Saturday, May 28, 2011

Tornado Beauty

The destructive and deadly tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22 has been labeled an EF-5 tornado, an indicator of one of the most energized and powerful weather phenomena ever recorded. Tornadoes by very nature are some of the most dangerous events of nature given lack of location predictability and the intensity of wind velocity.

Sunsets, rainstorms, meteor showers, and snowstorms are often regarded as beautiful acts within God's realm of nature. Tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods are also a part of the creation.

This begs the question of whether such events, deadly or not, are consequences of the fall of man or if indeed even the most energized, powerful and dangerous acts of nature are a testament to the power, and even beauty, of the Creator, or a combination of the two.

This complex thought compels me to relish in what I know of the beauty of God, that the heavens and earth declare His majesty, and to trust that He wishes to redeem us from the pain and destruction of nature so we may one day solely dwell on its beauty.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Summer Reading List

Interfaith Research:

Acts of Faith - Patel (192)

Five Voices Five Faiths - Hughes (126)

Tea with Hezbollah - Dekker (256)

Reclaiming Beauty for the Good of the World - Dardess (280)


Religious Contemplation:

Heaven is for Real - Burpo (192)

A Severe Mercy - Vanauken (240)

Weight of Glory - Lewis (208)

Pilgrim's Progress - Bunyan (192)

Love Wins - Bell (224)


Entertainment:

The Book Thief - Zusak (576)

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party - McCall Smith (224)

The Lost Symbol - Brown (528)

Friday, May 13, 2011

Sophomoric Musings

The culmination of sophomore year was realized today upon the last day of classes. Many lessons had been learned in preparation for future studies and careers. One lesson concerned bureaucracy.

Max Weber was one of the principle writers of the theory of bureaucracy, which was believed to create a formal system to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Five principles, according to Weber, were required for the implementation of bureaucracy. Henri Fayol identified fourteen principles of bureaucratic management, including division of labor, centralization, discipline, and subordination of individual interests to the common interests. Norms, standard operating procedures, and rules are typical means by which such methodology is implemented.

Ironically, the very theory implemented to ensure efficiency and effectiveness has a connotation of the opposite. Quite frequently, the very norms and standard operating procedures meant to ensure effectiveness do so at the expense of efficiency. This is no profound statement for it has been experienced by all at the BMV, academia, and within the church.

Unlike the practices of the world, faith has no bureaucratic red tape. There are no standard operating procedures necessary to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. No procedures and rules are required for acceptance of the grace and love of the redeeming blood of Christ. Frequently though, since bureaucracy is a staple part of worldly lifestyle, man has tried to implement such practices in the name of religion in order to transform faith into comfortable, understandable human thought. Such transformation is in vain for faith requires a reliance on Christ and not the rules of man.

Many lessons over the past academic year have evolved into papers, exams and projects. Thankfully, beyond academic work, the lessons of the classroom can be transformed to teach us eternal lessons about the nature of the living of God.