contradictory trinitarian interpretations?...damn that's a mouthful

let me begin by saying that my christian doctrine class is changing my life. i have never been in an environment that allowed me to think so critically about my faith, letting myself analyze and dig deep into the roots of christianity. i'm almost to the point of saying that i'm ambiguously christian because i've realized how little i know about the basis for my beliefs, or at least the beliefs i've claimed for my entire life.

all that said, today we started with a word on the board. passion. from it we determined the root "passio" which is also found in the words compassion and passive. so we began a discussion, based on a passage by jürgen moltmann, over the impassibility of god as expressed by 19 centuries of christian thinkers.

here is where i found myself taking issue. for the first time in my life i was thinking critically about passages in the gospel that depict god "forsaking" christ. if the way i've been considering the trinity lately as being one entity, hollistic, and singular is an accurate interpretation, then how is it possible that god could have forsaken christ if christ is at the same time wholly god and spirit. so, is jesus saying on the cross, "why i have i forsaken myself"? and if i look at it that way, does it not make the crucifixion that much more powerful? that even though christ had all the power to save himself being wholly god in that moment and crying in the agony of human betrayal, even asking why he was forsaking himself, he still let it continue into completion?

or maybe i'm reading too much into this whole concept of the trinity and immanence/transcendence.

maybe i'm just tired of being tired

i really can't tell why this week has sucked. i mean, yes, it did include three test, a project, and a paper or two, but that normally doesn't get me down like this. i think i'm just tired of being tired. i need something new to rejuvenate me. even tonight, we have the battle of the boulevard basketball game, but i just can't seem to make myself want to go. i know it would be fun, but more of me feels like just laying on the couch or in bed and reading. i know i don't get to do that a whole lot, but i feel like there has to be something else to do. i just don't want to fall into this trap of always skipping stuff that could be fun. i mean, i would just as soon have a bunch of friends over for a movie tonight.
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on a happier note, belmont showshoppe is tomorrow, and i'm pretty freaking pumped about that. i get to host albertville center stage with my buddy kristen. basically i've always wanted to host a show choir competition, and here is my chance. and after this month of going to show choir competitions as a spectator, i have decided that starting a show choir at belmont is a very good idea. i hope that i can get all the logistical stuff worked out and a group of enough people who are interested. it would be so awesome.
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i guess that's it for today. kind of a downer. oh well, at least i know that whatever i decide to do tonight will be fun...even if it isn't the most fun choice of all.

A change in major...a change in perspective...maybe a change in attitude?

well...i did it...i changed my major. that's right...again. i am now officially a religious studies and music business double major. i cannot even describe the joy that fills my heart knowing that i am getting a degree in religious studies. i get to take classes like spiritual formation, martyrs mystics and saints, and world religions. i think it was always meant to be. and maybe, just maybe, i might get to study abroad at some point.
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www.belmont.edu/religion/ <== check it out!!!
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that said, today has been kind of a funk day. i've just been in a rather sucky mood, and i just can't shake it. nothing in particular has been bad, but little things have just been getting to me today. i sort of just don't want to be around people, but it seems as though there is no way around that in my line of life. on my agenda today were two meetings, three classes, giving a tour, finishing my change-of-major form, and working. i guess it's just that point in the semester when the monotony starts to wear me down. but that's life! so i just pick myself up and tell myself to get over it. sometimes i listen.

black history month

Here's a list of some of my favorite works of literature written by African and African-American authors:

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
This book is one of my all-time favorite works. Hurston not only brings you into the story, she makes you experience the journey of her female protagonist.

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker
Alice Walker is one of my favorite authors which is why she appears twice on this list. "Everyday Use" is a short story about the importance of culture.

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.
This is the most moving piece of contemporary correspondence I have ever read.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
This epistolary novel is a shocking and moving story of two sisters. Walker's intentionally graphic language is vital to the impact of the story.

"The Atlanta Exposition Address" by Booker T. Washington
This speech proves why Washington is one of the most well-known orators of American history.

Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass by Himself
This is one of my favorite novels. Douglass is real and raw in his writing.

The Dream Keeper by Langston Hughes
This collection of poems truly captures the heart of Harlem Renaissance poetry.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
This play is a telling story of an African-American family fighting racism of a white suburb.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
The Green Mile has nothing on this work by Gaines. A Lesson Before Dying probes the relationship between two African-American men, one educated, the other illiterate, and marked for death.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The most well-known contemporary African writer and his most well-known work.

"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty
This short story is a beautiful tale on the dedication of family.