Friday, March 27, 2015

Computer, Impressionistic, and Impressions:

This piece is by Monet.
While the colors and shapes
that appear on the monitor
when I hook up my computer look
kinda-sorta like, it's not pretty at all.
It is amazing how dependent on technology we are.  Last night my laptop went black.  Panic!  Thankfully, I was able to hook it to a monitor & though the image looks like something an piece of impressionist art created by an "artist" on LSD, I can navigate enough to copy folders and files to a thumb drive.  So I rescued my class-notes, I have my android tablet, for which I have a keyboard, and I am able to use some computers here at the school, so nothing deadly.  Except for the computer.  Mary Lou, the IT guru here at PIU gave her official verdict, "Toast."

My class is a fun group.  Though there are only 9 of us, I have already identified several ethnicities, Palauan, Chuukese, Marshallese, Korean, African American, and one white guy--me.

To those who are praying for me, thanks.  I appreciate it.  Kathy arrives on Good Friday.

HM

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Report on my first teaching session:

Warning:  This post is kind of heavy, and a bit long.  It is a report, and somewhat of a review of my first class session in Theo. 200 here at PIU.

I taught my first class session this morning.
I used the picture of a stick chart to introduce our class.  Before the islanders in this region had access to modern navigational tools the mariners of Micronesia navigated by means of the stars, currents, winds, and other features in the vast Pacific.  As an aid for remembering these important factors, and as a means for teaching apprentices, master navigators would create stick charts.

Here is an article about Marshallese stick charts.  One of the students in my class is from the Marshall Islands.

In Theology 200, a survey of Bible Doctrine, this week's subject is the Person and Work of Christ.
It took the early church about 400 years to sort out how to adequately express the Biblical revelation about Jesus Christ.  We are spending about two and a half hours.  This morning the students constructed a stick chart to help us safely navigate the complex waters of Biblical Christology.  We want to make sure that we avoid the rocks of heresy.  We basically reproduced what has been called the Chalcedonian Box.

What do you get when you cross a Micronesian Mariner with a Chalcedonian Theologian?
A Chalcedonian Stick Chart for effectively navigating the Theological waters of the Person of Christ.
Those are my feet on the left.

Four boundaries define orthodoxy.  Inside the box is Biblical truth, orthodoxy.  Outside its boundaries are various heresies.  We dealt with six of them.
One side of the box represents the Divine nature of Jesus.  (I think that is the top stick in our chart.)  The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God, in the same sense that God the Father and the Holy Spirit are God.  "God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity."  The proponents of two of the heresies we looked at err by locating themselves on the wrong side of this boundary.  The Ebionites deny the real deity of Jesus.  They claim he was a man, conceived and born in the usual manner, upon whom the "Christ" descended, at his baptism.  The Christ withdrew from Jesus before his death on the cross.  Thus Jesus was a man upon whom the power of God, to an unusual extent, dwelt for a time.  He was not God.  This website is posted by a group that lays claim to the ancient Ebionite title.   The heresy known as Ariansim, represented in our day by Jehovah's Witnesses, likewise belongs on the wrong side of the boundary of Jesus Divinity.  Arius taught that Jesus was a creature, above the rest of creation, but not God.  Only the Father is God.
The opposite boundary on our chart, or box (the bottom stick), is the humanity of Christ.  The New Testament abounds with evidence that Jesus is fully human.  The Docetists denied this, claiming that Jesus only appeared human--sort of a ghost or apparition.  Apollinarius, and those who follow him see Jesus as having a human body, but missing some of the human soul-ish parts.  His soul was Divine, not human. 
So the Bible's teaching about Jesus lies between boundaries on the top and bottom.  Jesus is both fully God and fully man.  How exactly does that work out?  The classic statement that came out of the Council of Chalcedon (451) emphasizes two natures, one person.
So the other two sides of the box, or chart, leave two heresies that don't get the answer to the above question right, on the outside.
Nestorianism is on the outside because it splits the person of Christ. While Nestorius may not have actually been guilty of being a Nestorian (But, hey cut him slack.  You try answering the question, "Is Mary the mother of God?"), the movement that bears his name "split the God-man [Jesus Christ] into two distinct person.  This heresy was condemned at the Council of Ephesus (431)."  (Erickson, 236)   The opposite boundary shields from errors like Eutichianism, that confuse, or combine the two natures.  Between the two lies the truth:  "God and man in two natures, and one person forever."  (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

It was an interesting class.  I hope the students view of the Marvelous Christ we worship was expanded as much as mine was.

(One of the texts for our class is Millard Erickson's Introducing Christian Doctrine, 2nd Edition, Edited my Hustad.  This post draws on that volume.)

Friday, March 20, 2015

After a side trip to Hawaii, I arrived here on Guam, Thursday night.  My flight from Roanoke to Chicago was fine.  Shortly after I got to the gate to board the flight for Narita Japan, the announcement was made that the plane had mechanical difficulties.  "We will arrive in Japan too late for anyone to make their connections."  So I went to the service counter.  It is Spring break so, almost all the alternate flights were full.  I was re-booked to Honolulu via LAX.  The new route required an overnight delay in Hawaii so United fixed me up with a nice hotel and cab. fair.  I was not far from Waikiki beach.  I took a walk & saw some nice scenery.  Since my schedule had some leeway on this end, it wasn't a bad delay.

Since my arrival I've been occupied with getting settled, getting adjusted to the right time zone, and studying.  My first class is on Wednesday.

I've done some website/email work related to back home in Covington.

This morning I walked for about an hour over at Anderson South, and went to a flea market.  I saw a lot of fruits and vegetables that I don't recognize.  I'm hoping to eat some.  I'm looking forward to taking Kathy to both places.

Thanks to all of you for working with us.  I'll be in touch.

HM

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

It's been almost a week since I (HM) returned from Guam where I was involved in the annual Board of Trustee's Meeting for Pacific Islands University.  The timing of this trip, being so close to our short-term ministry was unfortunate, but unavoidable.  The two are scheduled when they are for totally independent reasons.  Anyhow, the trip was good.  I think our board meeting was productive.
Here is a brief report by PIU President, David Owen: http://guamdaveo.blogspot.com/2015/02/piu-annual-board-meeting-concludes.html?spref=fb

I bought tickets for Kathy and me on Monday night.  I travel 3/17, and she 4/2.  We return to Covington 5/4.

The response to our fund-raising letter has been humbling and encouraging.  Thank you.  We have the funds we need for this trip.

Please pray for Divine enablement as we teach and work with the students at PIU.  
Thank you, 
hm