So every Saturday, these two JW missionaries come by. In spirit of charity, I talk to them, although I wish it could be more intellectually stimulating. The two missionaries are usually African Amerian, or Francophone African-Caribbean-Americans, the more populous of the two black group of the two in Boston.
Anyway, they give me an opportunity to study scripture, albeit in a slightly warped way. We discussed (or butted heads on) our diverging views on eschatology. Recently, they keep hammering at "Why is there suffering in the world?" Due to this quick scripture study I had, I can now tell you that (1) it is ok to ask God why , as stated in Habakkuk, and (2) God has his own ways as stated in Isaiah 55:8-9. They have influenced me! oh no! ;) I wish we could talk about more deeper issues, but they are not very responsive.
I try to point out that sola scriptura approach, especially if the bible was translated to fit a particular theology, is dangerous. But I end up sounding like I don't regard the study of the scriptures as crucial in our faith formation, and too my horror, realizing I am guilty of that very issue of not studying the scriptures as well as I could. I do have a tendency to simply own volumes of apologetic material by people like Steven Kellmeyer, and looking up stuff only when necessary.
So I see this opportunity to dialog, to learn about the scriptures albeit in an odd way, and also flex some intellectual/scriptural/theology muscle I have acquired over the years. I am good at learning all these things, but I don't know what good this does to the church. I haven't really been given chance to teach the faith or witness verbally, so perhaps this is a chance. It means that I have to prepare my own discourse as well. Certainly, this is a chance to share the fullness of truth with these missionaries. The Francophone African-Caribbean guy is a non-practicing Catholic, so the mission is even more important in that sense!
Any tips, comments on talking with JW folks? My dad once managed to scare them away by teaching them things about the faith, which is one likely outcome for me as well.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Young adult group at BC, church choir, surprise visit
9/12/Wed. I made the cut for BCE, so I decided to join this group, because it is small (~30), and it does more unique repertoire. I decided to go check out the young adult group at St. Ignatius on Boston College campus. Again, I had to drive through Chestnut hill, (ewww!). By a miracle, I found the meeting location. I forgot to check the exact building that the meeting was in, so when I arrived, I managed to go into the church, find a bulletin, call the receptionist, who was actually there until 8pm, who told me to go to the rectory. Praise God! For a moment I thought this wasn't meant to be, but apparently it was!
The YAG meeting had ~10 people, from various parts of the city. We studied the previous Sunday's reading, (similar to UGAP). Sunday reading study is the normal activity for this group. Since BC is Jesuit, we talked about Jesuit spirituality a bit.
9/13/Thr. We sent off 3 abstracts to GSA conference in November in San Francisco
This is an aging conference, so I am curious to see what stuff is there. I hope the abstracts get accepted! Getting them out in time was quite stressful, but I left work early to get my car/license registered in Massachusettes.
The registry of motor vehicles is located in Chinatown area. It is open late on Thursdays, and I tried sooo hard to make sure I got there before 5pm to beat the evening influx, but alas, no. Surprisingly, the process was rather painless, as their system to handle different needs were pretty efficient. I met another soul from Texas (Dallas area), who is an opthamologist at one of the hospitals in town (don't remember which).
Then I went to Holy Name of Jesus Parish in my neighborhood. It takes me ~3 minutes to get there by car, but I had to park far away, so it defeated the purpose of driving. The church is cruciform, and it is gorgeous inside. This is also the seemlingly the only parish that has a music director and a separate organist. The director is ~55 yo baritone, who sings really well, and negotiates the tenor parts rather well. There are 2 other men in the choir who sing bass, so I sang tenor as well. I thought I recovered from the cold, but apparently I didn't, as repeated E4's were too much to sing at the time. The director and I chatted about the music at the Cathedral, and apparently he sings there for archdiocesan events.
9/14/F. I decided to relax, then get a call from a family friend from Chicago. Her daugher goes to Harvard, so she came to drop her off, and wanted to get together with me. After all, I haven't seen them in many years. She got a hotel room in Dedham, MA for some reason, not realizing how far it is from Harvard (~20 miles via highway). After receiving the call ~5:45pm, we don't meet until ~7:30 pm in Dedham, and then drove back to Harvard (which is actually in Cambridge, MA, not in Boston, as I found out). We had dinner at a Korean restaurant, which wasn't all that good. I was rather surprised, but there aren't really too many choices. In Roslindale area, other than the Sushi place, there is no Korean food within 10 miles, as far as I know. Then we drove back to Dedham, and I drove home. Whew!
9.15. Sat. So I decided to relax at home, and recover. I was feeling really un-well during work on Friday, .. So here I am. The Jehovah's witnesses who come by every Saturday morning came by again. I specifially told them that I won't be around next week.
That's all for now!
The YAG meeting had ~10 people, from various parts of the city. We studied the previous Sunday's reading, (similar to UGAP). Sunday reading study is the normal activity for this group. Since BC is Jesuit, we talked about Jesuit spirituality a bit.
9/13/Thr. We sent off 3 abstracts to GSA conference in November in San Francisco
This is an aging conference, so I am curious to see what stuff is there. I hope the abstracts get accepted! Getting them out in time was quite stressful, but I left work early to get my car/license registered in Massachusettes.
The registry of motor vehicles is located in Chinatown area. It is open late on Thursdays, and I tried sooo hard to make sure I got there before 5pm to beat the evening influx, but alas, no. Surprisingly, the process was rather painless, as their system to handle different needs were pretty efficient. I met another soul from Texas (Dallas area), who is an opthamologist at one of the hospitals in town (don't remember which).
Then I went to Holy Name of Jesus Parish in my neighborhood. It takes me ~3 minutes to get there by car, but I had to park far away, so it defeated the purpose of driving. The church is cruciform, and it is gorgeous inside. This is also the seemlingly the only parish that has a music director and a separate organist. The director is ~55 yo baritone, who sings really well, and negotiates the tenor parts rather well. There are 2 other men in the choir who sing bass, so I sang tenor as well. I thought I recovered from the cold, but apparently I didn't, as repeated E4's were too much to sing at the time. The director and I chatted about the music at the Cathedral, and apparently he sings there for archdiocesan events.
9/14/F. I decided to relax, then get a call from a family friend from Chicago. Her daugher goes to Harvard, so she came to drop her off, and wanted to get together with me. After all, I haven't seen them in many years. She got a hotel room in Dedham, MA for some reason, not realizing how far it is from Harvard (~20 miles via highway). After receiving the call ~5:45pm, we don't meet until ~7:30 pm in Dedham, and then drove back to Harvard (which is actually in Cambridge, MA, not in Boston, as I found out). We had dinner at a Korean restaurant, which wasn't all that good. I was rather surprised, but there aren't really too many choices. In Roslindale area, other than the Sushi place, there is no Korean food within 10 miles, as far as I know. Then we drove back to Dedham, and I drove home. Whew!
9.15. Sat. So I decided to relax at home, and recover. I was feeling really un-well during work on Friday, .. So here I am. The Jehovah's witnesses who come by every Saturday morning came by again. I specifially told them that I won't be around next week.
That's all for now!
Furniture shopping, Auditions, trying to have a "life"
So, last weekend, I managed to do some shopping. The area had lots of garage/yard/rummage sales, so I stocked up. I don't have much cash, so I didn't get to splurge too much.
I got this Ethan Allen chair for $50 at Boomerangs, which is a thrift store in Jamaica Plain (adjoining neighborhood, in the direction of Boston city center). (all pictures
approximate)And a $20 sphere chair from a garage sale
Then I went to a farmer's market in my neighborhood. Farmer's market produce is really expensive, but they are much better tasting! They had an heirloom variety of tomatoes that look like cherries, but very different from cherry tomatoes. They taste more like cherries than cherry tomatoes. Yum.
Past week has been a whirlwind of activity as I have been attempting to have a "life."
9/8/Sat - decided that after all that shopping, I should rest, but then decided that I shouldn't spend Sat. night alone, so I went to a house/coffeehouse music event called JP unplugged
Got to hear some singer-songwriters. The opening act was good, but I didn't care much for the main act.
9/9/Sun - decided to sing at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Driving there only took ~22 minutes, to my surprise. We celebrated the titular solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, rather than the regular 23rd OT. We sang at the front, behind the ambo. It was very difficult to hear anything. As typical of many churches around the Northeast, there are lots of big beautiful churches with a very few people, and not a lot of singing. The 9/2 Sunday mass I attended at St. John Chrystostom was unique in that people actively sang!
I realized that morning I had a cold of some sort, which made me tired on Saturday.
In the afternoon, I dragged myself to drive to Needham, MA (20 min away) for an Alexander Technique lesson with a teacher who teaches voice at Wellesley. We worked on some voice things, which was very informative.
That evening, I went to audition for Boston Cecilia, one of the oldest choirs in the US, apparently. I got in, but wanted to shop around some more. The rehearsals are in Brookline, which forces me to drive through Chestnut Hill, which is really, really confusing.
9/10/monday. I discover that the vending machines at work are emptied at 3pm on MWF, giving me free food!!! All the food at Hebrew Rehab. Ctr (HRC) are Kosher, but there are pancakes, sandwiches, soups, etc. available at the vending machine.
Monday night was an open rehearsal for Boston Choral Ensemble, a very young, new group, that meets in downtown Boston. Driving into downtown was SCARY.. at first, since I didin't really know where I was going. Fortunately I found parking not too far away.
the upcoming concert is madrigals of different sorts. Including Les Chanson des Oiseaux, which we sang at Texas Early Music Project last year. Good readers, definitely a young, hip, etc. type group.
9/11/Tuesday. Somehow I ended up with a 9:30-10pm audition slot for BCE, but driving up there wasn't so bad. found parking at the exact same place as Monday night.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Greetings from Boston!
Sorry I have been away from UGAP presence for a while, but I had to finish writing my dissertation up though Labor Day. But it is now out of my hands, Thank God, and I pray that my committee likes it! I will be back in Austin to defend in 2 weeks!!
And then, I went to California for 5 days, etc., so I actually haven't really been around Boston enough to say much about the city. Boston is definitely cooler in temperature, and in the morning or evenings, it is a light jacket weather.
Work environment is good so far, and I live really close, so I can ride my bicycle (which I got for free-more on this later). I live next to the commuter rail station Roslindale Village.
I live just outside of the subway ("T") range, which is a bit annoying. So I drive to many places, which is something unusual for someone who lives in Boston. Parking is difficult, but if I drive away from the city center, then it is fine.
As I haven't been out much, I haven't connected with a young adult community here, so that will have to wait until next week. Likewise, I have been floating between neighborhood churches, of which there are several within 5 minutes of driving. I think I may join the young adult group at St. Ignatius, a parish sort of inside Boston College. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/prs/stign/index.html
I was really hoping to join a group not affiliated with a university, but my schedule doesn't seem to allow much else. Boston College (BC) is Jesuit, so the group could be interesting or irritating.
Today, I decided to go to the Cathedral to join their choir. Of 10 people in the choir, 4 of them are hired section leaders. The distinction between the volunteers and professionals are a bit abrupt - after 1 hour of rehearsal, the "professionals" continued to work on some nicer/harder/ repertoire that I don't get to sing. Other repertoire is nice, though. Most importantly, it takes 45 minutes each way to go back and forth from my apartment! That is just way too much! So I don't think I want to go back. I should have gone to another young adult group meeting instead, on retrospect. The South End neighborhood (where the cathedral is) is nice, though, but probably very expensive. Anyway, I am rather moody because I am tired, and that may be coloring my perception too.
I am thinking that I am going to Holy Name parish instead (3 minutes away). They sing contemporary stuff, but it is still good. I guess I will have to get musical fix somewhere else. It may be that I am too fixated on what I want out of church choir rather than how I should give to the Body of Christ.
Not having had time to do much else also meant that I don't have furniture. I don't have a couch, which is just really really annoying. I also don't have decent chairs. Fortunately, there is a rummage sale at a neighborhood church on Saturday, so I will definitely make use of it! But if I want nice stuff, I should go to rummage sales in rich neighborhoods.. oh well.
I got my first real paycheck - except they took out almost 25% in taxes from the paycheck. Ouch. We pay state income tax in MA.
Post-doc life is very different. I work in a large clinical research center, so there are groups of people who do different things: some people only do data collection; others only do stats; others only do analyses. Different from being a graduate student, where I had to all of the above.
I am also not doing much biomechanics or engineering, but learning to do epidemiology, which is a very big shift in thinking and learning. I don't really interact with other scientists/professors, etc., so it is not as congenial as I'd like it to be. Then again, I've only been there 2 months.
If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment!
And then, I went to California for 5 days, etc., so I actually haven't really been around Boston enough to say much about the city. Boston is definitely cooler in temperature, and in the morning or evenings, it is a light jacket weather.
Work environment is good so far, and I live really close, so I can ride my bicycle (which I got for free-more on this later). I live next to the commuter rail station Roslindale Village.
I live just outside of the subway ("T") range, which is a bit annoying. So I drive to many places, which is something unusual for someone who lives in Boston. Parking is difficult, but if I drive away from the city center, then it is fine.
As I haven't been out much, I haven't connected with a young adult community here, so that will have to wait until next week. Likewise, I have been floating between neighborhood churches, of which there are several within 5 minutes of driving. I think I may join the young adult group at St. Ignatius, a parish sort of inside Boston College. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/prs/stign/index.html
I was really hoping to join a group not affiliated with a university, but my schedule doesn't seem to allow much else. Boston College (BC) is Jesuit, so the group could be interesting or irritating.
Today, I decided to go to the Cathedral to join their choir. Of 10 people in the choir, 4 of them are hired section leaders. The distinction between the volunteers and professionals are a bit abrupt - after 1 hour of rehearsal, the "professionals" continued to work on some nicer/harder/ repertoire that I don't get to sing. Other repertoire is nice, though. Most importantly, it takes 45 minutes each way to go back and forth from my apartment! That is just way too much! So I don't think I want to go back. I should have gone to another young adult group meeting instead, on retrospect. The South End neighborhood (where the cathedral is) is nice, though, but probably very expensive. Anyway, I am rather moody because I am tired, and that may be coloring my perception too.
I am thinking that I am going to Holy Name parish instead (3 minutes away). They sing contemporary stuff, but it is still good. I guess I will have to get musical fix somewhere else. It may be that I am too fixated on what I want out of church choir rather than how I should give to the Body of Christ.
Not having had time to do much else also meant that I don't have furniture. I don't have a couch, which is just really really annoying. I also don't have decent chairs. Fortunately, there is a rummage sale at a neighborhood church on Saturday, so I will definitely make use of it! But if I want nice stuff, I should go to rummage sales in rich neighborhoods.. oh well.
I got my first real paycheck - except they took out almost 25% in taxes from the paycheck. Ouch. We pay state income tax in MA.
Post-doc life is very different. I work in a large clinical research center, so there are groups of people who do different things: some people only do data collection; others only do stats; others only do analyses. Different from being a graduate student, where I had to all of the above.
I am also not doing much biomechanics or engineering, but learning to do epidemiology, which is a very big shift in thinking and learning. I don't really interact with other scientists/professors, etc., so it is not as congenial as I'd like it to be. Then again, I've only been there 2 months.
If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment!
Friday, April 27, 2007
"Masculine" Genius
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=106436
click here
Zenit has an interview of Anthony Esolen, who is a frequent contributor to Crisis magazine
The title parallels the term "feminine genius" used by the late John Paul II's 1988 apostolic letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women, Mulieris Dignitatem, A good commentary on this document can be found here.
Briefly, feminine genius (genius here means unique qualities) refers to things such as women's ability to bear children, their relational nature, their nurturing nature, the reflection of humanity in general in front of God, their model of openness to God, emotions. Modern feminism has corrupted this by telling women that their dignity is based on power, money and control - the things that are reflective of men's (males) fallen nature.
So what are unique qualities of men that are natural to them? According to Esolen, these could include their affinity for organization, leadership, complex structures, etc.
On reading that, I thought "That's so me! This really speaks to who I am!" Then I realized that having these affinities no longer make me that special. Alas. But it certainly explains my affinity for complex structures such as the economy, airline industry, logistics, operations research, optimizing TV/Video settings, teaching, data reduction, etc.
And it also helps me realize that women in general are not so attuned to these things (I am sure there are women who are very good at these things) in the way men are. Therefore it is unreasonable to expect women around me to like these things like the way I do.
However, I need to become aware of their feminine genius and help them bring it out in them - although women probably can help each other much better than I ever can.
click here
Zenit has an interview of Anthony Esolen, who is a frequent contributor to Crisis magazine
The title parallels the term "feminine genius" used by the late John Paul II's 1988 apostolic letter on the Dignity and Vocation of Women, Mulieris Dignitatem, A good commentary on this document can be found here.
Briefly, feminine genius (genius here means unique qualities) refers to things such as women's ability to bear children, their relational nature, their nurturing nature, the reflection of humanity in general in front of God, their model of openness to God, emotions. Modern feminism has corrupted this by telling women that their dignity is based on power, money and control - the things that are reflective of men's (males) fallen nature.
So what are unique qualities of men that are natural to them? According to Esolen, these could include their affinity for organization, leadership, complex structures, etc.
On reading that, I thought "That's so me! This really speaks to who I am!" Then I realized that having these affinities no longer make me that special. Alas. But it certainly explains my affinity for complex structures such as the economy, airline industry, logistics, operations research, optimizing TV/Video settings, teaching, data reduction, etc.
And it also helps me realize that women in general are not so attuned to these things (I am sure there are women who are very good at these things) in the way men are. Therefore it is unreasonable to expect women around me to like these things like the way I do.
However, I need to become aware of their feminine genius and help them bring it out in them - although women probably can help each other much better than I ever can.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Economist on "Evolution and Religion" -In the Beginning
Article available here:
http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9036706
I am rather surprised how well they covered this issue.
They bring three Catholic thinkers into the picture:
1. Father George Coyne, past head of the Vatican Observatory
2. His holiness Pope Benedict XVI (I recently learned that I simply can't read Roman numerals)
3. Fr. Joseph Fessio, Provost of Ave Maria University
What distinguishes these three?
Fr. Coyne has worked to preserve a Chinese Wall between physics and metaphysics, which allows him to side with agnostics in issues of science and the scientific method. He is among secular scientists who agree that agreeing on physics doesn't mean you have to agree to metaphysics or religion.
Fr. Fessio is of the opinion that while the Chinese wall is fine, but Darwinists (here I define them as those who hold Darwinism as a religion, even though they won't admit to it) and secularists are trying to tear it down. These are those who believe that scientific observations leave no room for religion or God (including those who say that religion itself is a phenomenon of man's evolutionary needs).
Benedict, brilliant as he is, can be more picky in what he means: scientific descriptions are valid as far as they go, but they are incomplete at the end. And the theory of evolution cannot be proven conclusively. He is anti-Darwinism, for sure, but he also does not support "God of the gaps" idea: gaps in the evolutionary science can only be filled by the supernatural.
All three men's critical insight is rather well portrayed in this article, and it does not do these men disservice.
Of course, there is nothing in natural sciences that derive from empirical data that can be "proved." Only mathematical theorems can be proved, because we have defined the language of mathematics. Observations can only support a certain idea, not "prove" it.
The current North American formulation of "intelligent design" suffers from some critical flaws:
1. most of it is a knee-jerk reaction to secularism, and hiding in the Biblical metaphysics for cover, when the issue of un-reason must be dealt in the realm of reason. This probably comes from the inadequate education we received in how to think.
2. By shunning science, it shuns reason, one of the critical element of the human intellect created by God. It downgrades the role of reason in scientific discourse, and does disservice to those of us who do science.
3. Secularism should be fought on metaphysical grounds, not on the turf of natural science.
Meanwhile, if anyone can read French and or German, please translate these for us Americans who can't:
"Atlas of Creation" by Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar) - making waves in French, Arabic, Urdu and Bahasa-speaking places in the world. It is a criticism of Darwinism
http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9036706
I am rather surprised how well they covered this issue.
They bring three Catholic thinkers into the picture:
1. Father George Coyne, past head of the Vatican Observatory
2. His holiness Pope Benedict XVI (I recently learned that I simply can't read Roman numerals)
3. Fr. Joseph Fessio, Provost of Ave Maria University
What distinguishes these three?
Fr. Coyne has worked to preserve a Chinese Wall between physics and metaphysics, which allows him to side with agnostics in issues of science and the scientific method. He is among secular scientists who agree that agreeing on physics doesn't mean you have to agree to metaphysics or religion.
Fr. Fessio is of the opinion that while the Chinese wall is fine, but Darwinists (here I define them as those who hold Darwinism as a religion, even though they won't admit to it) and secularists are trying to tear it down. These are those who believe that scientific observations leave no room for religion or God (including those who say that religion itself is a phenomenon of man's evolutionary needs).
Benedict, brilliant as he is, can be more picky in what he means: scientific descriptions are valid as far as they go, but they are incomplete at the end. And the theory of evolution cannot be proven conclusively. He is anti-Darwinism, for sure, but he also does not support "God of the gaps" idea: gaps in the evolutionary science can only be filled by the supernatural.
All three men's critical insight is rather well portrayed in this article, and it does not do these men disservice.
Of course, there is nothing in natural sciences that derive from empirical data that can be "proved." Only mathematical theorems can be proved, because we have defined the language of mathematics. Observations can only support a certain idea, not "prove" it.
The current North American formulation of "intelligent design" suffers from some critical flaws:
1. most of it is a knee-jerk reaction to secularism, and hiding in the Biblical metaphysics for cover, when the issue of un-reason must be dealt in the realm of reason. This probably comes from the inadequate education we received in how to think.
2. By shunning science, it shuns reason, one of the critical element of the human intellect created by God. It downgrades the role of reason in scientific discourse, and does disservice to those of us who do science.
3. Secularism should be fought on metaphysical grounds, not on the turf of natural science.
Meanwhile, if anyone can read French and or German, please translate these for us Americans who can't:
"Atlas of Creation" by Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar) - making waves in French, Arabic, Urdu and Bahasa-speaking places in the world. It is a criticism of Darwinism
Benedict et al published on Wednesday April 11th in Germany "SchöpfungThis is the book referred to in the article, along with "Jesus von Nazareth." which was also recently published.
und Evolution" (Creation and Evolution). More on this book here
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Munich airport chapel
If you are ever traveling and find yourself needing to attend mass at the Munich International Aiport, here is some information.
The chapel is located in terminal 1, 2nd floor. It is called Christophorus Kapelle.
In August 2006, the mass times were 6pm Saturday (vigil), 9:30am and 10:30 am, as far as I can tell.
The chapel is ultra-modern looking, like many of the newly built churches in the area. But it has a real (albeit small) pipe organ and an organist. Trying to follow along was rather difficult, especially because they skipped the Credo.
[I can't figure out how to make the pictures show up correctly..
Monday, January 01, 2007
Brian Sykes
A genetist from Oxford has many books out on human evolution, and unfortunately tries to tread in sociology without much success. I recently read "Adam's Curse" and "Seven Daughters of Eve", stories of tracking down our maternal and paternal ancestry using mitochondrial DNA and the Y-chromosome. Couple questions arise in my mind:
1. Humans have 46 chromosomes - did we already lose a pair (compared to our ape brethren who have 48), because we exhausted and destroyed the function of one sex chromosome already?
2. Sykes' hypothesis based on genetics on homosexuality is that at least homosexual males are more helpful with raising his sisters... I don't see how...
3. If a man has an older brother, this person is more likely to have homosexual orientation. The biochemical argument sounds plausible, but can we really separate the effects of the environment?
4. If these theories are true, how do we see them in the light of the Theology of the Body? Did Adam not have to deal with the decaying Y-chromosome before the fall? Where the Y-chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA at peace?
Contemplating...
1. Humans have 46 chromosomes - did we already lose a pair (compared to our ape brethren who have 48), because we exhausted and destroyed the function of one sex chromosome already?
2. Sykes' hypothesis based on genetics on homosexuality is that at least homosexual males are more helpful with raising his sisters... I don't see how...
3. If a man has an older brother, this person is more likely to have homosexual orientation. The biochemical argument sounds plausible, but can we really separate the effects of the environment?
4. If these theories are true, how do we see them in the light of the Theology of the Body? Did Adam not have to deal with the decaying Y-chromosome before the fall? Where the Y-chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA at peace?
Contemplating...
Walt Whitman - Prayer of Columbus
So I bought a Thomas Hampson album of the poetry of Walt Whitman. Being an international opera star, his voice is quite range-y, and there was one song set by Robert Strassburg called "Prayer of Columbus" which is enscribed in marble in a DC metro station according to Wikipedia
It has A4 in it, which is quite high, but then again, I would not expect any less from Mr. Hampson. One day I'd like to be able to sing it, because musically it is very strong. But then today, I read the text more carefully. Wow, it is some powerful text, all the more I want to learn to sing it. (maybe in a lower key..). The text is of lifelong struggles, but the "urge, the ardor, the unconquerable will" all come from "Thee, O God." Obviously Christopher Columbus was no ordinary man, but this text is so very inspiring for me, who read it while sitting on the couch and relaxing. I guess that Walt Whitman understood the boiling energy, the inspiration, the heart following the lead of the Holy Spirit, but not just in Columbus, but in all persons. Ah, my words fail to describe the energy these words stir up in my heart.
I would like to get this song sung at my funeral, although I don't know if I can really live up to the text - it is a song of living that "urge, the ardor, the unconquerable will" that come from "Thee, O God" but I don't know if I have done so ..
Wow.
It has A4 in it, which is quite high, but then again, I would not expect any less from Mr. Hampson. One day I'd like to be able to sing it, because musically it is very strong. But then today, I read the text more carefully. Wow, it is some powerful text, all the more I want to learn to sing it. (maybe in a lower key..). The text is of lifelong struggles, but the "urge, the ardor, the unconquerable will" all come from "Thee, O God." Obviously Christopher Columbus was no ordinary man, but this text is so very inspiring for me, who read it while sitting on the couch and relaxing. I guess that Walt Whitman understood the boiling energy, the inspiration, the heart following the lead of the Holy Spirit, but not just in Columbus, but in all persons. Ah, my words fail to describe the energy these words stir up in my heart.
I would like to get this song sung at my funeral, although I don't know if I can really live up to the text - it is a song of living that "urge, the ardor, the unconquerable will" that come from "Thee, O God" but I don't know if I have done so ..
Wow.
Mad Mel Gibson - Signs and Contradictions
My response to the article:
http://www.godspy.com/culture/Mel-Gibson-Signs-and-Contradictions-by-Debra-Murphy.cfm
Debra Murphy is very astute: she notes the "under-the-radar" critique of current culture of death in the movie Apocalypto, which is something I did not pick up until she mentioned it. Even if the movie showed the sacrifice of children, I don't think I would have noticed. The word of God seem to have the effect of overtaking cultures that have human sacrifice - in Canaan, when the Israelites arrived - and in central America, as the movie shows; hopefully, it will do so in modern societies. As for Mel Gibson's inner demons, Mel is the one who must deal with them - with our prayers. But most of all, let us pray that he does not drink and drive. The world/Hollywood's reaction to Mel may arise from the fact that they (Hollywood) does not like someone who fights their inner demons - they probably don't like virtue, because truth hurts.
http://www.godspy.com/culture/Mel-Gibson-Signs-and-Contradictions-by-Debra-Murphy.cfm
Debra Murphy is very astute: she notes the "under-the-radar" critique of current culture of death in the movie Apocalypto, which is something I did not pick up until she mentioned it. Even if the movie showed the sacrifice of children, I don't think I would have noticed. The word of God seem to have the effect of overtaking cultures that have human sacrifice - in Canaan, when the Israelites arrived - and in central America, as the movie shows; hopefully, it will do so in modern societies. As for Mel Gibson's inner demons, Mel is the one who must deal with them - with our prayers. But most of all, let us pray that he does not drink and drive. The world/Hollywood's reaction to Mel may arise from the fact that they (Hollywood) does not like someone who fights their inner demons - they probably don't like virtue, because truth hurts.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Physical Anthropology Books to read..
Couple books that sound interesting, especially for my father who is an Anglophile, and sort of interested in physical anthropology :
The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story (Hardcover)
by Stephen Oppenheimer
1 piece of shopping done..
The Origins of the British: A Genetic Detective Story (Hardcover)
by Stephen Oppenheimer
- Adam's Curse: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Destiny by Bryan Sykes
- The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey by Spencer Wells
- Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins by Steve Olson
1 piece of shopping done..
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
What is heaven?
One day, when some of us were cooking, we discussed why we want to go to heaven. One person asked: "wouldn't eternal liturgy get a big boring after a while?" It had been a while since I read Peter Kreeft Heaven: The heart's deepest longing
http://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Longing-Peter-J-Kreeft/dp/0898702283
so I was at a loss of words. And I don't know who has my copy right now...
Anyway, on Godspy is an ad for another book of interest:
Lorenzo Albacete: God at the Ritz
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0824519515/godspy-20
May be a good read.
It would be wonderful to have these at the library of my local parish..
http://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Longing-Peter-J-Kreeft/dp/0898702283
so I was at a loss of words. And I don't know who has my copy right now...
Anyway, on Godspy is an ad for another book of interest:
Lorenzo Albacete: God at the Ritz
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0824519515/godspy-20
May be a good read.
It would be wonderful to have these at the library of my local parish..
On Women priests (III)
One may ask:
"If men become "bride of Christ" as members of the church, why can't women become the bridegroom as a priest?
1. Certainly all baptized men and women participate in the church, who together constitute what is feminine, as a Bride. Also, all baptized men and women as member of the church participate in Christ's priesthood in living a life of sacrifice with him.
2. individual person becoming a sacrament of Christ is a different issue: to have efficacious sacraments, the physical reality must reflect correctly the spiritual reality. If a priest baptizes someone with the words of baptism while pouring motor oil over his or her head, there is nobaptism. The cleansing symbolism [as well as death and life] of water is not there. Likewise, nothing would happen if a bishop laid hands on a woman and said the words of ordination, because woman is not an accurate symbol of the bridegroom.
This discussion clearly reminds me that I don't remember my sacramental theology well at all...
"If men become "bride of Christ" as members of the church, why can't women become the bridegroom as a priest?
1. Certainly all baptized men and women participate in the church, who together constitute what is feminine, as a Bride. Also, all baptized men and women as member of the church participate in Christ's priesthood in living a life of sacrifice with him.
2. individual person becoming a sacrament of Christ is a different issue: to have efficacious sacraments, the physical reality must reflect correctly the spiritual reality. If a priest baptizes someone with the words of baptism while pouring motor oil over his or her head, there is nobaptism. The cleansing symbolism [as well as death and life] of water is not there. Likewise, nothing would happen if a bishop laid hands on a woman and said the words of ordination, because woman is not an accurate symbol of the bridegroom.
This discussion clearly reminds me that I don't remember my sacramental theology well at all...
On Women priests (II)
to continue paraphrasing CW:
A culture that eliminates this difference kills itself - a "unisex" world - leads to a culture of death - [how, you say?] The very sexual difference..." is the beginning of a path in which we discover the ultimate and fundamental difference for human beings: the difference between God and [humans]". blurring this difference blurs the great nuptual mystery: the call to life-giving communion for men and women, and between God and us.
[Men cannot complain that we can't bear children either..]
Preists "efficaciously" symbolize Christ's giving up his body for his Bride so that she can bring fort live in the holy spirit - only men and do this - it does not make sense for women to symbolize giving up her body for his bride. Otherwise, the symbolism becomes bride to bride - theire is no nuptual union, and no possibility of new life . Sexual communion in marriage is intimately linked to the Eucharist.
[Yet this would bring up the question - don't consecrated religious give their life to the service of the church?] ... on the next post...
A culture that eliminates this difference kills itself - a "unisex" world - leads to a culture of death - [how, you say?] The very sexual difference..." is the beginning of a path in which we discover the ultimate and fundamental difference for human beings: the difference between God and [humans]". blurring this difference blurs the great nuptual mystery: the call to life-giving communion for men and women, and between God and us.
[Men cannot complain that we can't bear children either..]
Preists "efficaciously" symbolize Christ's giving up his body for his Bride so that she can bring fort live in the holy spirit - only men and do this - it does not make sense for women to symbolize giving up her body for his bride. Otherwise, the symbolism becomes bride to bride - theire is no nuptual union, and no possibility of new life . Sexual communion in marriage is intimately linked to the Eucharist.
[Yet this would bring up the question - don't consecrated religious give their life to the service of the church?] ... on the next post...
Dialogue with Islam
Stratford Caldecott has an interesting article that sheds the light on this issue of God as Logos vs. Will. The Sufi tradition (the mystical tradition) very much recognizes the "orderliness" of God based on the attributes of God. The aesthetics of who God is lends themselves to God having order, in the Sufi view. Unfortunately, most of this tradition is not standard Islamic canon, apparently. In this, Christianity and Islam are not that far apart.
"The cause of fanaticism, whether in Christianity or Islam, does indeed lie in the separation of Will from Intellect…" - Christians also have a bloody history..
So what of the recent violence? Stratford says that modernist and especially Wahhabi Islam (thought to be the first from of modern extremists) has suppressed much of the Sufi traditions.
Again the call to the Muslims: " We must encourage and assist moderate Muslims to raise their voices and speak on behalf of Islamic traditions that may be more ‘rational’ than we [as Christians] suppose."
"The cause of fanaticism, whether in Christianity or Islam, does indeed lie in the separation of Will from Intellect…" - Christians also have a bloody history..
So what of the recent violence? Stratford says that modernist and especially Wahhabi Islam (thought to be the first from of modern extremists) has suppressed much of the Sufi traditions.
Again the call to the Muslims: " We must encourage and assist moderate Muslims to raise their voices and speak on behalf of Islamic traditions that may be more ‘rational’ than we [as Christians] suppose."
Monday, October 09, 2006
Creating blue soup
Recipe for some blue food.
Make it with some red cabbage, that contains anthocyanin. when cooked, the mauve color will turn blue. It will stain most proteins, such as white fish. In fact, I made some cabbage-pollock soup, which made the fish bright blue. However, they are heat sensitive, so the color will fade pretty fast if they are left in heat.
I have not yet tried other food applications. Stories?
Make it with some red cabbage, that contains anthocyanin. when cooked, the mauve color will turn blue. It will stain most proteins, such as white fish. In fact, I made some cabbage-pollock soup, which made the fish bright blue. However, they are heat sensitive, so the color will fade pretty fast if they are left in heat.
I have not yet tried other food applications. Stories?
Regensburg Address and the concept of God - Logos and/or Will
Just a quick quote from Zenit: (stolen from http://www.catholic-pages.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=9457)
Q: At Regensburg, Benedict XVI highlighted the Christian understanding of God as Logos. How does the idea of God as Logos differ from an Islamic conception of God?
Father Schall: The Holy Father posed the fundamental question that lies behind all the discussion about war and terror. If God is Logos, it means that a norm of reason follows from what God is. Things are, because they have natures and are intended to be the way they are because God is what he is: He has his own inner order.
If God is not Logos but "Will," as most Muslim thinkers hold Allah to be, it means that, for them, Logos places a "limit" on Allah. He cannot do everything because he cannot do both evil and good. He cannot do contradictories.
Thus, if we want to "worship" Allah, it means we must be able to make what is evil good or what is good evil. That is, we can do whatever is said to be the "will" of Allah, even if it means doing violence as if it were "reasonable."
Otherwise, we would "limit" the "power" of Allah. This is what the Pope meant about making violence "reasonable." This different conception of the Godhead constitutes the essential difference between Christianity and Islam, both in their concept of worship and of science.
He also talked about the "dialogue" between different cultures (as would be between the west and Islam) - and he had this essential insight:
Q: The Western media have often taken Benedict XVI's words out of context and stoked the flames of Islamic aggression. How does the cultural dominance and hostility to the Church by the mass media affect its ability to participate in the dialogue of cultures?
Father Schall: There can be no "dialogue" about anything until the basic principles of reason are granted both in theory and practice. Chesterton remarked on the fact that those who begin to attack the Church for this or that reason, mostly end up attacking it for any reason.
What is behind the attack on reason or the refusal to admit that God is Logos is already a suspicion that the Church is right about intellect and its conditions. We have no guarantee that reason will freely be accepted.
Von Balthasar said that we are warned that we are sent among wolves. We are naive to think that Christ was wrong when he warned us that the world would hate us for upholding Logos and the order of things it implies.
But Benedict is right. He has put the citizens of world on notice that they are also accountable for how they use or do not use their reason. No one else could have done this. The fact is, the world has wildly underestimated Benedict XVI precisely because it would not see the ability he displays in getting to the heart of intellectual things.
See the whole thing (and many more goodies) at:
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=95902
So what is logos? Wikipedia (click for the definition) defines it as having an order, being rational, etc. Benedict XVI's definition is also cited. For christians: "Christianity has understood itself as the religion of the Logos, as the religion according to reason";"s also open to all that is truly rational." [1]"
Truly an interesting discussion.
Fr. Schall has more comments here
Some highlights:
That "God can contradict himself in his decrees so that certain political or moral actions are thereby justified as obedience to God" is rather prevalent outcome of the notion "God as "will""
[Schall]. [Rather confusing sentence]
Hmm. Certainly pertains to the definition God as "will" And yet, Judeo-Christian concept of God can do somewhat the same, no? Christianity is also a religion of contradiction in some sense: death unto life; the incarnation and death of Jesus; obedience unto freedom;
Or are these "contradictions" not contradictions at all? Death has become the vehicle for life; God who is powerful enough to put aside his divinity to become human; True freedom refers to the power and the courage to do good and to love, and it only comes about from total integration of the self, which comes from obedience to our true natures as God as created.
What also seems to follow: God as will can bend the definition of good and evil at will, and make evil to be reasonable. What is good or evil is at the whim of God? [Doesn't sound all that bad - God is omnipotent, right?] This also means that the revelation of God is not necessarily stable, demonstrated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where the current prophet can change the deposit of faith as stated by the previous prophet.
One consequence of this line of thought as Schall quotes it: If certain moral and political actions can be attributed to the obedience to the will of God, the recent Muslim terrorist activities, that justify violence as obedience to God, make sense.
Another consequence of this line of thought: modern relativism and skepticsm. The modern mind does not accept that one can know AND believe; Especially in Europe, people don't think faith and reason belong in the same sphere, despite the fact that it was where the relationship between the two were hammered out during the last 2000 years.
For us academics, the scientific method is based on the metaphysics of a world of order: that things behave in orderly, predictable ways. Otherwise, the scientific method would not work. We can't do experiments and expect repeatable results; We can't test hypotheses; we can't expect anything to work in a predictable manner. [Granted, at the cutting edge of scientific discovery, things certainly look that way.
Full text of the address here:
BBC says that there is an update, but I can't find the final edition online... any help would be nice...
Q: At Regensburg, Benedict XVI highlighted the Christian understanding of God as Logos. How does the idea of God as Logos differ from an Islamic conception of God?
Father Schall: The Holy Father posed the fundamental question that lies behind all the discussion about war and terror. If God is Logos, it means that a norm of reason follows from what God is. Things are, because they have natures and are intended to be the way they are because God is what he is: He has his own inner order.
If God is not Logos but "Will," as most Muslim thinkers hold Allah to be, it means that, for them, Logos places a "limit" on Allah. He cannot do everything because he cannot do both evil and good. He cannot do contradictories.
Thus, if we want to "worship" Allah, it means we must be able to make what is evil good or what is good evil. That is, we can do whatever is said to be the "will" of Allah, even if it means doing violence as if it were "reasonable."
Otherwise, we would "limit" the "power" of Allah. This is what the Pope meant about making violence "reasonable." This different conception of the Godhead constitutes the essential difference between Christianity and Islam, both in their concept of worship and of science.
He also talked about the "dialogue" between different cultures (as would be between the west and Islam) - and he had this essential insight:
Q: The Western media have often taken Benedict XVI's words out of context and stoked the flames of Islamic aggression. How does the cultural dominance and hostility to the Church by the mass media affect its ability to participate in the dialogue of cultures?
Father Schall: There can be no "dialogue" about anything until the basic principles of reason are granted both in theory and practice. Chesterton remarked on the fact that those who begin to attack the Church for this or that reason, mostly end up attacking it for any reason.
What is behind the attack on reason or the refusal to admit that God is Logos is already a suspicion that the Church is right about intellect and its conditions. We have no guarantee that reason will freely be accepted.
Von Balthasar said that we are warned that we are sent among wolves. We are naive to think that Christ was wrong when he warned us that the world would hate us for upholding Logos and the order of things it implies.
But Benedict is right. He has put the citizens of world on notice that they are also accountable for how they use or do not use their reason. No one else could have done this. The fact is, the world has wildly underestimated Benedict XVI precisely because it would not see the ability he displays in getting to the heart of intellectual things.
See the whole thing (and many more goodies) at:
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=95902
So what is logos? Wikipedia (click for the definition) defines it as having an order, being rational, etc. Benedict XVI's definition is also cited. For christians: "Christianity has understood itself as the religion of the Logos, as the religion according to reason";"s also open to all that is truly rational." [1]"
Truly an interesting discussion.
Fr. Schall has more comments here
Some highlights:
That "God can contradict himself in his decrees so that certain political or moral actions are thereby justified as obedience to God" is rather prevalent outcome of the notion "God as "will""
[Schall]. [Rather confusing sentence]
Hmm. Certainly pertains to the definition God as "will" And yet, Judeo-Christian concept of God can do somewhat the same, no? Christianity is also a religion of contradiction in some sense: death unto life; the incarnation and death of Jesus; obedience unto freedom;
Or are these "contradictions" not contradictions at all? Death has become the vehicle for life; God who is powerful enough to put aside his divinity to become human; True freedom refers to the power and the courage to do good and to love, and it only comes about from total integration of the self, which comes from obedience to our true natures as God as created.
What also seems to follow: God as will can bend the definition of good and evil at will, and make evil to be reasonable. What is good or evil is at the whim of God? [Doesn't sound all that bad - God is omnipotent, right?] This also means that the revelation of God is not necessarily stable, demonstrated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where the current prophet can change the deposit of faith as stated by the previous prophet.
One consequence of this line of thought as Schall quotes it: If certain moral and political actions can be attributed to the obedience to the will of God, the recent Muslim terrorist activities, that justify violence as obedience to God, make sense.
Another consequence of this line of thought: modern relativism and skepticsm. The modern mind does not accept that one can know AND believe; Especially in Europe, people don't think faith and reason belong in the same sphere, despite the fact that it was where the relationship between the two were hammered out during the last 2000 years.
For us academics, the scientific method is based on the metaphysics of a world of order: that things behave in orderly, predictable ways. Otherwise, the scientific method would not work. We can't do experiments and expect repeatable results; We can't test hypotheses; we can't expect anything to work in a predictable manner. [Granted, at the cutting edge of scientific discovery, things certainly look that way.
Full text of the address here:
BBC says that there is an update, but I can't find the final edition online... any help would be nice...
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
For a more informed discussion on women priests
From "Good News about Sex and Marriage", Ascention Press
Christopher West says [paraphrased by moi]:
For many women, that the Church reserves sacramental priesthood only to men stirs much emotion fueled by "historical consciousness" of past oppression of women. Only recently, did the Church acknowledged and asked for forgiveness in JPII's letter to women, "objective blame, especially in particular historical context, has belonged to not just a few members of the church. May this regret be transformed on the part of the whole church, into a renewed commitment of fidelity to the Gospel vision" [for more complete discussion on the Gospel vision, one needs to study Theology of the Body in more in depth.]
This gospel vision is the great "nuptual mystery" of Christ's union with the Church, which is symbolized by our creation as male and female. To be faithful to this vision, we must uphold the dignity of woman always, and resist the social structures that have been made to favor men. It also calls us to resist the other extreme - considering men and women to be interchangeable.
Equality between the sexes does NOT mean sameness. The very difference, between men and women, is what reveals the awesome nuptual mystery. This fundamental difference literally brings life to the world [both by childbearing, and and the Incarnation of Christ].
More on this on the next post..
Christopher West says [paraphrased by moi]:
For many women, that the Church reserves sacramental priesthood only to men stirs much emotion fueled by "historical consciousness" of past oppression of women. Only recently, did the Church acknowledged and asked for forgiveness in JPII's letter to women, "objective blame, especially in particular historical context, has belonged to not just a few members of the church. May this regret be transformed on the part of the whole church, into a renewed commitment of fidelity to the Gospel vision" [for more complete discussion on the Gospel vision, one needs to study Theology of the Body in more in depth.]
This gospel vision is the great "nuptual mystery" of Christ's union with the Church, which is symbolized by our creation as male and female. To be faithful to this vision, we must uphold the dignity of woman always, and resist the social structures that have been made to favor men. It also calls us to resist the other extreme - considering men and women to be interchangeable.
Equality between the sexes does NOT mean sameness. The very difference, between men and women, is what reveals the awesome nuptual mystery. This fundamental difference literally brings life to the world [both by childbearing, and and the Incarnation of Christ].
More on this on the next post..
The Eucharist and the Bridegroom
Since some of us are still discussing the issue of sacramental priesthood and women...
The Eucharist is the Sacrament of our Redemption. It is the Sacramentof the Bridegroom and the Bride... Christ is united with this 'body' as the bridegroom with the bride... Since Christ, in instituting the Eucharist, linked it in a such an explicit way to the priestly service of the Apostles, it is legitimate to conclude that he thereby wished to express the relationship between man and woman
From On the Dignity of Women, #26
More discussion on this here
Lord, help us understand our sexual differences.
The Eucharist is the Sacrament of our Redemption. It is the Sacramentof the Bridegroom and the Bride... Christ is united with this 'body' as the bridegroom with the bride... Since Christ, in instituting the Eucharist, linked it in a such an explicit way to the priestly service of the Apostles, it is legitimate to conclude that he thereby wished to express the relationship between man and woman
From On the Dignity of Women, #26
More discussion on this here
Lord, help us understand our sexual differences.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Need for better academic settings
In reading some of blogs on the our Holy Father's regensburg lecture, particularly the need for Catholic academics to step up, and educate the world, got me thinking: How can we, as catholics in academia do this?
First line of thought was that how nice it would be for me, who may get a job in the kinesiology department, to create a course to go along with "Human Sexuality." Except, this course would be cross-listed in religious studies and philosophy and anthropology, and be entitled something like "Human Sexuality and Phenomenology: Biblical anthropology." It would be a class on the theology of the body. Obvious question: what department head would allow that? One of my old ChE professors (Ed Seebauer) in undergrad taught an engineering ethics course he developed with Fr. Bob Barry, OP. Hey, if he did it, why can't I? It helps to have tenure..
Or if I had my own university (or made the president of a university) (or had $1B to start a college), I could develop a theology department. Would that be a way to do step up?
Then I got thinking. As academics, we certainly have duty to teach this stuff (even though I only took I philosophy class, so I don't know if I am qualified). But, we can preach this just as much by simply living the Theology of the Body. I am not quite sure how one does that as an academic, other than ... give your whole self to teaching.. ? [that's if your don't give yourself away in marriage].
How can we teach and live the truth of faith and reason in harmony and as two wings of the soul? How does faith play a role in studying the stability of stochastic limit cycles applied to human walking? How do we include that in our teaching? how is our teaching philosophy informed by our faith and theology? We have to apply for jobs and play the tenure game, and not get flagged as a "right wing religious fanatic who can't keep his own churchy stuff to himself."
First line of thought was that how nice it would be for me, who may get a job in the kinesiology department, to create a course to go along with "Human Sexuality." Except, this course would be cross-listed in religious studies and philosophy and anthropology, and be entitled something like "Human Sexuality and Phenomenology: Biblical anthropology." It would be a class on the theology of the body. Obvious question: what department head would allow that? One of my old ChE professors (Ed Seebauer) in undergrad taught an engineering ethics course he developed with Fr. Bob Barry, OP. Hey, if he did it, why can't I? It helps to have tenure..
Or if I had my own university (or made the president of a university) (or had $1B to start a college), I could develop a theology department. Would that be a way to do step up?
Then I got thinking. As academics, we certainly have duty to teach this stuff (even though I only took I philosophy class, so I don't know if I am qualified). But, we can preach this just as much by simply living the Theology of the Body. I am not quite sure how one does that as an academic, other than ... give your whole self to teaching.. ? [that's if your don't give yourself away in marriage].
How can we teach and live the truth of faith and reason in harmony and as two wings of the soul? How does faith play a role in studying the stability of stochastic limit cycles applied to human walking? How do we include that in our teaching? how is our teaching philosophy informed by our faith and theology? We have to apply for jobs and play the tenure game, and not get flagged as a "right wing religious fanatic who can't keep his own churchy stuff to himself."
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