ELCA Splits Over Gay Clergy...some thoughts

ELCA Splits Over Gay Clergy
This article is on the front page of Sioux Falls' Argus Leader. My point in this post is not to argue who is right or wrong. Too much of that has been done already in hurtful and violent ways that are antithetical to the ideals of the Church. I recently had a conversation (via Facebook) with an old seminary friend about those who decide to stay and why we need to support them and the larger whole of the Church catholic in prayer over these issues rather than continually lead with condemnation of their actions. It is easier to critique from a safe distance than to pray and walk with brothers and sisters of Christ who remain for reform.

These situations in the Episcopal and Lutheran churches deeply sadden me as they have been my ecclesial homes over the past 4 years. I have seen the strife from within and from outside the denominations and local congregations because of ignorance and blanket types of statements. Within any large ecclesial body there is bound to be wide differences of interpretations; thus no blanket statement is just for the body. Within these bodies there are those who choose to stay within because they not only hold high the authority of scripture like Evangelicals, but also ecclesial authority found in the bishopry. Most Evangelicals fail to see that this dual crisis of authority. They only read these situations through sola scriptura mediated by an authority of interpretation rooted within themeselves. To an Anglican/Episcopalian considering leaving the denomination it is also a rejection of the bishop and their authority. It is a dangerous, and perhaps treasonous, collapse of their theology.

My hope is that those who stand outside these discussions can and will support those who remain with prayer and encouragement rather than insults and judgement. Furthermore, not only those who remain for reform, but pray also for those who oppose you and whatever side you may be on. And perhaps pray not even for conversion to your way of thinking, but for the sake of Christ's body and mission on earth. I encourage all sides to look toward each other with compassion in spite of their differences remembering that we are all sinners in desperate need of God's mercy.

God have mercy upon us all.

Creativity

The other day I received a Facebook message from my niece asking for help with a college writing project on creativity. She is to interview someone about creativity and I was happy to help.

Creativity is something that I have thought about a fair amount...the 4th chapter of my thesis was positing a theory of creativity in a theological perspective. And yet, now that I have looked over these questions, my words seem to slip away. But I thought it would make for an interesting post series as I take on these questions. So I will be posting my answers to her questions and invite you to participate as well if you have thoughts along the way.

1)As an artist, how do you define creativity?

2)In your opinion, how interchangable are the words "creative" and "innovative?"

3)How has artistic creativity aided you throughout your life?

4)What areas of your life have been effected by creativity outside of your artistic career? i.e. problem-solving

5)In your opinion, how could others benefit from expanding/realizing their creativity?

6)Considering biological and environmental influences, what do you consider the source of creativity?

7)Do you agree with this quote? All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.-Pablo Picasso

8)Do you feel your level of creativity has been consistant through your life? If so, why? If not, what do you believe accounts for these changes?

9)Are there particular experiences or people that effected your creativity?

10)If you or someone you knew wanted to increase their level of creativity, what steps would you advise them to take?

N.A.S.A. Videos "Waydown" & "Money"

After yesterday's video post, I had to make up for it with two great videos. Hat tip to Matt Anderson for the first video. Great art and design meets great music.

Jesus is a Friend of Mine...ZAP!

Weather Report: 03.10.09

This morning as I sat by my computer that overlooks a frigid, snowy and windblown parking lot I am considering how just days ago it was full of puddles in the 35 degree thaw. Today temperatures are below zero and the wind gusts are up into the 30 mile per hour range. In the upper Midwest March storms can be the most brutal and surprising. Perhaps it is because we have experienced a taste of spring. Or perhaps it is because we simply expect winter to be over.

This made me think of a scene from Lord of the Rings where Gandalf fights the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dum. Gandalf appears to have defeated the Balrog who unexpectedly sends up on last fiery tendril and grasps Gandalf by the leg and pulls him into the abyss. First time viewers or readers are horrified that the grandfatherly Gandalf is pulled from their sights.

Though Gandalf does not exhibit an inappropriate triumphalism, I have always read this scene as a warning against an attitude of attained achievement. I cannot help but to wonder how this sense of triumphalism has snuck into our theology. When we boldly declare our salvation, our theologies and definitions of truth. When we consider all such things as completed we run the risk of being blindsided by one last whip of winter or tendril of the Balrog.

We do well to remember the seasons of salvation, that the Kingdom is present and still coming, that truth can be known but only in part and through faith, and that though we may be wealthy there are still poor and starving. While the Kingdom may be at hand, our work is not done.
Lent being time for self-reflection is only aided by such weather where I prefer to stay inside. Here I am challenging and consoling my sense of achievements with process and incompleteness.

Guns, An American Promise, and a King James Bible

Today as I rode the elevator up to my apartment casually browsing through the mail I had just picked up, I stumbled upon this little jewel of an insert in the local ads.

I couldn't believe it.




Gun sales. An oath. Patriotism. American made quality and jobs...and a King James Bible.

Are you kidding me?

.My first impulse is to let my cynicism prevail and stereotype the target demographics of such an ad. But there are serious issues at stake.

Beyond profaning, what millions consider a sacred text by using it for advertising, the ad makes further uncomfortable associations between an oath, religion, patriotism, the perceived quality of American products and the sanctity of American jobs all used to market a weapon.

Now I am not opposed to hunting either. I am disturbed by the use of the Bible to market a gun. And actually...I am disturbed by the use of the Bible to market anything.

I wonder how would other religions react to such an ad? Would the Muslim world be upset to see their Koran used in a casual (and perhaps even well intentioned) advertisement? What about the Jewish communities? Would they allow the use of the Tanakh to market a gun or something else? My hunch is that they too would be upset.

One of the ironies here is that the Bible is clearly labeled "Holy Bible". "Holy" or "sacred" suggests that it is meant to be set apart from. Here a sacred text is used as a marketing tool within the market economy which runs in great contrast to the economy of God and grace.

I know that I am not the only one likely to be upset by this, but I wonder why more people are not upset. I posted the ad on Facebook and have had mixed reviews on whether it is offensive. People I consider thoughtful Christians come out on either side. What is it about this ad that irks me so?

Is it my sacramental sensibilities about the nature of "holy things"? Is it my general distaste for the market economy? Am I just a cynic who takes pleasure in critiquing the world around me? Perhaps. But then again, I cannot help but wonder if we have become so desensitized to marketing that we fail to see a transgression when it is in front of us. If the product were to change, would this then ruffle peoples feathers? Mentally go through a list of household items and consider the ad. Skittles. Tampons. Baking Soda. Motor Oil. Shampoo. Do any of these change your reaction to the ad?

Similarly, have we so domesticated the sense of the sacred that we no longer care how our sacred texts are used? I cannot help but to think of Stanley Hauerwas' provocative opening chapter of Unleashing Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America. He starts out saying,
"Most North American Christians assume that they have a right, if not an obligation, to read the Bible. I challenge that assumption. No task is more important than for the Church to take the Bible out of the hands of individual Christians in North America. Let us no longer give the Bible to all children when they enter the third grade or whenever their assumed rise to Christian maturity is marked, such as eigth-grade commencements. Let us rather tell them and their parents that they are possessed by habits too corrupt for them to be encouraged to read the Bible on their own.

North American Christians are trained to believe that they are capable of reading the Bible without spiritual and moral transformation. They read the Bible not as Christians, not as a people set apart, but as democratic citizens who think their 'common sense' is sufficient for 'understanding' the Scripture. They feel no need to stand udner the authority of a truthful community to be told how to read. Instead they assume that they have all the 'religious experience' necessary to know what the Bible is about. As a result the Bible inherently becomes the ideology for a politics quite different from the politics of the Church.

Note, it is not an issue of whether the Bible should be read politically, but an issue of which politics should be determining our reading as Christians." (p. 15)

As shocking as Hauerwas' statements are, there is part of me that wants to agree and particularly in connection to this ad. If the Bible would be taken from the democratic economy, perhaps it would regain its sacredness. Then, I suspect more people would be offended by ads such as this in its casual use of imagery and patriotic ideology. Do we so easily forget that this text contains the narrative of God's interaction with humanity, whereby we can come to know Jesus the Christ, inspired in some way by the Holy Spirit? Are we reading the scriptures with this weight upon us and upon the words, or have have they become so mundane that we no longer see them through an appropriate lens?

But then again, perhaps I am just a cynic who likes to critique everything around me.

Crucifixes in the Classroom

Yesterday as I was surfing the Insidehighered.com website and saw this story on Boston College who is facing some serious discussions about their efforts to put up crucifixes in the classrooms across campus. Now I can see why an institution like BC has issues with this if not all the professors are Catholic or even some other denomination. I suppose even some Christians might take offense at the presence of the crucifix in an educational setting. The thing I find interesting is that while many want plurality and "objectivity" in the classroom are trying to do so within a Catholic/Jesuit college environment. Both students and faculty are well aware of their history and beliefs when they apply to work or study there.

This is not a lone incident. I've heard a number of students make similar sorts of comments about Augustana College's preferences given toward Christianity. Augustana is a Lutheran ELCA school which, for the most part, is a progressive and open environment to explore religious and philosophical questions, or avoid them altogether. But at its heart it is a Lutheran School, funded by Lutherans, where you are not asked to sign a lifestyle contract nor attend worship, write or sign a credo of belief.

I cannot help but to wonder what is the responsibility of a private religiously affiliated school to provide ample space for religious pluralism? Likewise, at what point do faculty and students simply have to adjust and/accept the historical religious traditions of their given university? What is at stake for the university? What is at stake for faculty and students?

Holy Cats II

Now I don't know why I am interested in stories of cat hoarding, but I am. Last July I posted on another such occurrence of 117 cats hoarded in an Omaha home. This story tops that one by exactly one cat. Now I realize that we are amidst a recession but I did not realize that cats were such a valuable commodity at times like these. I suppose if our currency completely fails and we are left to barter with felines, these folks will be the richest folks in the Midwest. This idea of hoarding animals is strange to me. Now I like cats. One, maybe two are ok. But when does a collection of cats turn into something like Hitchcock's birds?

Now on the more serious side for both human and cats...

The woman fits the classic profile of an obsessive-compulsive animal hoarder, "which is sad for both animals and owners," Streff said.

This is certainly a depressing state for any creature to live in. For the owners, motivated perhaps in some sort by compassion for lost animals, which is to be commended, still ends up inflicting them to one another in a very confined environment. What is the classic profile of an obsessive compulsive animal hoarder? What is so lacking in someones life that they collect animals? I cannot help but to wonder what their thought processes are?

The movement towards compassion for God's creation is commendable, if that is what motivates them regardless of if that language is chosen or not. Is it a sign of a lack of community that is sought out in animals? No real answers...just questions.

Theology and the Arts Programs

A few weeks back I posted links in the sidebar to several prominent Theology and the Arts academic programs including GTU, Andover Newton, Fuller, Duke, ITIA, Yale, Regent, and United Seminary. Over the past 10 years I have considered applying to each of the programs for a variety of reasons. Each program has its strengths and weaknesses.

One thing that I find curious is that most programs are academically focussed and only nominally arts focussed. Regent offers an occasional course in icon writing or painting. United, the most proximal for me, does have some studio space as well. One school not mentioned is Azusa Pacific's MFA program. I think they are the only evangelical Christian college that offers an MFA. From some conversations I have had with them they try hard to integrate theology into conversation with the process of art making. Additionally it seems to be a low-res. type of program (for better or worse).

My seminary experience in Sioux Falls comes from a line of thought that blends academics with practical experience of ministry. This sort of formation helps direct and remind academically minded folks that their work always exists for the church. I have pondered over the past few years, could there be a like-minded program that balances academic theology with practical artistic output? Rather than courses in preaching, pastoral care, and supervised ministry, artists could take courses in painting or printmaking or whatever their chosen medium along side traditional seminary courses of church history and theology, as well as, specific integration sorts of courses? Not only would this offer great resources for artists, but could help future pastors learn how to integrate the arts more effectively into the life of the ecclesia. This would not and could not replace a MFA from a university, but it could be an opportunity to give young artists a solid theological grounding from which to work.

Zombies Ahead! Run!

Every once in a while a story will touch me so deeply. This particular one from MSN did just that. As I drive through these great midwestern towns and cities, I am often left pondering "how can I re-arrange these sign letters to make something more interesting or comical...or perhaps just juvenile and offensive?" I dream of placing lawn ornaments in compromising positions. Or adding the always classic "in bed" or "in my butt" to the end of billboard statements. So when I read this article from MSN, I knew I was reading about a more technologically advanced bird of a feather.

2009 AAR/SBL Upper Midwest Regional Meeting Schedule

Last week was a busy one with presentations, papers, show deadlines and just daily life. I did recieve the schedule for the Upper Midwest Regional AAR meeting which was a good reminder to get to work on the New Topographics and Catholicity project. I am thankful, and a little intimidated that I am presenting this year on the first day and first battery of sessions. Last time I presented I was the second to last paper on the last day. This week I will be trying to get a few posts back to these topics.

2009 AAR SBL ASOR
Upper Midwest Regional Meeting
Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, Minnesota
27-28 March 2009

FRIDAY
9:00-1:00 Workshop (Room 230)
“Teaching Native American Religions as a Matter of Fact”
Facilitators:
Michelene Pesantubbe, University of Iowa
Dennis Kelley, Iowa State University

11:00-1:00 SBL Graduate Student Seminar, “The Do’s and Don’t’s of Networking”

1:00-2:30 SBL Plenary Session:
Dr. Joel Kaminsky
“The Other in Late Biblical and
Early Rabbinic Texts”
(Auditorium)

2:45-4:15 First Sessions

4:15-4:30 Refreshment Break in the Atrium

4:30-6:00 Second Sessions

6:00-7:00 Reception in the Atrium

SATURDAY
8:00-9:30 Coffee, Juice and Rolls in the Atrium

9:00-10:00 AAR Plenary Session:
Dr. Frederick Denny
“Perceptions of Islam and Muslims: Scholarship and Public Opinion over the Past Four Decades”
(Auditorium)

10:15-11:45 Third Sessions

12:00-1:15 Buffet Lunch and Business Meetings
(Olsen Campus Center)

1:30-3:00 Joint AAR/SBL Discussion:
“Teaching Reflectively in Theological Contexts”
Presiders: Amy Marga and Karoline Lewis, Luther Seminary
Panelists:
Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas
Rolf Jacobson, Luther Seminary
Mary E. Hess, Luther Seminary
David J. Lose, Luther Seminary
(Auditorium)

3:00-3:15 Refreshment Break in the Atrium

3:15-4:45 Fourth Sessions
All sessions are in Northwestern Hall unless otherwise indicated


WORKSHOP
Friday, 9:00-1:00

Workshop: Teaching Native American Religions as a Matter of Fact (Room 230)
Facilitators: Michelene Pesantubbe, University of Iowa and Dennis Kelley, Iowa State University

This workshop will address the complex issues informing the development of an introductory Native American religious traditions course. Selecting thematic approaches, tribal cultures, and religious practices or ideas will be covered. Participants are encouraged to bring to the workshop their own course syllabi to share.

FIRST SESSIONS
Friday, 2:45-4:15

Session 1: Christian Apocrypha
Presider: C.D. Elledge, Gustavus Adolphus College
A Fresh Look at Laodiceans
Richard Pervo, Independent Scholar
Jesus the Murder Victim: Appropriating Scripture in the Gospel of Peter’s Narrative of Deicide
Tim Henderson, Marquette University
From Meal to Morsel: An Anthropological Reading of Christian Eucharistic Practice in the First and Second Centuries C.E.
Cody A. Schmitz, University of Minnesota

Session 2: Old Testament/Hebrew Bible
Presider: Juan Miguel Betancourt, University of St. Thomas
Reversed (Chrono)Logical Sequence in Isaiah: Some Implications for the Redaction of the Book
Eric Ortlund, Briercrest Seminary
Creation Traditions in Isaiah 40-66: Their Origin and Purpose
Douglas T. Mangum, University of Wisconsin—Madison
The Prophetic Lineage of Penitential Piety
Dale Patrick, Drake University

Session 3: Systematic Theology/Philosophy of Religion
Presider and Respondant: Paul Capetz, United Theological Seminary
“Resurrecting the Analogia Entis Debate?: A Response to John R. Betz”
Ry O. Siggelkow, University of St. Thomas
Gordon Kaufman vs. Karl Marx?: Alienation, Re-presentation, and the Commodification of Theology
Michael Andres, Northwestern College (Iowa)
“Religious Experience and its Metaphysical Foundation: A Necessary Connection”
Brian Pizzalato, Diocese of Duluth and Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, UK

Session 4: Religion, Arts and Culture: Logos, Place and Embodiment
Presider: Philip Stoltzfus, University of St. Thomas
Benedictus contra Dionysus: Music and Logos in Dialogue with Joseph Ratzinger
J. Andrew Edwards, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto
Places of Memory: Philip Sheldrake and the New Topographic Legacy
Ryan Stander, University of North Dakota
Deforming and Reforming Beauty: Disappearance and Presence in the Theo-Political Imagination of Ricardo Cinalli
Kimberly Vrudny, University of St. Thomas

Session 5: Native American Religions
Presider: Dennis Kelley, Iowa State University
Representing Religion: Media Portrayal of the 1890 Ghost Dance
Sarah Dees, University of Iowa
Indigenous Knowledge Documentation Project (IKDO): The Morrison Sessions
Mark F. Ruml, University of Winnipeg
Reflections of Self: Presentations of the “Other” in the Early Modern Period
Ezra Plank, University of Iowa

Session 6: Historical Perspectives on Religion
Presider: Jim Kroemer, Marquette University
Three Contradictory Portrayals of Lady Jane Gray
Sherry Jordan, University of St. Thomas
Friends of Violence: Early Quaker Persecutions in England
Kari Thompson, University of Iowa
The German Christians in Print, 1933-45
Mary M. Solberg, Gustavus Adolphus College

Session 7: Undergraduate Session #1
Presider: Bruce Forbes, Morningside College
NEED TITLE
Nicky Kerr, Graceland University
NEED TITLE
Maria Bady, University of Wisconsin—Oshkosh
Blood Theology: Race as Religion in the Contemporary Pagan Movement
Laura Jan Jones, University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire

Session 8: Open Session
Presider: Lawrence H. Williams, Luther College
Natural Childbirth as Icon in an Iconoclastic Culture
Susan Windley-Daoust, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota
Religion as a Source of Emotional and Material Support
Darin Mather, University of Minnesota
The Theological and the Political in an Era of Globalization: With Reflections on Ethics, Theology and Kant
Hans Gustafson, Claremont Graduate University

SECOND SESSIONS
Friday, 4:30-6:00

Session 1: New Testament: Gospel Studies
Presider: Dan Scholz, Cardinal Stritch University
The Metanarrative Hermeneutic as the Understanding for an Ecclesial Theology
Ross Manders, Bethel University
The Cardiography of Biblical Narrative
Karl Kuhn, Lakeland College
Where has Yahweh Gone? Reclaiming Unsavory Images of God in New Testament Studies
James A. Metzger, Luther College


Session 2: Early Judaism and Judaic Studies
Presider: Michael Wise, Northwestern College
NEED TITLE
Jessica L. Tinklenberg de Vega, Morningside College
According to the Brothers: First-person Narration in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
Brian O. Sigmon, Marquette University
Naturally Unnatural? Women in Midrash
Sarah Imhoff, University of Chicago

Session 3: Systematic Theology/Philosophy of Religion
Presider and Respondant: Paul Capetz, United Theological Seminary
“The Bible and Mikhail Bakhtin's Philosophy of Polyphony. Towards a Non-Authoritarian and Trinitarian Theology of Scripture”
Sorle S. Hovdenak, Luther Seminary
Figural Time: Christian Figural Reading and the “Reciprocal Interiority” of Past, Present and Future
Matthew Gerlach, University of St. Thomas
“Maturity is Salvation”: The Will to Power in the Theological Ethics of Paul Lehmann
Christopher Holmes, Providence Theological Seminary

Session 4: Greek and Roman Religion
Presider: Philip Sellew, University of Minnesota
Thucydides’ Rationalizing Idea of Miasma in Book II of His History
Matthew Briel, University of Minnesota
Sacred Texts, Salvation, and the Derveni Papyrus in Light of Traditional Greek Religion
Justin J. Buol, University of Minnesota
Eternity and Divinity in Early Christian Philosophy
Daniel Lloyd, Marquette University
Session 5: Religion, Gender and Sexuality
Presider: C. Neal Keye, The College of St. Scholastica
(Body)Image is Everything: Reflections on Female Faith Identity from the Stories of Gender Project
Claire Bischoff, Emory University
Revisiting the Nicene Creed: A Feminist Perspective
Thomas Jackson, Luther Seminary
The Theopolitics of Motherhood: Deborah’s Song, Hannah’s Prayer, and Mary’s Magnificat as Responses to the ‘Other ’Mothers
Vicki Gaylord, Independent Scholar

Session 6: Religion and Science: History and Perspectives
Gregory Peterson, South Dakota State University
Wolfgang Pauli, Carl Jung, and the Acasual Connection Principle: A Case Study in Transdisciplinarity
Charlene P.E. Burns, University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire
Social Darwinism, Racism, and a Theology of the Human Person
Marguerite L. Spencer, University of St. Thomas
Revisiting Explanation and Description in Religion and Science
Steven Lee, University of Wales Lampeter

Session 7: World Religions: Comparison, Conversation and Character
Need Presider
The Confucian Junzi and Global Ethics
Douglas P. Green, Independent Scholar
The Challenge of Chan 'Encounter Dialogue' Literature to the Speech Act Theory of Questions
Nathan Eric Dickman, University of Iowa
Comparative Theology and Its Possibilities in Three Moments
Peter Feldmeier, University of St. Thomas


Session 8: Undergraduate Session #2
Presider, Lori Brandt Hale, Augsburg College
A Question of Guilt: Religious Reaction to National Wrong in Postwar Germany
Jennifer Gonsalves, Concordia College—Moorhead
A Need to be a Little Less Luther-an: Luther, Jews and Contemporary Responses
Abby Ferjak, Augsburg College
Holding God to Account: The Anti-Theodicies of Job and Elie Wiesel
Katherine Chatelaine, St. Olaf College
NEED TITLE
Charles Buehler, Augustana College






THIRD SESSIONS
Saturday, 10:15-11:45

Session 1: New Testament
Presider: Juan Hernandez, Bethel University
An Ironic Turn of “paradidomi”: Defining “His People” in Matthew 1:21
InHee Cho, Concordia University College of Alberta
Following a Trail of Bread Crumbs: A Study of Intertextuality
D. Mark Davis, Heartland Presbyterian Church
Forty Days and Forty Nights: The Gospel of Matthew (4: 1-11) and the Scriptures of Israel
Daniel M. Gurtner, Bethel Seminary


Session 2: Old Testament/Hebrew Bible
Presider: David Penchansky, University of St. Thomas
Breaking the Baqbuq as Ritual Analogy: A Prophetic Action in Jeremiah 19 and its Ancient Near Eastern Context
Katherine S. D. Brink, University of Chicago
Birds of a Feather? The Doves of Genesis 15 in Light of Leviticus
Paul G. Monson, Marquette University
Rhetorical Reversal and Usurpation: Isaiah 10:5-34 and the Use of Neo-Assyrian Royal Ideology in the Construction of Anti-Assyrian Theology
Michael Chan, Luther Seminary

Session 3: Systematic Theology/Philosophy of Religion
Presider and Respondant: Courtney Wilder, Midland Lutheran College
Bondage, Lights, and the Good News: The Need for Proclamation in the Bondage of the Will
Erick Thompson, Lutheran School of Theology—Chicago
"On the Limits of an Ecumenism of Convergence: The Role of Anthropology in Gerhard Ebeling's Rejection of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification"
Scott Celsor, Marquette University
Reinhard Hütter’s Concrete Catholicity: Sic et Non
Kimlyn Bender, University of Sioux Falls


Session 4: Religions of North America
Presider: Murphy Pizza, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee
The Varieties of Ultimate Concern at Jonestown and Waco
Dan Morris, University of IowaViolent Communication and the Limits of Tolerance
Ryan T. O’Leary, University of Iowa
The Future from Your Point of View: Science Fiction and the Limits of Exemplary Dualism in Our Approach to New Religious Movements
Douglas FitzHenry Jones, University of Iowa


Session 5: Conversation with Frederick Denny
Presider: Bruce Forbes, Morningside College

Session 6: Historical Perspectives on Religion
Presider: Jim Kroemer, Marquette University
“Obeyed Like a God”: A Case Study on Rhetorical Violence in 19th Century Anti-Mormon Novels
Peter J. Yoder, University of Iowa
Revivalism and Social Concern: An Examination of Charles G. Finney’s Involvement in the 19th Century Abolitionist Movement
Rebecca Meier-Rao, Marquette University
An American Catholic Response to Racism and Discrimination
Anthony M. Bonta, Marquette University

Session 7: Teaching the Bible and Religion
Presider: Karoline Lewis, Luther Seminary
Bible School for Public School Teachers: Biblical Scholarship, Teacher Training, and the Teaching of the Bible in Public Schools
Nathan Raybeck, University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
Service Learning as Tool in Teaching Benedictine Values: A Case Study
Suzanne Hequet, College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University
Seminary Secrets: How Foundationalism, Faith Stage, and “God Genes” Affect Students’ Reactions to Scholarly Analysis of Scripture
Julie Black Harder, Independent Scholar

Session 8: Undergraduate Session #3
Presider: Jessica L. Tinklenberg de Vega, Morningside College
Gnosticism in the Johannine Prologue
Amanda R. Morrow, Morningside College
Abraham’s Seed and the Hermeneutical Agility of the Apostle Paul
Justin Pannkuk, Northwestern College (Iowa)
NEED TITLE
Holly Pederson, Simpson College

FOURTH SESSIONS
Saturday, 3:15-4:45

Session 1: New Testament
Presider: Juan Hernandez, Bethel University
The God of Glory in the Johannine Prologue (1:1-18):Narrative Symmetry as the Sculpting Tool for John’s Christology
Scott Hamley, Bethel Seminary

An Earthly Entity: Trans-(local)-church Unity in Ephesians
Ross Jahnke, Bethel Seminary
Rene Girard’s Mimetic Theory in St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians
Eric Vanden Eykel, Marquette University

Session 2: Old Testament/Hebrew Bible
Presider: Michael Chan, Luther Seminary
Beauty, Power and Attraction: Aesthetics and the Hebrew Bible
David Penchansky, University of St. Thomas
Two High Priesthoods? Evidence for Changes in the Priesthood from First to Second Temple
David J. Larson, Marquette University
Weeping as They Went: The Implications of Viewing 2 Sam. 15: 23-30 as a Literary Unit
Juan Miguel Betancourt, University of St. Thomas

Session 3: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Religion
Presider: Jim Kroemer, Marquette University
St. John Chrysostom and His Message of Social Justice for Us Today
Joel Cassady, St. John’s University
The People vs. The Mice: Animal Ethics that Worked
Rebecca Proefrock, Lutheran School of Theology—Chicago
The Contemporary Black Church and Economic Development
Lawrence H. Williams, Luther College


Session 4: Religion, Arts and Culture: Religious and Cultural Intersections in the Multicultural Midwest
Presider: Kimberly Vrudny, University of St. Thomas
Magical Children, Meddling Elders: Paradoxical Patterning in Contemporary Pagan Cultural Transmission
Murphy Pizza, University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee
“We Dance So That the People Will Live”: Modernity, Tradition and Cultural Performance in the Contemporary Intertribal PowWow
Dennis Kelley, Iowa State University
Intersections of Filipino Culture, Ritual, Theology, and Symbols of Resistance in Anton Juan’s Plays El Flamenco Senaculo and Golgotha Theresa Mason, Independent Scholar

Session 5: Ethics
Need Presider
Conscientious Objection: Judging Which Beliefs and Convictions Count
Joan Henriksen Hellyer, Mayo Clinic/Luther College
“Why Should I Care?”: Responding to the Genocide in Darfur
Stephen Pattee, St. Mary’s University, Minnesota

Ethics as Lived Faith: Bonhoeffer’s Changing Forms of Political Involvement as Personal Faith Responses
David M. Gides, Christian Brothers University

Session 6: Religion and Science: Science, Theology and Scripture
Glen Enander, South Dakota State Univeristy
The Monism-Dualism Debate Regarding Humanity: Handling the Data of the Bible
Douglas S. Huffman, Northwestern College (Minnesota)
The Scriptures and Science: The Value of the Bible in a Science-Dominated World
Vincent M. Smiles, College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University
Science and the Eternal Clarity of Scripture—Basic Issues
Dennis Bielfeldt, South Dakota State University

Session 7: Undergraduate Session #4
Presider: Elna Solvang, Concordia College—Moorhead
Mother Teresa: Abandoned by God or Model of Markan Discipleship?
Logan Richman, Concordia College—Moorhead
NEED TITLE
Jennifer Lind, University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire
NEED TITLE
Ashley Anderson, Augustana College

Session 8: Religion and Ecology
Presider: Marguerite Spencer, University of St. Thomas
Beyond Ecocentrism: Examining Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic Through a Theological Lens
Jeff Reed, St. John’s School of Theology
Global Warming and the Ethics of Virtue
Nancy Menning, University of Iowa
Vaishnava Ecology: Lessons for the Future from an Ancient Faith
Virajita Singh, University of Minnesota


Plenary Speakers:

Dr. Joel Kaminsky teaches courses on the Hebrew Bible and on ancient Jewish Religion and Literature in the Religion Department at Smith College where he also Co-Directs the Program in Jewish Studies. Kaminsky received his doctorate in 1993 from the University of Chicago and came to Smith College in 1997 after teaching at a number of other institutions including: St. Olaf College, Muhlenberg College, Whitman College, and Loyola University of Chicago. Professor Kaminsky was a Visiting Fellow in the Durham University Department of Theology and Religion in 2006, as well as serving as a Visiting Associate Professor at Yale Divinity School in 2007. His research interests include narrative and theological analysis of the Hebrew Bible as well as an abiding fascination with Rabbinic techniques of biblical interpretation. He is the author of two books and one co-edited collection of essays and has published a number of articles and many book reviews in various scholarly journals. His most recent book, Yet I Loved Jacob: Reclaiming the Biblical Concept of Election (Abingdon Press, 2007) examines the idea of chosenness in the Hebrew Bible, and explores how this central and pervasive idea both unites and divides Jews and Christians.His first book Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995) explored the topic of intergenerational punishment.
His next independent project will be a theological commentary on Judges for the OTT series being published by Cambridge University Press.

Dr. Frederick Denny is Professor Emeritus of Islamic Studies and the History of Religions at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Among his many publications, two of the most widely recognized are the college textbook An Introduction to Islam (3rd edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005) and his work as lead editor for the second edition of the Atlas of World Religions (Oxford University Press, 2007), succeeding the late Ninian Smart who edited the first edition. Denny earned degrees from the College of William and Mary and Andover Newton Theological School, with an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a Certificate in Advanced Arabic Studies from the American University of Cairo. His lifetime of teaching has included appointments at Colby-Sawyer College, Yale College, the University of Virginia, and Colorado (Boulder), plus Fulbright-sponsored teaching in Indonesia and Malaysia, through which he has observed, supported, and nurtured the development of a new generation of Islamic scholars. Denny also has been fully involved in responsibilities within the American Academy of Religion, serving eleven years on the AAR’s national board, as president and regional director of the Rocky Mountain Great Plains Region, and in extensive committee service to the profession.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Over the past few months, these corn syrup commercials have been popping up with an increasing regularity. I have been becoming more and more concerned about the nature of our food, its processing and its sources. I began to notice the ubiquity of corn syrup a few years ago...especially in sodas. In seminary I drank 2-3 cans of soda a day (now 1-2 a week). One of the humorous things about these commercials is the "inability" of the accuser to answer what is wrong with corn syrup. Quite simply...it is an artificial sweetener that our body does not comprehend how to break down. As you watch the commercials, which are funded by the corn refiners association which have considerable stakes in keeping American chugging sodas and eating all things corn syruppy, pay attention to their near suggestion that it IS natural and how in moderation it is ok. First, I've never seen liquid corn. Second, when it is in virtually everything in this country, can anyone honestly have it in moderation? The corn growers association is trying to push their products upon Mexico as well...they still, along with Canada, sweeten their Coke with real sugar!





If you have not seen the documentary King Corn...you must! It is a great project of two recent college grads set on raising one acre of corn in Iowa and trace its route into the food system. They come upon some remarkable findings. If you have Netflix it is available for online viewing. Check out the trailer below.



What is the Christian response to such things? How should we feed our bodies? To what lengths should we go to fight what seems like quite obviously unhealthy products and their wealthy lobbyists (Corn Producers and Corn Processors)?

Prayers For Inauguration Day

For those of you who follow this blog know my thoughts on the uneasy relationship between the church and nation. But today, and I suppose everyday, the church is a servant of prayer on behalf of the world.

God our Father,
you guide everything in wisdom and love.
Accept the prayers we offer for our nation;
by the wisdom of our leaders and integrity of our citizens,
may harmony and justice be secured
and may there be lasting prosperity and peace.
For those who serve in public office
Almighty and eternal God,
you know the longings of human hearts
and you protect their rights.
In your goodness,
watch over those in authority,
so that people everywhere may enjoy
freedom, security, and peace.


Father,
you guide and govern everything with order and love.
Look upon the assembly of our national leaders
and fill them with the spirit of your wisdom.
May they always act in accordance with your will
and their decisions be for the peace and well-being of all.


God our Father,
all earthly powers must serve you.
Help your servant, our President Obama
to fulfill his responsibilities worthily and well.
By honouring and striving to please you at all times,
may he secure peace and freedom
for the people entrusted to him.

(Prayers from The Catholic Prayer Book)

Church Service Humor

Humor is a strange thing. The unexpected in particular context becomes the source for much humor. Church is no exception. Church services are full of their do’s and don’ts, liturgical rites…and wrongs, that when something out of the ordinary happens within that sacred space and time it can be hard to stifle the laughter…itself mostly inappropriate for the context.

I can think of several events that stand out in my memory as irony or humorous in an ecclesial context.

Once, when I was younger, probably around 7th grade or so, in my home church of Alton Reformed, a man a few rows in front of me attempted to cross is legs. As he struggled to lift one leg over the other, his boot hit the wooden hymnal rack ripping it, along with the two hymnals and bible, from the pew directly in front of him sending both crashing to the floor in the middle of a sermon. What made this even funnier was his attempt to stifle his laughter in a series of curled over convulsions which reverberated through his family and the rest of the pew.

Another more recent experience took place at Good Shepherd in Sioux Falls. This was our Episcopal home for nearly 3 years before we left Sioux Falls for Grand Forks. There were 2 boys who often would show their support for their favorite NFL football teams by wearing their jerseys. Apparently one of the boys was a fan of Mushin Muhammad from back in his Bears days. Also, in the Episcopal tradition, one goes forward to kneel to receive the Eucharist. What struck me as funny was to see Muhammad kneeling for communion every few weeks.

In the film, Keeping the Faith, Edward Norton’s character calls out to a parishioner that is fleeing his early attempts at preaching saying, “Its customary to leave after communion.” This came to mind as this past week at Sharon Lutheran Church here in Grand Forks. During the pre-Eucharistic prayer the woman directly in front of us reached into her coat pocket, pulled out her keys with the automatic start. A short series of beeps and her cold car would be warming for her arrival once we got through the messy details of the Eucharist and prayer…and the Vikings weren’t even playing until later.

A good friend, who is normally very sure worded offered up two humous mis-speaks that still make me laugh. The first on a service trip in college to Coney Island, William offered prayer for the group and in the midst thanked God for “bringing us to the island…(long pause)…of Coney.” At which the prayer was concluded by all with laughter. A year later, I visited my alma mater one weekend as he was doing pulpit supply at Alton’s Presbyterian Church when he thanked God, this time for the wonderful “lentil” season they were having.

I’ve seen bats swooping during baptisms, women get hit in the face with a beach ball by an overhand serve, and a pulpit supply compare David’s moodswings to Kirstie Alley’s ever changing waistline (actually the last two were in the same service…a horrible, horrible church experience).

Weather Report: 01.12.09

Today I walked out of my study into the living room as clouds of exhaust were billowing up from the laundry room creating brilliant pastel oranges.

Both images were taken at about 4:30 pm from our living room that overlooks the parking lot to the west. While the winter likely has a good month and a half or more left up here in Grand Forks, I think I can tell that the days are getting longer (perhaps I am just an optimist). There is hope in small measures that suggest our greater hope.

Today it is bitterly cold as wind from the north has swept in bringing a storm that shut down the lower part of the state for a while. I am thankful that it missed us and allowed Karina's brother and sister-in-law to get off on time this morning for their return trip to Springside SK.

Despite the cold, snow, wind, ice, frozen extremities, weary automobiles, blown-in sidewalks and stairs, there is an austere beauty here that I've not experienced elsewhere on the prairies in Iowa or South Dakota. For all the frustration and annoyances of living in the north during the winter (and we really are not that far north), there is an unmistakable beauty for the winter hearty willing to see.

Kathleen Norris writes in her weather report for February 10 in Dakota says, "at the breath of God's mouth the waters flow. Spring seems far off, impossible, but it is coming." Today, as I trudged across campus, cheeks bitten by the cold, each expired breath rose in clouds of praise to our Creator for the beauty of the north.

2008 Film List

Two years ago, about the time I started to take a more serious interest in film, I started cataloging the new films that Karina and see. I had been doing the same for books and thought it would be interesting to do the same for films. Ok...and I was semi-curious at how many films we actually watched in a given year. Over the past 2 years we have also been slowly working our way through AFI's original 100 greatest films list. It has been a fun project but we have gotten bogged down in that process at times too.

In 2007 we watched 104 new films and in 2008 we watched 110 new films. A few favorites that stand out in my memory are Modern Times with Charlie Chaplin from 1936, Everything Is Illuminated with Elijah Wood from 2005, Ostrov or The Island (a Russian film) about penance that is simply wonderful. Other favorites, Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Into the Wild (2007), King Corn (2007), Wall-E (2008), Iron Man (2008) and Babel (2006).

Our complete viewing list...

1.1.08	Babel	2006
1.1.08	The Seventh Seal	1954
1.4.08	The Natural	1984
1.5.08	Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End	2007
1.05.08	I Married a Witch	1942
1.06.08	Girl In the Café	2005
1.07.08	Doctor Zhivago	1965
1.07.08	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	1969
1.08.08	Pink Panther	1963
1.12.08	The Prestige	2006
1.13.08	The Life & Passion of Jesus Christ	1905
1.14.08	From the Manger to the Cross	1913
1.15.08	Koyaanisqatsi	1982
1.16.08	Dan In Real Life	2007
1.18.08	Good Luck Chuck	2007
1.21.08	Barbarella	1969
1.21.08	War Games	1983
1.22.08	Angels With Dirty Faces	1938
1.22.08	Roaring Twenties	1939
1.26.08	Iron Giant	1999
1.29.08	Reign Over Me	2007
2.4.08	War of the Worlds	1953
2.10.08	Nightmare Before Christmas	1993
2.11.08	Memento	2000
2.13.08	License to Wed	2007
2.15.08	Bourne Ultimatum	2007
2.18.08	Transporter II	2005
2.19.08	The Life of Brian	1978
2.22.08	The Wild Bunch	1969
2.24.08	P.S. I Love You	2007
2.25.08	Evan Almighty	2007
3.01.08	The Man Who Knew Too Much	1956
3.03.08	2 Days in Paris	2007
3.04.08	The Birds	1963
3.08.08	Wild Hogs	2007
3.09.08	Spirited Away	2002
3.09.08	The Jazz Singer	1928
3.10.08	Idiocracy	2006
3.14.08	We Are Marshall	2006
3.15.08	Everything is Illuminated	2005
3.17.08	Absent Minded Professor	1961
3.19.08	The Island	2006
3.20.08	Green Pastures	1936
3.22.08	The Perfect Man	2005
3.25.08	Little Children	2006
3.28.08	I Am Legend	2007
3.29.08	Unforgiven	1992
4.1.08	Goodfellas	1990
4.9.08	Gridiron Gang	2006
4.10.08	Modern Times	1936
4.10.08	Freedom Writers	2007
4.12.08	Night of the Hunter	1955
4.20.08	A Good Year	2006
4.21.08	Battleship Potemkin	1925
4.26.08	Juno	2007
4.27.08	27 Dresses	2007
4.30.08	Duck Soup	1933
5.02.08	Double Indemnity	1944
5.03.08	Iron Man	2008
5.04.08	Lars and the Real Girl	2007
5.06.08	Pan's Labrynth	2006
5.06.08	City Lights	1931
5.10.08	High Fidelity	2006
5.14.08	Friends With Money	2006
5.17.08	National Treasure II	2007
5.18.08	August Rush	2007
5.19.08	Cocktail	1988
5.21.08	Frankenstein	1931
5.27.08	Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull	2008
5.31.08	Jesus Camp	2005
6.02.08	Just Like Heaven	2005
6.03.08	Tootsie	1982
6.07.08	You Don’t Mess With the Zohan	2008
6.08.08	All About Eve	1950
6.10.08	Into the Wild	2007
6.15.08	The Game Plan	2007
6.19.08	The Godfather	1972
6.21.08	The Godfather II	1974
6.21.08	3:10 To Yuma	2007
6.22.08	The Goldrush	1925
7.19.08	Batman: The Dark Night	2008
7.20.08	The Departed	2006
8.04.08	Amadeus	1984
8.10.08	Cabaret	1972
8.11.08	In the Heat of the Night	1967
9.01.08	Bonnie & Clyde	1968
9.06.08	Shrek TheThird	2007
9.14.08	A Flea Market Documentary	2001
10.04.08	The Virgin Suicides	2000
10.04.08	King Corn	2007
10.10.08	The Bucket List	2008
10.11.08	High Noon	1952
10.12.08	The Third Man	1949
10.14.08	Baby Mama	2008
10.16.08	Grapes of Wrath	1940
10.18.08	The French Connection	1971
10.25.08	Fools Gold	2008
11.04.08	Be Kind, Rewind	2007
11.06.08	Get Smart	2008
11.10.08	Stagecoach	1939
11.18.08	Hancock	2008
11.22.08	Wall-E	2008
11.27.08	Quantum of Solace	2008
11.29.08	Black Snake Moan	2006
12.5.08	The Love Guru	2008
12.10.08	Leatherheads	2008
12.18.08	Forgetting Sarah Marshall	2008
12.26.08	Charlie Wilsons War	2008
12.29.08	Grand Theft Auto	1977
12.30.08	Burn After Reading	2008

Landscape Archaeology and Photography at the Pyla-Koustopetria Archaeological Project

Over the past month or so, I have been in discussion with Bill Caraher, Assistant Professor of History here at University of North Dakota about joining their summer project in Cyprus as an artist in residence. Three days ago, Bill posted the project proposal on his blog. I was hoping to post a response shortly after but time has gotten away from me these past two days.

Below is an overview of the project invitation to PKAP. This project unites several of my areas of interest in place, narrative and photography. My perspective upon this project extends beyond the simple, though necessary, recording of the geographical context or location, into the primary arenas of the reciprocal relationships that human stories have within the environment. One of the more intriguing factors for this project is that we are not neutral observers. As we work to uncover and understand an ancient culture we are adding to these storied places by our presence and efforts. Perhaps we can consider this a re-claiming of place. By investigating the historical relevance of these enviroments, we will begin to understand significance of the landscape to the ancients and this place will emerge in importance in our own stories.

Anyway...have a read of the project proposal.

"This winter, I've been working to recruit a talented photographer to my project in Cyprus. As part of that processes, it seemed like a good idea to attempt to articulate exactly why a photographer with an interest in sacred landscapes and place would be a good fit for our project. After all, we would not be asking him to take photographs of pottery or trenches or any of the other things that traditionally play a role in archaeological

Photography and Landscape on a Mediterranean Archaeological Project

Introduction:
The Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project (PKAP) has investigated the 2 sq. km coastal zone of Pyla Village in Cyprus since 2003. The project is a transdisciplinary, landscape-oriented investigation that has drawn upon an international team of archaeologists, historians, geologists, illustrators, and other specialists to produce a vivid, diachronic, archaeological history of a significant coastal site. In conjunction with this work, we have maintained a strong interest in engaging the wider public through the innovative use of the new media (interactive websites, blogs, podcasts, et c.) and through an "artist-in-residence" program. In 2005 and 2007 Josiah Patrow, an award winning filmmaker, served as artist-in-residence and produced two well-received documentaries. In 2009, we have invited Ryan Stander, a photographer and M.F.A. student at the University of North Dakota, to join the PKAP team. As artist-in-residence, he will have complete artistic freedom to engage the landscape of Cyprus, archaeological fieldwork, and the personalities and individuals of the PKAP team. Ryan's interest in sacred landscapes, the creation of place, and the interplay of human and natural environments coincides well with the project's archaeological interest in landscape approaches to understanding the human past. By subjecting both project and place to the photographer's gaze, we hope to introduce an exciting new context both to our work as archaeologists as well as the landscape in which we work.

Summary:
Landscape archaeology, in the broadest sense, is the study of the relationship between the natural and man-made environment over time. Generally speaking, a landscape approach to archaeology looks beyond the relatively narrow confines of a single site in order to apprehend the myriad environmental, cultural, and political relationships that shaped a particular group or community's relationship access to resources. Most landscape archaeological projects, therefore, have emphasized methods that go beyond excavation to include methods for documenting more spatial extensive areas.

The most recent wave of landscape archaeologists have come increasingly to recognize the role of the archaeologist in the construction of archaeological landscapes. This work has placed the researcher within the landscape and emphasized the archaeological method itself as an artifact of the intersecting influences that recursively define and produce a distinctly modern sense place. In this context archaeological fieldwork emerges as one of any number of processes that create meaningful landscapes, rather than a method for creating a singular, unified landscape that contains an exclusive command of relationship between the past and place. This repositioning of archaeology has opened the door to productive dialogues with other fields that are similarly concerned with the issues of material culture, landscape, and place. This dialogue has encouraged the discipline to think critically about the methods that they use to create landscapes and realize that documenting archaeologists' engagement with the landscape forms a crucial part of contextualizing (and legitimizing) archaeological knowledge.

Since its inception, photography has played a key role in archaeological research. Tendencies to view the camera's eye uncritically as an objective representation of material reality have gradually given way to more sophisticated understandings of the camera's role in producing the kind of illusive objectivity that formed a compelling foundation for archaeological knowledge. While photographs of artifacts, architecture, and even topography will continue to appear as evidence for archaeological arguments, there has been less attention to work of photographers in creating the same kind of dynamic, discursive landscapes that archaeological knowledge imagines. By incorporating an experienced landscape photographer into a landscape archaeological project, we seek to problematize in an explicit way the role of photography in the creation of archaeological knowledge.

To do this, we have charged a landscape photographer with producing a vivid and independent counterpoint to the landscapes produced through more traditional archaeological techniques and analysis. By maintaining our fieldwork at the center of the photographer's gaze, we seek not only to produce an alternate image of the physical environment, but also to create a perspective on the archaeological landscape in the process of being created. The tension between the photographer's perspective, the natural and man-made environment, and the ongoing fieldwork will serve to contextualize archaeological knowledge as well as the subjective power of the photographer's gaze.

Photography in Context:
The Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project takes place against four different backdrops. Each environment reveals a different engagement archaeological knowledge and the social dynamics that make such knowledge possible. While Stander will be free to interpret the project however he sees fit, we thought it might prove the viability of the project by establishing a mis-en-scene for the day-to-day activities.

1) The Project in the Field. Most afternoons and many mornings teams from the project will be active at three sites in the field. During the 2009 fieldseason we will conduct small scale excavations on the prominent coastal heights of Pyla-Kokkinokremos and Pyla-Vigla as well as on the coastal plain at Pyla-Koutsopetria. These three areas are intervisible and stretch over 1.5 km along the coast. The field teams consist typically of groups of 4-6 student excavators and a trench supervisor. The directors of the project, William Caraher, David Pettegrew, and Scott Moore, and generally on hand as well.

2) The Project at the Museum. Most mornings are occupied with work at the Larnaka District Archaeological Museum. The work here consists of washing pottery excavated the previous day and processing finds from the previous seasons of fieldwork. Generally work at the museum comes under the supervision of the registrar of finds and our ceramicist, Scott Moore. The team at the museum is typically rather smaller than the team in the field usually consisting of 5 or 6 students and various specialists who are assisting with the analysis of finds.

3) The Project at Base Camp. The evenings are spent at "base camp" which is a series of rooms at the Petrou Brothers' Holiday Apartments in downtown Larnaka. The work at base camp consists of preparing the evening meal, data entry, planning meetings, and informal conversations regarding the functioning of the project. Since the quarters are quite close, work at the base camp appears chaotic.

4) The Project in the City. Unlike many archaeological projects we live and work in the bustling small city of Larnaka. Like so many Mediterranean cities, the history of the city is deeply inscribed in urban fabric. Byzantine churches, Frankish monasteries, mosques, and modern concrete buildings crowd and jostle each other attention in the densely built up urban center.

Goals:
The goal of this project is to produce a public exhibition of the photographs in the fall of 2009 and present a selection of these work online as an online gallery with commentary and discussion. The expectation is that the images that Stander provides will complement and challenge the image of the landscape produced through archaeological fieldwork and problematize the notion of a stable photographic and archaeological reality. Along with the work of Joe Patrow during the 2005 and 2007 fieldseasons, Stander's work will continue the project's commitment to a reflexive position toward archaeological research and form a vital component to the project's final archive."

End of the Semester Musings and Re-considering the Source of the Artistic Idea

Ahhh…the first day of Christmas vacation. What a good feeling of completion and anticipation for rest. I cannot believe how quickly the semester has gone by. Yesterday I finished with a final in 20th and 21st Century Art History. The test preparations proved to be formidable with a larger list of artists and disparate movements which are simple more complex than early 20th Century developments. But I am quite sure I passed the test and may have done quite well if my one essay hits the mark.

This break will be a busy one with continuing work at the graduate school offices, research for the paper that was accepted to the College Theology Society annual meetings, and a few artistic projects as well.

I’ve already begun work on one such piece. I’ve been pondering the effects of our digital age upon memory for some time. I have finally broken through to an idea to wrestle that question in a visual manner. I am excited to get one version of it for entering in a few shows coming up this spring. The past week or two has been really productive in terms of conceptual ideas. I am not sure what it is, but I have had 3-4 totally new project ideas, and clearer direction with others.

This is the question that drove me to my master’s thesis wrestling with the source of the creative idea. Where does it come from? Why do certain periods prove to be so prolific in for artists? The second is a variant question but still has relevance to the first. My original thought when entering seminary was to look at the role of the Spirit in the artistic process. Despite writing a thesis and reading for the better part of a year on related subjects, I am just as confused, perhaps more, about the issue than I was then. I have considered returning to that subject again for some blog posts to hopefully generate some discussion among artists. I really want to give a balanced approach to the experience of being an artist, human giftedness and embodiment, and orthodox theology. Most approaches that I have encountered minimize the human too much that there is little difference between the Christian artist and that described by Plato in Timeus. This simply does not work for me or give significant enough emphasis on the human faculties.

Rein Vanderhill's Watercolors

This watercolor was done by Rein Vanderhill, my painting professor in college at Northwestern. It was Karina's Christmas gift that I picked up in Iowa last weekend. I had been intending to surprise her but when it didn't fit in our trunk I had to give it to her then.

I love Rein's work. I've never been any good at watercolors and to be able to create a photo-realistic work, with such amazing balance of lights and darks, and depth of field is simply amazing to me.

Ottawa Photos VII

One of the highlights on the trip was a stop at the Notre Dame Cathedral, (which is across the street from another "house of worship"...the Canadian National Gallery. Again the vaulted and ribbed ceilings with its blue domes and gold stars suggesting the heavens and cosmos which fall under the reign of Christ.