Showing posts with label more light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label more light. Show all posts

Thursday, February 3, 2011

The Joys of Blogs

Lately I have been finding numerous blogs by other members of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The majority of the blogs I have found are being produced by pastors within the church. Many of the posts have been thought provoking and I am enjoying reading all of them. The log I have found most recently has been Shuck and Jive, a blog by Rev. John Shuck of Tennessee.

I'm not sure what I would do without access to blogs. Yes, that is a bit of an exaggeration...but still. The blogs that I find make em think. They can reaffirm my views or make me think about things I believe in a new light. They provide me with new resources and "evidence" to make my arguments.

A lot of people who blog have been blogging about Amendment 10A because it is such a hot topic in our denomination right now. In Shuck and Jive he posted his own beliefs on Amendment 10A and then provided other resources as well. There is the vote count front he presbyteries, the Morelight Presbyterians Blog post, a link to Bruce Reyes-Chow's Presbymeme, youtube videos, and other sites relating to the debate over Amendment 10-A.

I love the Internet and social media. it allows us to connect with people all over the country and the world. In seconds you can get your views to people everywhere. And you can learn some one's opinion on a topic in the amount of time it takes you to read a blog post.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

More Light Vs. Adventist

So the Spring Semester has begun. If all goes according to plan, I will be walking across a makeshift stage May 15th and recieveing my diploma. I cannot wait for that day! This semester I am taking 16 credits through Atlantic Union College and because my advisor messed up my schedule previous semesters, I will be taking 12 credits online through another school.
The credits I am taking through AUC are some interesting classes. I have Intro to Tennis to fulfill my Life Activity credit, Computers to fulfill that requirement, Spanish (which I am doing independent study), Introduction to American Film and then rounding it off with my last two classes for my major: Revelation and New Testament Epistles. I have shared with some of the Presbys I know the required reading for my Revelation course and they have come up with other books I ought to read to dispell some of the things I will learn in class this semester. My New Testament Epistles class is rather interesting. I need to pick a topic off of a list that the professor provided and by the end of the semester I will have written an 8 page research paper on the topic, as well as multiple article reviews and preached a sermon on the topic.

I have decided that I have kept my radical liberal Presbyterian views quiet for too long. I have not shared what I truly believe and what I truly think in my time here at AUC, and that is about to change. It is my last semester in conservative Adventist land, to to cause a stir. I am not intentionally causing trouble, but once I saw topic number 13 on the list I knew it would be inevitable. Topic 13 is about homosexuality and sexual deviance as portrayed in the New Testament Epistles. He was expecting the homophobic anti-gay sentiment...he is not going to receive that. I raised my man and asked if we could alter a topic on the list. When I explained that I am interested in researching the pro-gay, we're all Christians, it's all love standpoint he agreed. However, looking around the classroom, I was waiting for my classmates to start stoning me.

The first place I plan to go for my research material will be the More Light Presbyterians. I have spent lots of time on their site before and everything is worded perfectly. I need a minimum of eight sources so I will need to find other resources of the same caliber. This could possibly be the one assignment I spend the most amount of time on in my college career. The paper, I believe, will be a lot easier than the sermon I will have to deliver in class. Preaching in front of my classmates makes me immensely nervous due to theological disagreements that I have had with them. For our viewpoints to be so diametrically opposed on this mater only elevates my anxiety.

I have kept my beliefs and opinions of homosexuality and a number of other issues to myself for far too long. I realize this semester I will cause a stir and people will look at me differently, but when this topic is presented to me in such a negative light, I cannot help but choose it and correct it.