Thoughts . . . (Sorry so long!)

I figured I would let everyone know how I’m doing apart from all of these trips.  It is true that the field-studies are a large part of the schooling here, and that they are crazy-fun, but there is more that has been on my mind besides seeing the country-side.  Yesterday, I guess, prompted me to let those of you know of this part of my time here because I have not yet mentioned it.  I had a difficult day yesterday to say the least.  No worries, for I am going to the surrounding area of the Sea of Galilee for the next four days, trips always made the difficult things seem smaller, although not go away. 

Yesterday, I had a tough day of classes.  I started my day with a Rabbinical Thought and Literature Class.  This class has always been troubling for me.  Parts of me think that the only things that I can take from the class were learned in the first two class periods.  We are continuously going over Classical Rabbinical teachings (Mishnah), and have just gotten into reading the Talmud.  Our teacher obviously has a biased being a Jewish Rabbi.  Recently, I had to write a response paper about the influence of Midrash in the New Testament.  It is true that Jesus, as well as the writers would have lived among the Rabbinical teachings of the Jews, but it has been hard for me to draw a line of how much.  Were the writers of the New Testament include Midrash on the Old Testament within their N.T. writings?  Did Jesus, being a Rabbi, think that there was more than one source of truth for each of His teachings (we learn that every aspect of Scripture can have 70 different meanings, even opposing interpretations, and that it is all truth)?  Is Paul, being a Jew most of his life, a product of Jewish thought, and refer to many O.T. references that we don’t notice?  Is the entire book of James a Midrash upon five verses in the 12th Psalm, which is it’s own Midrash upon a chapter of the book of Hosea?  These are the things that we are being taught, and proven through many “tools” that Rabbinic Literature uses.  Honestly, I’ve had a very harsh reaction to all of this teaching.  There is no way that I believe that Christ rode the same donkey into Jerusalem, that was the same donkey that Abraham used to go to the place where he was to sacrifice Isaac, that was the same donkey that was used in an O.T. story, that was created in the 6^th day at twilight, and just chilled between each of its divine uses.  That is crazy!  If I cannot accept this, then I wonder how much of the seemingly legitimate claims I can believe.  In thinking this through, I’ve kind of said that it is all nonsense, and take the fact that this was the background that the N.T. authors would have lived and written in, along with Jesus.  I do wonder, though, if my idea of truth is confined to my western world-view of one truth, and the rest being false.  Eastern world-views can accept many opinions, all being equal truth, even if they oppose.  In my mind there is one Truth, and that is Christ, He permeates throughout all Scripture including the O.T. as he showed the two on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. 

After my time 2 ½ hours in Rabbinical Thoguht, I had to quick study for a Greek Mid-term exam, which I’m petty sure I bombed; it was so hard.  And then I had 20 minutes to regroup and got to my History of Ancient Israel class that was also 2 ½ hours.  In class we talked about the Patriarchs, the Exodus, and the Joshua’s account of the conquest of the land of the Levant.  At the end of he hour our teacher, who is a practicing Jew, basically told us that the Patriarchs are just a myth that were to represent the actual people of Israel during the divided monarchy, and the tradition was fashioned to give them a history to the right of the land of Canaan.  The stories were to show that God had followed through on His promise and it was now time for the people to follow with their part.  Along with this, out teacher, also, pointed out that the Exodus also couldn’t have possibly happened.  He was not just telling is these things were wrong, he is a very, very intelligent man and “proved” it to us through ancient documents, archaeological records, and the by the holes in Scripture.  Basically, he gave us three possible views on each.  In each case, though, none seemed quite satisfactory.  I, at times, am feeling naïve in my belief that it is just all true.  He told us that the only way that it is possible to believe that the exodus happened is by having complete faith against all the unproven evidence. 

In both cases, I just wonder if my thoughts on Scripture are too narrow.  Even Christians here have a bit different takes on the historicity of the Bible than I would say.  Are we too closed minded in America?  An even bigger question for me had been, “When I continue to teach these passages to youth of whomever, how will I approach the teaching with all these things in mind?”  Can I really just say that against all opinions we have faith that these events happened.  I would say yes, but these kids aren’t stupid.  They, at some point, will have to come to grips, like I am, with their faith in the Bible and in the Lord.  I’ve seen many people back away from faith because of some of these issues that they couldn’t just accept them under faith.  Should one force them too, or it is ok to say that these ideas might be true, and still have faith in the Lord that supposedly wrote all these stories?  Our teacher has no problem in still believing that God’s sovereignty is over the Bible despite these issues.  He says that God’s revelations to the people (the authors of the Bible) were written in these narrative forms so that the people would understand and be able to remember and pass the traditions on.  God’s purpose was to remind the Israelites that they still had to follow through on the covenant that the God had followed through with. 

As you can see, some of these things have ruffled my feathers a bit.  Nothing is shaking me to my core, but one has to decide how he or she thinks of their faith and Scripture through these views.  I wanted to let you know a little about some of the ideas I’m learning and the classes that I am taking.  Also, I wanted to let you know of these ideas so you, yourselves, can roll over the possibilities in your minds.  My pray for myself, and for your is that you would be “quick to listen, slow to speak [and believe]” and to “not be deceived” for the father of lie can work through bent truth better than recognizable lies.  Also, remember that “the man who perseveres under [spiritual] trial will receive the crown of life.”  For trials will produce an abundance of faith and spiritual endurance.”  Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord who follows through on his promises!  

3 days, 3 regions, 3 water sources. Need I say more. . .

I’ve arrived home from my 3 day field-trip.  Our days were packed with visiting sights and long bus rides.  In all, we visited Bet-Shemesh, Azekah, Lichish, Ashkeloh, the Mediterranean  Sea  the “Super Bowl,” Avdat, Beer-sheba, Arad, Masada, the Dead Sea, En-Gedi Springs, and Qumran.  In doing so, we visited the Israel’s Shephelah (region between the Judean Hills and the coastal plains), the Biblical Negev, the Greater Negev, and the Dead Sea region.  There is just so much I could tell everyone, but without visiting it also, most of it can be very hard to picture.  I had an absolutely amazing time. 

Some of the highlights of the trip were watching the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea, looking over the edge of the “Super Bowl” (a large depression in the rock) at night, swimming in the Dead Sea, racing up the Roman seize ramp at Masada, hiking in the Wadi Zin, and the nights at the youth hostel.  Each day we woke up and left by 7:00 am, and where back to another place to sleep by 7:00 p.m.  Today, my body is so sore.  3 days of running, hiking, climbing, and lots of walking in the hot sun has taken a toll on my body, but it is so worth it. 

One of the best, and worst events of the weekend was running up the Roman Seize ramp of Masada.  Masada is a rock fortress right on the edge of the dead sea.  This is where King Herod had a palace, and is referred to as a floating city.  The Essenes lived in Masada, and it was the last location taken in the Roman invasion of 70 A.D.  Anyways. . . The seize ramp is still there.  Out teacher told out class that the record was 3 minutes from the bottom to the top or the “fortress.”  8 of the guys decided to run and challenge the record.  I ended up being in first the entire time, but got passed on the last snake turn with about 15 yards to go.  I finished in 2 min. 28 sec.  I’ve never been in so much pain in my life.  We straight sprinted for almost 3 minutes, it was our first stop in the morning, I hadn’t had any breakfast, my stomach was already upset before the run, it was steaming hot, and apparently I’m not in shape any more.  Ha.  Out of all football training, I’ve never felt as bad as I did after the run.  My legs were numb, and my head was throbbing; I swear I almost passed out.  All that to say that I did sprint up the entire ramp, and I shattered the record!  It was so worth it, now that I think of it now. 

The Dead Sea was insane.  The water was so warm.  I could only stay in for literally 15 minutes.  Our teacher told us to take off all jewelry because it would be corroded, not to go under the water, to taste the water, to be careful not to cut our feet on the salt deposits, and that a good time to get out is when it starts to burn and you can’t stand it anymore.  This sounded like a crazy thing to do, but it was the freakin’ Dead Sea.  You really do float.  It was one of the weirdest feelings in the world.  Eventually, yes, it did burn, and yes it did really hurt.  After I got out, my skin was just covered in salt.  To wash off, we drove down the road to the En-Gedi Springs.  This was a nice change in water and was very refreshing.                                                                                                                                                                                                            I’m really starting to get close with a lot of the guys here.  There are some really cool people who I really click with.  It has been hard, however, blending in with one specific group of friends.  I’ve been kind of a floater from group to group (it sounds like middle school, I know).  I think, now, though, the Lord has been showing me a lot with the friends that I choose and hang out with.  Although this is a Christian university, it is not the same as Taylor.  There are many nights that my friends go out on the city when I’m torn on to go or not.  Many times I have gone, and hung out with everyone, but have not participated.  Other times I have just stayed on campus.  I think I am more of an introvert than I think when I’m not surrounded by solid friends like the guys at Taylor.  I’ve always been upset at Taylor because I feel like it has never given me the real view of a normal college life.  I haven’t been upset because I’ve wanted to join in, but I’ve been upset because I fee like many of my friends from secular universities have a tried, true, and tested faith.  Many of them come away from a school-year with more spiritual growth than myself.  As I am here, at JUC, this is the Lord’s answer to my prayer, and I didn’t expect it to be easy.   Because of this, I often miss a lot of my friends from home.  This is good, though, for I will not be able to live with my friends at Taylor forever.

As I continue readying OT Scriptures here, it seems whatever I read is immediately worked through each of my days.  Whether it be in class, in a discussion, or read on one of our field trips, the passage that I read somehow is mentioned.  There is no way I could say that this isn’t God’s doing.  The Lord is definitely watching over me here.  I think it takes us, many times, to get out somewhere we aren’t usually for Him to get our attention. 

The best part of this trip was definitely time spend with friends.  The youth hostels at night were actually really nice.  It was like a hotel.  Dan and I shared a room both nights.  The first night they messed up out room, and we got put in a room that reminded us of a honeymoon sweet; it only had one bed. Haha.  For the first time in a long time, I was forced to do nothing.  I didn’t bring any homework on the trip, so each night was spent reading or talking with people.  It was a great change in events.  Also, returning “home” was great.  As we drove back into Jerusalem, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, this is my home.  It’s so crazy!” 

P.S. - in case you're wondering one of the pictures is me slinging a stone (like David).  And in a picture Dan is Shouting Lamentations off the large cliff, and I'm putting the curse in physical form with a rock (don't ask . . .lol).  And in another shows the large ramp that I ran up.

Eilat, and Ancient Israel Field Study

Last Monday seems forever ago.  This past week, we had spirit week for out college here.  It is like high school where there is clash day, PJ day, crazy hair day, pirate day, and inside-out day.  I just found out last night that I had the most “spirit” for the week, and got a gift certificate to the campus store.  It was a lot of fun. 

I have been slaving over homework these past two weeks.  Because I was gone for the weekend, I had to pull almost 8 hour days in the library Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, and Monday.  I am starting to get to the part of the semester when all my paper due dates are coming up.  It’s all good though, I have plenty of time.  I’ll just have to get back in Taylor mode for a couple of week. 

Over the weekend, I went down to Eilat, Israel.  Eilat is the tourist/ beach town of Israel.  It is located at the very southern tip of Israel on the Red Sea.  From the city, you can see Jordan and Egypt.  Since it was a holiday weekend for the Jews, there were tons of people there.  A group of over 20 from JUC took the 5 hour bus ride down to Eilat.  The group I was with was about 9 people.  We arrived in Eilat at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, and got back at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. 

Eilat was incredible.  While we were there, we slept on the beach each night, and awoke with the sun-rise.  Friday was one of the best days of my life.  I was awake for the sunrise over the Jordanian mountains just across the sea; it was incredible.  After we got around, we walked about 2 hours to the Southern beach, where the supposedly good snorkeling is (We walked so much on the trip, I felt like I was a bum because we were just walking along the road, and we were carrying all of our bags).  We ended up stopping at this little oasis spot on the shore that was like a little pub.   We stayed there all day and just soaked up the sun.  Snorkeling was one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life.  They say that Eilat has the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world!  It was definitely work it; underwater looked like a Finding Nemo land.  Haha.  There were so many fish and coarl, and in so many colors.  I didn’t even know that some of those colors ever existed.  The water was really warm, and really salty.  After I had gotten out of the water, no more than 10 minutes later, there would be this white film on my skin from the salt. 

On Saturday morning, I woke up and went hiking/climbing on the mountains right off of were we camped on the beach.  The view was great.  I could see all the way up the Jordan Vally, the Northern beach of Eilat, and across into Egypt and Jordan.  From the top of the mountain, I could see all the coral in the water.  The water was such a bright blue color, and then faded to a deep blue.  Later when we watched the sunset, the Jordanian mountains behind up lit up with a deep red-orange color.  Eilat is absolutely beautiful.  I couldn’t help being under water, on the beach, or driving along the Dead Sea on the bus-ride there, and not think of the Bible and all the events that took place there.  The Eilat trip was definitely a needed break from my school work. 

Although the trip was great, it also was exhausting.  We only slept like 4 hours a night, sat in the sun all day, walked many miles, and hiked in the mornings.  Also, the school sent food with us, but it was just panute butter, jelly, and some vegetables.  I bet I had over 20 PB&J sandwiches over the weekend.  I was so excited for the school’s food when we returned.  Many of the guys were complaining because of the rocks on the beach as they slept, and the heat during the day.  It was soo hot.  The two days we were there, it was 95 and 105 degrees.  Doing something like this makes me want to backpack across Europe or something.  It’s be awesome.

We arrived back from Eialt, like I said, at 2:30 in the morning.  I had, then, to go on a field-study trip at 8:00 a.m.  that day.  Out field study was for my History of Ancient Israel class.  I really like this class.  It is so hard to sit through though.  Out class in 2 ½ hours long, on Monday nights, and our teacher just pours on the information.  He goes so fast, and talks the entire period without any notes.  He just says ok, then goes.  I can never get everything he is saying, and normally my head hurts at the end of the class.  It sound funny, then. that I say that I like the class.  I like the class because our teacher is so smart.  He knows so much and I am learning so much from him.  If I can only gather 10% of what he says in a class period, I’d be ok because I’d be learning so much. 

His field–study that we went on was no different.  We visited a lot of Philistine sites, as well as some of the more important Israelite sites.  We visited a museum in Tel-Aviv, the supposed site of Ebenezer, Mizpah, Gibeah, Shiloh, and a few others.  I really enjoyed this trip.  Not only did he teach the stuff our class was on, he told us many random facts as we were driving.  Between each of his lectures on the bus, I also managed to get a few naps in.  There were much needed. 

It is starting to get cooler here.  Later this week, the highs should fall with the 70’s for the first time.  We just had our clocks change over a couple of days ago also.  We fell and hour back.  It is so weird.  I find myself want to go to bed after dinner because it is so dark, and waking up super early.  I think I am now 6 hours different from the U.S.A.  Anyways. . . .all is good, and I’m hanging in there. I have a three day field trip this weekend down to the Dead Sea, the Negev, and the Shepehlah.  I was just talking to a one of the guys here and we were talking about how much we miss watching football and the changing of the trees.  We don’t get much of that here.