And i applied my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly. i perceived also that this was chasing after the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. - Ecclesiastes 1: 17 - 18

pictures

The 'shiny ball' in Chicago's Millenium park

Loyal to the Truth

I sat down to read a bit of Thomas Merton last night - after a wonderful evening of helping Adam and Jake with their .bE alt.worship installation thing. It so often surprises me how postmodern and contextual Merton is in his thinking. Even from his hermitage in Kentucky he was speaking of a hermeneutic of suspicion, a non-rule based ethic, and favoured right action over right words. Most of what he said echoed the thoughts Jake and Adam used in the worship experience last night - those of Meister Eckhart, Derrida, Ricouer, Rilke etc.

The Truth is a Way and a Person - and a Way and a Person have to be found and followed. Truth is to be lived. There are, in fact, no simple formulas that will suffice once for all. True, there are principles. But a principle is worthless if it is usually known and not applied. And if we apply it, we have to have regard for circumstances that make the principle true in a unique way in this unique case - or that perhaps calls into action some entirely different principle that gives the lie to the first.
How hard it is to be loyal to the Truth when most of the time you do not see any of it! Thus loyalty demands constant criticism, constant rejection of empty formulas, of words use to evade the struggle and to allay anguish, rather than to find Truth or express it. And can we use words simply to find Truth? Is this not an illusion?

The Journals of Thomas Merton, III. 192. April 20, 1958.

Hmmm... what does this have to say about Preaching and its use of 'words'. What empty formulas do I have to reject? Could it be that our Christian principles are contingent and only 'work' in certain circumstances? Uneasy questions! Good old Merton. Just when i thought i was coming back to some absolutes I'm told not settle for easy words or answers that evade the struggle. Truth is expression, not opinion.

sad day

Don't mention the cricket. Just don't. Thanks!

You're invited!

This time it is for real! I handed in the FINAL DRAFT of my thesis on Friday! There were times when i didn't think it was possible, but, 70 pages later, it's done. Woohoo! If all else goes according to plan (i.e. it passes), I should be out of here with a Masters in a month's time. It feels strange to be leaving so soon, and i'm really not looking forward to the goodbyes. For now i still have two classes to do some work for, but most things are beginning to wind down as the academic year comes to an end and everyone disappears for the summer. Unless of course you are me, and happen to be disappearing for another winter! that is three winters in a row. Somebody please get me some sunshine here! ;)
So... I have 15 invites, and no-one to give them to! Anyone happen to be flying through Atl you are welcome to join the seminary party ;) (Justin is the only SA friend nearby and his employers won't let him off work)

work work work

The weekend excitement is over, and it's back to work. Thesis is due (final draft - this is for real now) on Friday, so I expect I'll be rather scarce here for a while. Have a great week, and wish me luck as I do this student thing!
(Oh, and support South Africa in our crucial World Cup match against England on Tuesday)

update x2

Sunday 11pm: Well, we're back after a wonderful weekend. The Chick-Fil-A Championship match ended up being the best game of the tournament, and maybe even the best game ever since Union started hosting the tournament. The brave men and woman of Columbia almost made seminary ultimate history by upstaging another Princeton team in the final. In the end we just lost 6-5. It was a wonderful game and a memorable weekend. Adam has a game report, and a picture or two. I hope to find one of the valiant 9 soon and post it here. Anyway, good times had by all (apart from the 9 hour drive each way).
Saturday 4pm: Hey... I'm sneaking a bit of internet in the beautiful Union PCSE library. CTS won our three pool games, and we are playing Princeton in the championship match at 5! Woohoo!
On a sadder note though, SA doesn't seem to be doing too well in the cricket against New Zealand. It's at times like these that I always say, "Pants!".
Time to warm up.

Richmond VA

This weekend is the long awaited 'inter-seminary ultimate frisbee tournament'. At times it has also been known by the title 'The Calvin Bowl'. There will be four or five Presby seminaries meeting at Union PCSE in Richmond for this monumental encounter. CTS hopes to overthrow Princeton Seminary, the current champions. Maybe my loosing streak (0 and 12 last time i checked) will stop, and we will be victorious. Update to follow on Sunday!

Here's a great apt quote that i quite enjoy:

"We used to say that Frisbee is really a religion-'Frisbeeterians,' we'd call ourselves. When we die, we don't go to purgatory, we just land up on the roof and lie there."

Ed Headrick, inventor of the Frisbee

back to the grind

Happy Easter to you all. To be honest, i hardly had time to get into the easter mood this year. I tried a lent thing (succeeded probably 30 of the 40 days) and went to a Jazz Vespers and Communion evening service at Fourth Presbyterian, Chicago on Easter Sunday. In between it has been thesis manic-ness and a little visit to Chicago. The trip was fun, even if it was below freezing and snowing. The architect in me was like a spoilt child when i saw all the big shiny buildings in the city. I have plenty of photos of them, and may even post some up here in the not too distant future. I'll have to expand on the trip too, but for now, I have work to do for class. Seems like i didn't really stop over spring break, and there are a few more deadlines looming. Being a grad student takes a bit of work! ;)

(oh - SA LOST to Bangladesh, but beat the West Indies convincingly today after posting a score of 356. Woohoo SA cricket!)

On the road again

After 5 days of manic typing, lots of Starbucks coffee and at least one all-nighter, i handed in the second draft of my thesis. Aaaah! Now I can relax for a bit and really enjoy the one-week Spring Break we have. I'm relaxing so much that i'm actually going on a little adventure with Sarah (my uber-cool housemate) up North for 5 days to...

CHICAGO! Hooray! I will wave at Oprah, go on the Skywalk, watch Kate in the Second City show and.. umm.. what else do you do there?

The only bummer is that it is expected to be really cold. I though spring had sprung ;( So, look out for pictures of me all bundled up. I'll give a debrief when I get back. Elizabeth (my other cool housemate) is in sunny California doing the wine route. Enjoy the sunshine EG!

PS. happy Easter all.

A to the T to the L (again)

Hey, hey...
Been watching the cricket? SA beat Irealand yesterday, and should beat Bangladesh tomorrow. Come on the Bokke!

I've been keeping my word about exploring the city some more. I've been to Virginia Highlands and Little Five lately. Visited Ikea and Atlantic Station, and just had a beer at The Local. Working on my thesis has shown me the insides of one too many Starbucks though! I drove (all by myself) to Target and bought some toothpaste and a webcam. So... anyone on Skype, now we can talk face to screen! It's awesome trying to drive on the wrong side of the road, and I get a kick out of knowing my way around town.
I've also been documenting the whole experience. As an almost-architect student, there are some really nice big shiny buildings in Atlanta. Wealthy city = big nice shiny buildings. My photo collection is growing daily: