Last 2 and a half weeks:

Learning and school.

Friends and relationships.

That's all.

Last 4 weeks: spiritual and emotional growth on a scale never before encountered in my life. No time to blog! :P

JHBC Begins

I've just arrived at Jackson Hole Bible College. It's a lot smaller than I expected, but I have a feeling it will be very good. It seems to be more of an adventure camp than a College, and is a lot smaller than I expected. Nevertheless, I'm finally away from home. I'm excited to see where God is going to take this year.

My Mom and Wayne made the drive with me. We stopped at Fairmont hot springs for the night. It reminded us of the times we went to see Uncle Doug in Canada, because we stopped at the other Fairmont on the way there. Anyway, now Wayne is sick and staying at a hotel. I pray he gets better by tomorrow.

The people here at JHBC are all very interconnected. Almost all of the staff (excluding the professors) are immediate family. A lot of the staff were once students, and then married one of the kids! Now they've kids of their own. I'm not sure how much staff there is, but I'm sure I'll know each and every one of them before the year ends. And by the way, there are 21 students, and I was the second one to arrive. (the first was a 30-something year old Dad who lives here in Jackson. I don't think he really counts :P) Anyway, Ken Ham is going to speak here in a few weeks. I'm really pumped for that, because I have more respect for him than almost anyone else on the world now.

That's all for tonight.

It was awesomely stormy last night. I liked it. The wind was howling, the thunder was booming, the lightning was striking and starting fires, oh yeah. We were hurrying around the field, disking buffers for the fire, holding the line, as the sky descended into an unearthly premature darkness. The dust was so thick it seemed like a fog. In the end, the rain put out the fires. But it was an awesome reminder of how feeble we are when compared to the might of the storm.

Rick Warren and the Presidental Election

To-day, To-night, actually, yes, it was To-Night, a night that was this day, and not the previous day or the next day, but it was a time that was to-day at the evening time, but only if to-day was yesterday, (can you tell I've been reading Dickens?) I listened to the Obama-McCain, Rick Warren interview-Presidental-forum. All I can say is "Wow! Why did no one else think of this format before? I learned so much hearing the two candidates answer the same questions in different ways that I think I actually know what kind of people they are! It was absolutely better than any other presidential debate I've ever seen (even though my experence is quite limited). I was looking forward to this, and it was even better than Wall-E! (totally different, but you know, better use of two hours) Rick Warren was perhaps the best host-moderator I've ever heard, and both candidates were at the top of their game. It turns out McCain's game is much higher than Obama's! (heh heh heh)

"At first, when Rick Warren interviewed Obama, I was a little scared. Obama received a lot of applause and adulation from the crowd. His Marxist policies were disguised as usual, but apparant if one can look hard enough. When Pastor Warren asked Obama "What do you think, in your lifetime, is America's biggest failure?" Obama responded with some garbage about how the USA hasn't taken care of "the least of these", quoting Matthew 20 or 28, I don't remember. He seemed pretty proud that he actually used scripture. I know that "the least of these" need help, but why does the government have to do it? And is it really our biggest failure? (On a different [related?] note, Obama said he supported killing babies that survived abortions. Just to let you know.)

"But McCain was a different story altogether. His answers were concise and straight, and he ended up answering many more questions than Obama because he didn't ramble and waste time. He answered all of the questions very well, but the one that made me turn from a lukewarm "vote against Obama" voter into a McCain supporter was his answer to the question, "Which justices currently on the supreme court would you have not nominated?" He answered it exactly the way I would want my president to, exactly the opposite of Obama."

In reality, that's not all I have to say. So check out this discussion if you haven't yet. It was the best presidential event in any campaign I've ever witnessed. You'll get an idea of who these men are and what they stand for. They are both eloquent, but McCain has the substance that Obama lacks. I'm still not totally sold on McCain, but now I'm actually tempted to campaign for him. I have hope for America.

The Shack part Duex

I'm not gonna ever do a two part thing again. I hate feeling obligated to write something.

Anyway, I finished the shack two weeks ago. Monday... And I have to say I didn't really enjoy it, right up until the last few chapters or so. Then it took some wonderful twists and really good Theology and even made me a little emotional. So it was a good book, in my opinion.

The problem I addressed in the previous chapter is one problem of a few... but there is so much good in this book, I don't want to dwell on the negative. The Theology is almost totally sound, and will be an enormous encouragement to anyone who knows "God," but doesn't "know God." It was difficult for me to read because I'm so Theologically minded and educated that I spent more time thinking, "Do I agree with this? Is this true?" then I did actually reading and enjoying it. (I answered that question with an emphatic "Yes!" most of the time) So I wouldn't recommend it for you, Colin. I also wouldn't recommend it for any new Christian, or someone who knows nothing about God. The entire point of this book is to break the box that Catholic Christians and even some Evangelical Christians have put God in, and if you are not familiar with that box this book will not benefit you.

Anyway, without giving anything away, this book is a good book. It's not perfect, but many people will benefit from reading it. (And just to let you know, in this book God is always referred to as "He." I don't really feel like dissecting the messages in this book right now, so I'll leave it at that.)

The Shack part 1

Working out on the bankout wagon gives me a lot of time to think and a little bit of time to do whatever I may desire (as long as I'm not away from the tractor). So I've been using the time waiting for trucks to read a book I received for graduation called "The Shack." This book has stormed the bestsellers lists with little or no advertising and has been a huge success for its author and its publisher, who expected next to nothing from it. It has received numerous endorsements from people all over the Christian community, who laud it's message and writing style. The book has been called "Pilgrim's Progress" for our generation, a must-read for all Christians, brilliant, one of the best books ever written, life-changing, etc.

Maybe I'm just too hard-hearted. The first time I heard about this book was on the Way of the Master Radio Show (a wonderful program available in podcast form) and it was not necessarily positive. Let me explain why.

The Shack centers around a man named Mack, who lost his youngest daughter to a serial killer, who was never caught, four years ago. The trail dead-ended at a shack in the woods, where his daughter's blood-stained dress was discovered. After that, he fell into the great sadness which has lasted for years. One day, he discovers a note in his mailbox. It wasn't delivered from the postman, and it is signed "Papa," his wife's favorite word for God. The note asks him to come to the shack this weekend and since his family is out of town, Mack goes. There he meets Papa, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Most of the book is concerned with this visit. This is where the book gets a little shaky. Jesus looks like I'd expect Jesus to look like, a middle-eastern not super-handsome Jew. Papa is a giggling African American Woman, and the Holy Spirit is a mirthful Asian Woman. Eh, wot?

The rationale Peterson (the author) gives for this is that God is a spirit, and therefore neither male nor female; showing God as female is just as ludicrous as portraying him as Male. Also, the book is about breaking stereotypes put upon God by mankind, and portraying God like that breaks all the stereotypes. Okay. I can agree with that, I guess. But it's just hard for me. I don't really like seeing my God portrayed as a giggling fat grandma. I'm still reading, and doing my best to not let that bother me. I'm only halfway through, so I'll post my final thoughts when I'm done reading. How about you? Do you think the way Peterson portrays God is respectful?