I typed in a fairly long and intricate post earlier today, but when I went to post I was transferred to the hotel's wireless Internet log-in screen, and my text was lost! Gotta hate it when things like that happen. I was describing some of the day's discussions, and now I can't reproduce what I said. *frown*

I shall have to type a new post. We had three sessions today, an hour and a half long each. In the morning we first discussed various characteristics of how the West became rich despite beginning the Middle Ages at a significant disadvantage. Christianity played probably the most important role in the rise of the West, because its conflict with the state made a vacuum of power that allowed nobles and individuals to enter the economic realm and develop their own political power. At the same time, Christianity provided a unifying theme that gathered together the intellectual force of a widely diverse group of peoples. It is this unique combination of autonomy and unity that can only exist in a world based on Christian values. Fascinating stuff, at least to me.

The second morning session handled the role of religion in the West's rise, which, as you can see, we had already begun to discuss. We were able to bring in two more readings for this session, however. The last session of the day, in the afternoon, brought in the influence of law, specifically mercantile law and English common law. In this one, we somehow got off on an interesting side trail about China and the Muslim nations, but that is OK. We were still learning.

Again, as with my summer ISI seminar, I am appreciating more and more the fine education that PHC provides. Hearing professors talk about their students and students talk about their professors, I realize that we at PHC take a lot for granted. At other colleges, people can treat religion very cavalierly. What is more, they may be attending merely to earn a degree, not to learn. This is normal, in fact. At PHC, normalcy is striving to achieve. I love PHC, and I hope God keeps my college focused on Him.  ¶ 6:20 PM (0) comments

  I'm so glad I'm here at the ISI colloquium. All we had so far was dinner (excellent filet mignon), but discussions sparked off in all directions. Catholic vs. Protestant, scientific naturalism vs. intelligent design vs. uncertainty over origins... I can tell I am going to come out from this weekend with much new material to mull over. My head is still fuzzy, but my headache is gone. The actual sessions start tomorrow, however, I am not fully prepared. I feel like such a deadbeat. I will read some more before I go to sleep tonight.

When I checked my email, I found the message from the wing chapel I missed earlier today, explaining all the things for which my wingmates need prayer. It made me a bit homesick for PHC, and it also made me feel odd. Here I am, in a very different part of the country, and all I did is drive for a few hours. It doesn't seem as though it should be this way, that all places should be connected and therefore somehow organically merged. I am a child of the late 20th century, more used to getting to places by plane than by car. When traveling by plane, you sit in a metal tube for an hour or two and then get out of it in a new place. You don't see all the gradations between as scenery changes. It's easy to compartmentalize areas in your mind. But really, people painstakingly crawled across the surface of the globe for millennia before airplanes. It is amazing to think about.  ¶ 6:43 PM (1) comments

  Free high-speed wireless Internet! Sweet!
Those were my first thoughts when I struggled my suitcase into the swanky ninth-floor room of the Omni Hotel in Philadelphia and read the sheet of paper lying on the desk. I dumped my stuff into a couple of drawers, pulled out my laptop, said hi to my roommate for the next three days, and began typing this post.

I am actually in Philly for another ISI colloquium, this one entitled "Law, Liberty, and the Rise of the West." It has about 240 pages of reading, and I have done maybe 50 of that. So I need to stop now and spend the next three hours working through some more of it. I also am sick with a cold and a headache, however, so I don't know how much I'll do.  ¶ 12:05 PM (4) comments

  I've been getting to know a few of the new people at school, and I enjoy them much! Jennifer Schlaudt and Kristen Diaz both transferred in as upperclass Lit majors, and they are both contributing usefully and happily to our classes. They are mature, thought-provoking individuals whom I feel it a privilege to know already. This evening, Jennifer sat with me at dinner, and we discussed our stories for the past few years that have brought us to the points we are at. She did distance learning classes, then Campus At Home. When she ran out of classes available that way, it seemed God was leading her to make the move to on-campus work. What a trusting, comforting story it was! Then I had to give my own account of wanting to get away from home, taking on way too much my first year, being crushed before God, and finally coming to the same realization as Jennifer at about the same time. We both want to serve others with this year. We are also each 21 years old. I see things in her that are like me, and many aspects that are better, more mature, than me.

Kristen Diaz is legally blind, but she maneuvers gracefully around as though she could see. I respect her very much, because she came here to college all alone, without any of the help she no doubt receives at home. Despite this, she conducts herself assuredly. This past Sunday evening, when a large group of us went hiking to Raven's Rock, Kristen kept up with the rest of us on an uncertain trail at almost the same pace. Of course, we were all very willing to help, but I was still impressed. I haven't talked to her much about God, but I know that she has written a novel already in high school, using the book How To Write the Novel Way. It is an allegory about a group of Puritans who try to travel to the New World and end up... well... in another world. :) Some day, when I have time, I want to ask Kristen if I may read it.

As for me, I am a bit tired, but God is good. So far, whether my schoolwork is done or not, I've just trusted God and done my prayer/Bible reading anyway. He has blessed my first two weeks back at school and allowed me to exercise and sleep as well. I love Him. I don't know if I would still be able to say that if things had not gone the way they have, but the fact is that He has blessed me. We shall see if He shall test me in the months to come... I am reading Job right now, and that book has an interesting perspective on such matters. :)  ¶ 6:17 PM (0) comments