Dear Family & Friends,
This past week I wrote the blog for the Summit website. Here is what was posted:
On the morning of October 28th, the Summit Semester students woke up to an exciting surprise: snow! It had been predicted in the weather forecast, but it was confirmed shortly after each one woke up and looked out their windows. For probably the first time this entire semester, students were eager to get out of bed— in order to be the first to go sledding or have a snowball fight before breakfast. It continued to snow the rest of the day and most of it remained until this morning. At breakfast we were also informed (to the excitement of many and disappointment of some) that the Snow Wolf Lodge area has been moved to the “storm warning” forecast level. Since I am from California, living in the snow and experiencing this type of weather is new…but exciting at the same time. Yesterday, for exercise time, I went on a walk with friends while some other brave souls played snow volleyball or engaged in other snow activities. (That just goes to show how much we love volleyball here at Summit Semester!) Not only did snow arrive Wednesday morning, but so did Dr. J.P. Moreland, our teacher for the rest of the week. Somehow, on Wednesday morning his clock was not correct, so he was late to class by about fifteen minutes. That didn’t bother any of the students, however, because it allowed more time to continue the vicious snowball fights that began shortly after breakfast.
Dr. Moreland is currently a philosophy professor at Biola University in California, and has written a book on philosophy that we read before he arrived as well as many other books. Right at the beginning of his first lecture, Dr. Moreland told us he has two goals for us this week, that our faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ would grow, and that we would become more intelligent in engaging the culture for Christ. His lectures are based on philosophy, and the last two days of classes have mainly focused on epistemology. Epistemology is defined as a branch of philosophy that studies knowledge and justified belief. We spent a lot of time discussing the three types of knowledge, which I found extremely interesting. A question Dr. Moreland asked us at the beginning was, “Is there knowledge of God?” Beginning to understand the answer first requires an understanding of the different types of knowledge. The first way to have knowledge of God is through “knowledge by acquaintance,” simply that you know something by personally experiencing it or by being directly aware of it. The second area, “propositional knowledge,” is based more on the facts of an issue and is defined as a justified true belief. If you believe something, you’re between 51-100% sure it’s true. This aspect is essential for overall knowledge because truth without evidence is unjustified belief. The last area of knowledge is “know-how,” which is simply defined as the ability to do something well. The main point under this, which really stuck out to me, was that the Bible’s wisdom can be put to an objective test to see whether it’s true. I came to understand that by examining the question presented through each individual category of knowledge, it was easier to see that we really can have knowledge of God.
Thursday morning, we examined the statement: “There can be knowledge that God is real, and that Jesus is the Son of God.” Unfortunately most of our culture has the “emotional pragmatic relativist” view of religion and believes
that religion is based on feelings and is extremely subjective. Dr. Moreland walked us through five consecutive illustrations on how to demonstrate to people that there is objective truth and they should search for it. He expounds upon these illustrations in his book, The God Question, which I will look forward to reading when I return home (and also highly recommend that you read too!). After laying out the foundational reasons why we can know truth, Dr. Moreland began to explain the evidence showing that God really does exist. I must say that the last two lectures of the morning were so full of information; it will take a little while to process! Many scientific examples were laid before us as we examined the origin of the universe as well as the scientifically proven, precise details of the universe. We concluded that there is one personal God, who has intelligence and power, and who created and designed the universe. After analyzing so many scientific discoveries that explicitly point to a creator, it once again reinforced the idea in my mind that we can emphatically answer yes to the question, “Is there knowledge of God?”
As I sit here and watch the snow fall outside my window, I am reminded of all God’s blessings in my life, especially the ability to be here at Summit Semester, learning and being challenged in so many ways. I am thankful, and I encourage you to reflect upon, and thank the Lord for the blessings in your own life as well.
It was such a wonderful week, and as I write this, I'm actually in Santa Fe, New Mexico! We spent all day examining art and having fun together. Tomorrow, we'll be heading back to Pagosa Springs, and will begin another week of school.
Hope you're doing well!
Love,
Mae
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday - 10.25.09
Dear Family and Friends,
I just can’t believe how quickly the weekends come! This week was our first “normal” week and weekend. We had a Monday-Friday work week and then received yesterday (and today) off. This week we have the same schedule, just with a new teacher who flies in on Tuesday. It was a little difficult to adjust to a much different teaching style this past week, but it was a good break. Doctor Don Williams was our teacher and I really enjoyed and appreciated his willingness to spend time out of class to discuss ideas with us. One night, after dinner, I talked with him while he played pool with another guy, for 45 minutes. I was also lucky to be able to sit with him at many of our meals. He is currently teaching English at Toccoa Falls College, in Georgia. His lectures discussed a wide variety of subjects, but my favorite was on Philology. Philology is defined as, “the love of words.” Most importantly, we are to have a love for the Word. He said, "The mind functions spiritually only when it is saved by God's grace, sanctified by His spirit, informed by His word, submissive to His wisdom and motivated by His love."
In that same lecture, Dr. Williams spent a lot of time pointing out the importance of studying. He said, “No one can be a serious and obedient disciple of Jesus Christ without giving a significant place to study in one's life.” I really realized this past week how being a Christian has influence in every aspect of my life. Having a Biblical worldview requires studying, so that I can know and understand God’s word and the world He’s created for us to live in. The reasons why each follower of Jesus Christ should be a serious student are because, the content of scripture commands it, the nature of scripture necessitates it, and the commission of scripture requires it. (Matthew 22, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Doctor Williams and I were able to discuss many topics together, including, spiritual gifts, prayer, the “fear of the Lord,” and many of his books. (just to name a few J) We finished off the week with a time of poetry reading and a Q&A session. It was a great week of learning! Oh, and I finished reading both of his books before the weekend! I highly recommend “Inklings of Reality” & “Mere Humanity.”
Yesterday, we spend the day at Mesa Verde National Park and I really enjoyed visiting again, even though I was there just 2 months ago with my family. This time, I did the tour with 23 of my fellow students and it was fantastic! We had a great tour guide and it was neat to be able to get closer to the actual cliff dwellings, as opposed to just viewing them from the observation deck. Here is a picture of my friend Damiya and I, with the cliff dwellings in the background.
I just can’t believe how quickly the weekends come! This week was our first “normal” week and weekend. We had a Monday-Friday work week and then received yesterday (and today) off. This week we have the same schedule, just with a new teacher who flies in on Tuesday. It was a little difficult to adjust to a much different teaching style this past week, but it was a good break. Doctor Don Williams was our teacher and I really enjoyed and appreciated his willingness to spend time out of class to discuss ideas with us. One night, after dinner, I talked with him while he played pool with another guy, for 45 minutes. I was also lucky to be able to sit with him at many of our meals. He is currently teaching English at Toccoa Falls College, in Georgia. His lectures discussed a wide variety of subjects, but my favorite was on Philology. Philology is defined as, “the love of words.” Most importantly, we are to have a love for the Word. He said, "The mind functions spiritually only when it is saved by God's grace, sanctified by His spirit, informed by His word, submissive to His wisdom and motivated by His love."
In that same lecture, Dr. Williams spent a lot of time pointing out the importance of studying. He said, “No one can be a serious and obedient disciple of Jesus Christ without giving a significant place to study in one's life.” I really realized this past week how being a Christian has influence in every aspect of my life. Having a Biblical worldview requires studying, so that I can know and understand God’s word and the world He’s created for us to live in. The reasons why each follower of Jesus Christ should be a serious student are because, the content of scripture commands it, the nature of scripture necessitates it, and the commission of scripture requires it. (Matthew 22, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Doctor Williams and I were able to discuss many topics together, including, spiritual gifts, prayer, the “fear of the Lord,” and many of his books. (just to name a few J) We finished off the week with a time of poetry reading and a Q&A session. It was a great week of learning! Oh, and I finished reading both of his books before the weekend! I highly recommend “Inklings of Reality” & “Mere Humanity.”
Yesterday, we spend the day at Mesa Verde National Park and I really enjoyed visiting again, even though I was there just 2 months ago with my family. This time, I did the tour with 23 of my fellow students and it was fantastic! We had a great tour guide and it was neat to be able to get closer to the actual cliff dwellings, as opposed to just viewing them from the observation deck. Here is a picture of my friend Damiya and I, with the cliff dwellings in the background.
I have another busy week ahead of me, but I’m very excited to have a new teacher! I will also be writing the Summit blog sometime this week. You can find that at the Summit Semester website: www.summit.org/institutes/semester/blog
Again, thank you for all your prayers! I’m doing great and managing to stay well despite all the sickness that’s currently going around. Continue to pray that I would remain healthy!
With Love & Gratitude, Mae
Sunday, October 18, 2009
10-18-09
Dear Family and Friends,
I think this past week has been one of my favorites here thus far! Doctor Bauman was with us again, and as always, his lectures are challenging, but always enjoyable! The reason why I enjoyed this past week so much, is because I was able to talk with Dr. Bauman between and after classes, I was able to ask him several of my questions. Through his answers and my studies, I've been able to understand specific points or questions a little more. My most pondered questions from this week are: 1. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? and 2. What do I believe about the giving and using of spiritual gifts?
In one of our discussions about spiritual gifts, Dr. Bauman explained to me the difference between certitude and certainty. The former is what you feel to be true, and the latter is what you know to be true. He told me, "Mae, you can't base all your beliefs on certitude. You need to base what you believe on certainty. Know the foundation of what you believe." Besides for my interaction with the faculty, I've also enjoyed many deep and thought provoking conversations with other students. I love meal times, because it provides such a great opportunity to spend time talking about ideas and beliefs. It's neat to be able to think things through verbally with my peers and we seek to know the truth. This upcoming week we have a new teacher, Don Williams. In preparation for his arrival, we were to read 2 books...I'm still working on them! Our schedule is so intense, but it is so beneficial to have it that way. I'm spending lots of time reading and studying - but I also look forward to the breaks we have: work crew and dish crews. In the last two weeks, I've stained a lot of wood and I've also helped dig a trench! The weather here has been lovely, so it has been great to get outside and work doing manual labor! We also had a special treat this week: we got to do some gun shooting! It was quite fun and everyone was amazed when the "California girl" hit the target 3 times in a row! Friday marked the half-way point of this semester and I can't believe that now, it's more than half over. Time is sure flying by!
I hope you're all doing well!
Miss you!
-Mae
I think this past week has been one of my favorites here thus far! Doctor Bauman was with us again, and as always, his lectures are challenging, but always enjoyable! The reason why I enjoyed this past week so much, is because I was able to talk with Dr. Bauman between and after classes, I was able to ask him several of my questions. Through his answers and my studies, I've been able to understand specific points or questions a little more. My most pondered questions from this week are: 1. What does it mean to be made in the image of God? and 2. What do I believe about the giving and using of spiritual gifts?
In one of our discussions about spiritual gifts, Dr. Bauman explained to me the difference between certitude and certainty. The former is what you feel to be true, and the latter is what you know to be true. He told me, "Mae, you can't base all your beliefs on certitude. You need to base what you believe on certainty. Know the foundation of what you believe." Besides for my interaction with the faculty, I've also enjoyed many deep and thought provoking conversations with other students. I love meal times, because it provides such a great opportunity to spend time talking about ideas and beliefs. It's neat to be able to think things through verbally with my peers and we seek to know the truth. This upcoming week we have a new teacher, Don Williams. In preparation for his arrival, we were to read 2 books...I'm still working on them! Our schedule is so intense, but it is so beneficial to have it that way. I'm spending lots of time reading and studying - but I also look forward to the breaks we have: work crew and dish crews. In the last two weeks, I've stained a lot of wood and I've also helped dig a trench! The weather here has been lovely, so it has been great to get outside and work doing manual labor! We also had a special treat this week: we got to do some gun shooting! It was quite fun and everyone was amazed when the "California girl" hit the target 3 times in a row! Friday marked the half-way point of this semester and I can't believe that now, it's more than half over. Time is sure flying by!
I hope you're all doing well!
Miss you!
-Mae
Sunday, October 4, 2009
October 4th!
It has been exactly a month - today, since I arrived here at Summit! What an amazing month it has been.
This past week, we had a guest speaker, John Stonestreet. He was one of my favorite speakers from summer camp, so I was looking forward to having him teach again. He spoke on Christianity and Culture. The time we spent in class was so productive, informative, and challenging. I'm keeping a little notebook that I write all my questions in, so that I have them with me, wherever I go.
Some of the questions I've been pondering this week from culture class are:
-Is faith developed prior to engaging the world, or via engaging the world?
-What does it mean to be a Christian in a culture?
-What ought to be the impact of redemption and reconciliation on human cultures?
-What ideas have become embedded in our culture?
That's just a fraction of them - but it'll give you an idea of what I'm thinking about and studying, particularly this week!
One of my favorite things we studied this week was about the history of the different denominations of the Church. I'd never studied that part of Church history, so it was incredibly interesting! I now realize why we have so many different "types" of churches.
Being able to discuss ideas with our teachers, outside of class, is also such a blessing here at Summit. One night I was up until 11pm talking with John Stonestreet and a few other people about different aspects of our lectures, and being able to ask some of my questions. I am so thankful that when they're here teaching, they make time to talk with us individually. Besides from discussing things with the teachers, I've been able to have so many amazing conversations with other students and staff. Everyday, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be here.
One of my favorite quotes from John Stonestreet this week was, "Education is an active process, not passive." How true that statement is! Sometimes students (including myself) can get into the mindset that we just need to "get through" school. But how much more effective and productive it can be if we take learning seriously, engage our minds and think critically about ideas. Ideas form culture - and ideas have consequences.
I'm also enjoying our weekly art and Bible survey classes. We're having a "art festival" in class on Tuesday, so I've got to finish my project sometime this afternoon when we get back to Snow Wolf Lodge. In Bible class, we're reading all the way through Deuteronomy right now. How great it is to read the Bible in full context - and understand it as a meta-narrative.
This week Dr. Bauman will be back teaching, and I'm looking forward to discussing spiritual gifts with him...I'll let you know how it goes! :)
Hope you're doing well too.
I'm enjoying hearing from you all, via mail.
Thank you for your prayers. I miss you all!
Love,
Mae
This past week, we had a guest speaker, John Stonestreet. He was one of my favorite speakers from summer camp, so I was looking forward to having him teach again. He spoke on Christianity and Culture. The time we spent in class was so productive, informative, and challenging. I'm keeping a little notebook that I write all my questions in, so that I have them with me, wherever I go.
Some of the questions I've been pondering this week from culture class are:
-Is faith developed prior to engaging the world, or via engaging the world?
-What does it mean to be a Christian in a culture?
-What ought to be the impact of redemption and reconciliation on human cultures?
-What ideas have become embedded in our culture?
That's just a fraction of them - but it'll give you an idea of what I'm thinking about and studying, particularly this week!
One of my favorite things we studied this week was about the history of the different denominations of the Church. I'd never studied that part of Church history, so it was incredibly interesting! I now realize why we have so many different "types" of churches.
Being able to discuss ideas with our teachers, outside of class, is also such a blessing here at Summit. One night I was up until 11pm talking with John Stonestreet and a few other people about different aspects of our lectures, and being able to ask some of my questions. I am so thankful that when they're here teaching, they make time to talk with us individually. Besides from discussing things with the teachers, I've been able to have so many amazing conversations with other students and staff. Everyday, I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be here.
One of my favorite quotes from John Stonestreet this week was, "Education is an active process, not passive." How true that statement is! Sometimes students (including myself) can get into the mindset that we just need to "get through" school. But how much more effective and productive it can be if we take learning seriously, engage our minds and think critically about ideas. Ideas form culture - and ideas have consequences.
I'm also enjoying our weekly art and Bible survey classes. We're having a "art festival" in class on Tuesday, so I've got to finish my project sometime this afternoon when we get back to Snow Wolf Lodge. In Bible class, we're reading all the way through Deuteronomy right now. How great it is to read the Bible in full context - and understand it as a meta-narrative.
This week Dr. Bauman will be back teaching, and I'm looking forward to discussing spiritual gifts with him...I'll let you know how it goes! :)
Hope you're doing well too.
I'm enjoying hearing from you all, via mail.
Thank you for your prayers. I miss you all!
Love,
Mae
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