Ego sum......................BEcOmIng

hmm..

2005-12-30T20:06:00.000-08:00

But their fires were quenched. All the lands were grey and still; and ever the shadow deepened before them, and hope waned in every heart. ---- JRR Tolkien

its finals...

2005-12-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

hum yeah....its finals week...i should be madly craming for a latin test...instead i'm posting to a personal weblog that most likely no one bothers to read anymore, due to my lack of posting. So in case you're board and you happen to find yourself here reading these words. good luck, good night and best wishes...i don't know where that can from. but anyways i should at least try to preapare myself for my doom now...or maybe i'll just go to chruch. how ironic. well i'm out.

//////////Think about THIS //////////

2005-11-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

the list.......

2005-09-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Marcus Borg:

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus & the Heart of Contemporary Faith, 1994.

Jesus: A New Vision, 1987.

John Crossan:

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, 1994.

The Historical Jesus : The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, 1991.

Excavating Jesus : Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts: Revised and Updated, 2001.

James Dunn:

Jesus Remembered (Christianity in the Making, Vol. 1), 2003.

A New Perspective On Jesus: What The Quest For The Historical Jesus Missed

John Meier:

A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus: The Roots of the Problem and the Person, Vol. 1, 1991.

Mentor, Message, and Miracles (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 2), 1994.

Companions and Competitors (A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 3), 2001.

Mark Allen Powell:

Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the man from Galilee, 1998.

Fortress Introduction to the Gospels

Jonathan Reed;

Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: A Re-Examination of the Evidence,

E.P. Sanders:

Jesus and Judaism, 1985.

The Historical Figure of Jesus, 1993

Albert Schweitzer:

The Quest of the Historical Jesus

Gerd Theissen:

The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide

Robert E. Van Voors:

Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence (Studying the Historical Jesus)

Geza Vermes:

The Changing Faces of Jesus

Jesus in His Jewish Context

Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels

The Religion of Jesus the Jew

N.T. Wright:

Jesus and the Victory of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2)

Various Scholarly Articles of Interest

The Canonical Gospels

Non-Canonical Gospels

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Other Various Works from Antiquity

it should be fun and educational. maybe the start of something great and far bigger than me.

so this semester....

2005-09-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I shall study Jesus. Hopefully this will lead to some type of paper in the longerish nature. Even more I hope it leads to some fresh thought and dialogue.
I am also going to eat food this semester. Not that I have neglected that activity in the past I just felt like sharing that I would be continuing to do so. so if you are also one who is eating food this semester and I highly suggest that you do, you should consider a meal with me. It would be fun, I promise.
I shall also post things from time to time. Probably after I finish my Latin, Greek and study of the Romans.

Post-colonial discourse anyone?

so why is it that.....

2005-09-06T00:55:00.000-07:00

the professors i think i would like to work with are at institutions that do not grant doctoral degrees???
but alas i have a few years to discover new and passionate ones that have a drive and heart for what they do that are at place where i can go and work with them.

school started....

2005-09-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

I'm doing homework again...
its fun. doing so greek and latin and a jesus project.
there's this women in the locker room debate on tv right now.
i don't get it. why do professional athletes need to be interviewed while they're changing and showering after a game.
I know as an athlete i wouldn't have wanted anyone up in my face right after a game, especially in the locker room and give me a break.
then theres the hurricane. wow talk about devistation and hardship.
more thoughts later. jessica is here.

something new

2005-07-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

a.... i don't feel particularly insipired at the moment. but dave wanted something new to read so dave read THIS!!!!!
I don't much enjoy being a receptionist. also allergies that lead to sinus infection that lead to fluid buildup in the ear are not fun at all. but such is life. which really is going quite well. i really have been blessed and i do enjoy being a student and really can't wait until school starts again. there's just something about being on campus that feels so good. well take care for now.

The greatest commandment

2005-06-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

something I've noticed while having discusions with people is that it seems to be a christian is either all about loving God, worshiping, revernecing, standing in awe of, learning about him, etc. or loving our neighbors by serving them, fighting injustice and oppression, speaking out for the widow, the orphan and the poor, etc. Yet in one form or another each of the synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) give us the greatest commandment. "To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strenghth and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as your self." Which is qouted from the book of Deuteronomy. In each account some one who is well versed in the Law stands up to challenge Jesus, in two of the accounts Jesus replys with this verse, in one he draws out the qoute and then defines who a neighbor is. In each account though it is important to notice that both Loving God and Loving our neighbor are given as commandments. We cannot stand one without the other. Confessionally, I feel that for a large part of my life I have been very content and very focused on the first part. I have tried to play it out with a genuine and true heart, seeking hard to know and love God. The only problem is I forgot half the equation. I need the other one to make my two. I'm beginning to realize that and see that. This does not mean that I begin to neglect the first and seek only to love my neighbor, for this would leave me in the same bind as I often now find myself in. I must seek to do both. As I look around and observe those around me, I get the sense that I am not alone in trying to figure out this greatest commandment. I see people each vehmently struggling to live out one of these to the neglect of the other, I see individuals trying to live out both and I see some trying to do neither. I guess basically what I'm trying to get across is that we need to be a community and individuals who practice both of these things. We we cannot have one without the other. It would be like peanut butter without jelly.

i'm sitting and pondering the purpose of my existence...

2005-06-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

First thought...work can be really slow and boring or really fast, busy and annoying...conclusion i should probably not look to expand my career horizions as a receptionist.

Second thought...the internet is a good time waster...i manage to spend most of my eight hours checking and rechecking personal weblogs...i should read more.

third thought...they are hiring someone to fill my position here on a full-time basis...that person is not me.

forth thought...my girlfriend makes me smile...sappy i know but its true and genuine.

fifth thought...date night will be on fridays...i'm looking forward to this, dates are fun and i also have a really cool, really beautiful girl to take on dates.

sixth thought...justin spurlock is one cool guy...i'm not sure if he even checks this but just so you know he's pretty awesome, always up for some conversation, good at being a springboard for ideas, and just an all around good person to hang out with.

seven and final thought...life is really good...one more year of college, have some semninary apps. to start on, figure out how to finance semniary, some wonderful high school students to hang out with, a beautiful girlfriend whose presence in a room makes me light up, great friends, wonderful family (like grandma who lets me stay at her house free of charge and even makes me food to boot), so yeah life is good.

I hope you enjoyed this. I'm off to read and immerse myself in some cool narratives. maybe i'll post about them later. it should be fun.

Somethings from the past few days

2005-06-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

1. Texas is awesome. Had so much fun going, even if there are no mountains. They had so crazy historians giving the 'real' Kendey assatination story. It was incredible. Micah is now married and it was fun watching him get that way. The reception was also good times. Only down fall to Texas was my wonderful and beautiful girlfriend was still in california.

2. I really really missed my girlfriend and she really missed me. Which I think is a very good thing. I was incredible to be able to come home and get to hang out with her. She real is amazing and for those of you that read this and don't know her, I'm sorry. But hopefully one day you will. And if you want to know more about her and her awesomeness you can just feel free to email me or call me, I'll tell you all about it and then some.

3. For those that would wish to give me crap about the last point go check out cleave's blog. yeah, ya haters just need to put it in perspective. I mean really guys this sit is about me and she's part of me so she's bound to make it up here every now and then and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

4. My friends reallly are cool people. I mean really now we went to texas and functioned off like 5 hours of sleep for a few days to support an awesome brother and friend on his day.

5. life is great. take time to soak it up. take time to hold some one's hand. give some one a hug. embrace all that you've been surrounded with and you will not be disappointed.

6. growing up is challenging and furstrating, but hey we all have to do it. and I mean plenty of people have done it before and they all seem to be ok.

7. its good to have best friends. friends that you can just sit and be with. that you can share life with. that you can encourage and support. that you can laugh with. love with. dance with. run with. cry with. and pretty much just live with.

8. I can make decisions.

9. its time for pizza so peace out homies.

10. I love you all, thanks for reading.

ps. I love you jessica leanne you really do amazes me and you give me butterflies, i'm in love with you.

2005-05-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

1. Lazy days are always fun to share with people...when your younger siblings graduate from high school its time to realize that they kept growing up after you left home...why does finding a job have to be so much work

2. my summer shall consist of work (both my current 8 hour a week receptionist position and *cross my fingers* starbucks), finding a place to live, hanging out with my girlfriend and friends, volunteering at the hospital and church, so it should be fun

3. work can be slow at times and I need to start going to the gym again. feeling rather out of shape.

somethings to know

2005-05-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

1. randomly stopping at a park to play tag is fun....going in search of swings and finding them is more fun....recieving a huge hug and word of encouragement when you need it is the most fun.

2. this is something I think people should read so that maybe they'll learn a little about me and what I believe.

Write a brief statement of your personal faith describing what you believe about God, Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit and your relationship to them.
I believe that God the Father created the whole of the universe both physical and spiritual realms through his word, Jesus Christ, and breathed life into it with his breath, the Holy Spirit. I believe that it is one God in three unique and individual persons, the Holy Trinity. I believe that God sits in sovereign rule over his creation and has chosen to redeem man through the grace offered by Christ’s act on the cross and the salvation made available through his resurrection on the third day. I have accepted Christ, through the grace and mercy of God, by faith and now try to model my life after his, living a redemptive life of discipleship. I believe that God lives in me, as well as, all believers through his Holy Spirit thus creating the body and fellowship of believers that is the Church universal. I believe that though I was a sinner, destined to die, Christ died for me that through faith in him I my have eternal life. I believe that through my faith I have become a beloved child of God and been allowed to enter into the service of his glorious Kingdom. I believe that God continues to speak to his creation acting upon it in both physical and spiritual ways through his Holy Spirit playing out his eternal and redemptive purposes.

post THIS!!!!

2005-05-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

THIIISSSS!!!!!

Some more stuff found while doing homework

2005-05-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Though the book(Job) raises and discusses a number of key issues, it offers no clear and difinitive answers even to the questiono f innocent suffering. In some ways, it is enough that if establishes the fact clearly and forcefully that ther is innocent suffering. No simple and straightforward solution is possible. One cannot just explain it away with smug formulas and prepackaged answers.
Implicit in the discussion as well is the issue of theological language or "God-talk." Is it possible for the human mind, with human words and concpets to "explain" God and God's actions? The Book of Job provides a clear negative to this question. In so doing, the work affirms divine freedom and preserves the ultimate mystery that inevitably separates the transcendant Creator form mortal creatures.
-Anthony Ceresko

Catholicism

2005-05-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

I think I like some of the things these people believe. I want to learn more. Not that I'm going to become one. But considering that they have been the Church for a couple thousand years I think their doctrine and traditions at least merit examination and reflection. I'm going to take a look at some of this stuff. I'm going to reflect and listen.

36 hours and two weeks

2005-04-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

So in the next 36 hours I have to write a 12 page paper on Locke, Hume, and Kant dealing with their views on faith and reason. Then I have a bunch of other stuff to do in the next few weeks. I just may die. Lets hope not though. peace.

So when is this going to happen....

2005-04-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well the new Mac OS is coming out soon. So far we've had Panther, Jaguar and now Tiger. My question is when are we going to see Liger. Its only the best animal ever, know for its totally awesome magic powers.

Time

2005-04-18T22:50:00.000-07:00

Time slips away like sand running through my fingers.

Should Be

2005-04-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

Should Be reading, should be writing.
Should be thinking, should be caring.
should be living, should be knowing.

Somewhere between here and there I forgot.
to read. to listen. to live.

should be in bed. should be sleeping.
should be laughing. should be learning.
should be musing. should be creating.

Somewhere between there and here I discovered.
to love. to seek. to know.

to read. to listen. to live.
to seek. to know. to love.

this is just something to post. take it for what it is nothing more.

things happen

2005-03-29T22:28:00.001-08:00

don't hit people. no matter whats going on around you there's no need to strike another person, save maybe a situation where your life or that of someone else is or maybe in danger.

also the mail machine at work is a real hoot.

thats it for now

I really should be doing homework.

something i read today while doing homework

2005-03-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

Anthony R Ceresko writes:
"Finally, the theological insightfulness and genius of the Deuteronomists is perhaps best seen in the theme of 'the heart,' a term that appears forty-one times in the book of Deuteronomy alone. It occurs, for example, in the passage on "the Great Commandment," quoted by Jesus in the Gospels: "Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Dt 6:5; see Mt 22:34-40; Mk 12:28-31; Lk 10:25-28).
With this theme of "the heart" we have, perhaps for the first time in human history, the recognition of the centrality of motivation in the God-human relationship. The Deuteronomists take us below the level of action and behavior to a deeper level. The external aspects of religion-words and actions-are not sufficent. Even more important is the internal: a mind and a will that are aware of and acknowledge the sovereignty of God; a heart, in other words, that accepts and commits itself to the loyalty and obediance that the covenant commands."

Now doesn't that make like half of the old testament just a little more exciting and eye opening. God wants hearts. Engaged persons. Active and seeking with internal thoughts and longings. Our faith is not played out in the external arena alone but in the internal striff and struggle that forms our identity and shapes our humanity. The old testament provides a compelling narrative, communicating the truth of this as it is played out in the lives of the characters in this work. It is a grand thing to study and learn.

Historical Validity vs. Truth

2005-03-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

Why do we associate historical validity with truth? For instance just because something is not historically true does not mean that it conveys no truth.
I think that this idea is bound up and connected to our notions of scriptural inerrancy. Why do all of the events in the biblical text have to be historically accurate for the work as a whole to be deemed true. (note: I am not prompting any sort or type of altering to make the text more historically true.) I find that once the issue of historical validity is broched that the text fails in many places for many reasons. Though I am not really all that bothered by this because I think that once we approach the text with this frame of reference, that being to prove or disprove, validate or unvalidate our beliefs based on historical accuracy, we have missed the point. The text is meant to form and shape us. It is here to be the living word, to provide release and freedom to the captives. So why do we lock it into the one frame of reference. Just some thoughts. Please feel free to dialogue with me over this. I am far from set and attached to any particular stance. Also for the sake of discussion could someone provide me with a good and conscise definition of scriptural inerrancy.
So for now faithful readers chew on these thoughts and may God bless you and keep and may his face shine upon you.

lots of stuff to do.

2005-03-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

yeah so lots of stuff to do. job interview today. men's retreat this weekend. meetings today and plenty of homework. deep breath. i can get through it. i know i can. but doing things like posting are not helping, so i'll put up some sort of thought provoking post later. much later. thats it for now. eric signing off.

this post is a dedication

2005-02-26T00:18:00.000-08:00

So yeah once in a great while I should dedicate a post to something or rather I should say someone. I don't really recall having ever, ever done this. We maybe once or something like that, so needless to say it is very special.
Yeah so have any of you ever seen a ninja doing like barrel-rolls into flying twisting backflips as the flipped out and went nuts. Yeah if you have then you know just how TOTALLY cooll and awesome that it would be both to see that and the aftermath of that. And in case that's a little much for you just imagine the joy of reading old year book messages and finding out that if you were in Africa and a friend of the Elephants they could save you from drowning. Its true a second grader told me so. Or perhaps you could just get all of this totally stellar awesomeness another and I dare say much more easily attained way.
What way is that Eric? you might be asking.
well faithful readers that brings me to the point of my dedication. Because all you really have to do to experience the awesomeness that is elf-friends, elephants, ninjas, ballon-animals, mixed in with an incredible amount of beauty, charm, laughter and just flat out amazingness is to spend an hour or two with my wonderful girlfriend Jessica Leanne and her wity "for reals somebody" bitsy boo. Yes ladies and gentlemen that is who this post is for and what this post is about. The totally and completely awesome nature of these two unique, wonderful and heart-warming individuals. Some time with them is bound to cure you of anything you thought you had wrong with you and give you memories of days and years. They may poke and prod and sometimes even bit. But in the end there are few others who I'd rather spend a saturday night with. So this one's for you Jess and bisty you both rock my face off. Hope this is up to your standards and take care you internet stalkers. Now both of you comment then get back to more productive things.

some thoughts on things we should and shouldn't do

2005-02-21T00:45:00.000-08:00

We've all done the worst thing ever. Now it may be a different worst thing for each person reading this, but the fact remains the same that each one of us can think of a time in life that was the worst, the thing we did that was so bad we can't tell anyone. Why is that? Why is it that I feel safer discussing my mistakes and short-comings with the qoute unchristian influences in my life while I remain scared to death to bring up the topics with the christians who are supposed to love me no matter what? Now before you get me wrong, don't think that I'm advocating that we all just break out and parade our dirty laundry, but why is it that even if most of us wanted to we could never feel safe doing it in this group? Is it because others will judge us? Because the group will realize we fuck up just like everyone else? Yes I just used a bad word? What went though your head? What do you think of me now? I don't know what it is that you are thinking, but I did that to prove a point. Odds are you don't think of me in the same way. And odds are those of you that really know me knew exactly what I was doing. You know though the sad thing is its not just our group that struggles with being real and coming to the table with the REAL ISSUES that are in our lives. Most groups that I've been a part of face this same problem. Most of us suck at it. I understand that some of us are by nature more private and reserved. Thats not exactly what I'm getting at either. Its time to grow up and start being mature in our faith. We all have questions we all deal with tuff things. Its time to start loving each other. And its time to start being each other me included. Now I also don't think this is the best forum to do that in. This is mere meant to get real life conversations going. Please you guys read this and I urge you start talking to one another, start asking questions, start being honest, open up, ask tough things. And most of all remember that this is not about being bad or parading the things we're ashamed of, its about removing judgement, fear, guilt and secrets that have burdened us for far to long. Please seek after each other win hearts back love and make disciples not converts. Accept but don't enable, teach and encourage but do not condem. Its not your palce. Seek out the positives in the lives of those around you and praise them. Remember 1 John 5:17, "all wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." Your brothers and sisters need a hug and a listening ear, a word of encouragement, not you judgements on right and wrong and what a good life is. Odds are they already know those things and you reminding them will do nothing but throw more weight on their backs. If they don't then I'm sure God will make it apparent that you need to talk to them about such things. Outside of the please start catching people instead of pushing them further down.

ordination

2005-02-09T23:46:00.000-08:00

eric: UPC session (elders of the church) will you agree to take me under care and begin the ordination process?
UPC: Eric yes we will.

this was a very good and very big evening in my life. one that i will often recall over the coming years. last night a community of faith stood up and attested to my call and involvement among them. they agreed to help me discern the call and voice of god as i consider ministry as a vocation. they affirmed me in my journey thus far and offered to walk with my as brothers and sisters, as the body of christ. it is a powerful thing. i very much look forward to the rest of this process. to listening and training my ear to the voice of god. what a marvelous and frightening adventure i am on. blessing on yall who read this. today is a good day.

new eyes

2005-02-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

As I learn and grow and become more 'academic' I am becoming more and more aware there is a great need to approach scripture with new and fresh eyes. We need eyes as devoid as possible of the two millenia of junk that has begun to cloud them. These scriptures were composed by a people for a people, often with few or no cultural contections to us. I think we have done a great injustice both to ourselves and to the author's who composed these works when we force them into our own context and time. Do get me wrong, they and their message are very much relavant to us today. It is not that which I am questioning. Rather it is the way in which we read ourselves and our culture and our ideals and our dreams and our motovations into the text only to read them back out. We actually negelect relavent and useful information when we learn and grow in the text because it may make it 'less spiritual.' We are frightened when learned men say that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob may not have been actually related or that the Exodous most likely didn't occur and the Hebrew peoples who became the nation of Israel were rather social outcasts who bound themselves together in the hill country of ancient Syria-Palestine weaving together the stories and traditions that would later give them their identity when the took power. These stories are the same that we read in out bibles today. The speak to the maginifcent and glorious character of this one people and their one God. Why do we feel the need to fight these things? Our scripture was written with intention and purpose by men who were smart and who sought to understand who they were. In the pages of their writings they find themselves and the God who yields them their identity by playing an active role in shaping them and the events around them. This is how they came to understand there world. So does it really matter that some of there stories are written in ways that are not Historically acurate? They still express the same things. Now I know this can be taken to an extreme by those who do not understand what is beings said. So I'll say what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that they sat down and made these things up. They told there story. Over and over they told it. And through the years some parts were more emphaised than others and others were altered so as to speak to the current time and place communicating how they now saw themselves and understood how they got there. It is also important to note that the bible is filled with different generes of writing each needing to be handled in a different way. And most of this post applys to the Old Testament, with limited application to the New Testament. At any rate, I think a new and fresh look at scripture is needed. When was the last time you actually read what was in your bible and not just reread your same old assumptions and knowledge?

Quid es veritas?

2005-01-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

Quid es veritas? Pilot's famous or maybe infamous words to Jesus, who had earlier declared himself to be via et veritas et vita-the way and the TRUTH and the life. This is a powerful thing. For in this Christ declared himself to be the truth. To be the absolute truth, the truth through which all other things have their being. And most importantly in the person of Christ truth is knowable. Christ emboding truth opened an avenue by which we may know the truth. It is through him that we know truth.

Latin lesson 1

2005-01-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

For latin lesson one we will take a quick look at verbs. by the way learning latin WILL change your life and it WILL make you a better person. We'll look at the verb laudo, which means praise.
Singular Plural

1st laudo laudamus

2nd laudas laudatis

3rd luadat laudant

this is the conjugation of the present active indicative of the 1st conjugation verb laudo. enjoy.

posting

2005-01-18T01:05:00.000-08:00

well I would like to post things of actual substance and content here. so sorry if the posts aren't very frequent. there are however only like two people that even come to this site. I'm sure I'll have something to post soon. so do stay tuned.

meaning

2005-01-03T13:15:00.000-08:00

"No matter how ruined man and his world may seem to be, and no matter how terrible man's despair may become, as long as he continues to be a man his very humanity continues to tell him that life has a meaning."
-Thomas Merton