without first being a Jew. With my deep appreciation for the Hebrew Bible, I cannot agree more. For it is in understanding the Old Testament that we come to appreciate the depth and richness of Christ's life and resurrection. My hope for all new OT students is that you will come to love our origins and find inspiration in our Christian story, driving you closer to the fullness of Christ. May you all be blessed!

Red Shoe Theology

The semester is coming to a close with finals approaching. I am deeply disappointed that I have had little time to compose brilliant (or at least mildly entertaining) posts to share with the blogosphere. But, in the spirit of resilient and persistent women everywhere, I offer you a post by a classmate entitled "Red Shoes". Here, this graduating woman shares the history of a long standing tradition in honor of the first female theology faculty member in the United States, Georgia Harkins. I am honored to follow in the footsteps of Harkins and many other fine theology faculty. We are blessed for Her contribution and efforts to raise the bar for women in our field.

These are my red shoes this year. They are Enzos, Starlite, available at Nordstroms.

Visit Red Shoes here!