Life Update

So I have resigned myself to the fact that I'm not going to properly blog the events of our Mexico trip, now that it has been over two weeks since our return, and decided to resort to an update as to what's going on in our lives.

This semester, I'm taking three extremely crucial classes in understanding philosophy over the last century: Husserl's Ideas, Heidegger's Being and Time, and the works of Emmanuel Levinas. They are what can be considered representative of the three stages of Phenomenology which makes up a large portion of Continental thought. I admit that I am not well versed in these prominent figures (aside from my reading of Otherwise than Being by Levinas last summer and my introduction to him through various works of Derrida), so it is going to be quite a difficult semester of studying. Perhaps, Husserl can be seen as the last great philosopher of the modern era (still believing in objective, universal truth), while Heidegger is the one who began the critique of Western/Greek philosophy (Heidegger had great influence on many thinkers including Sartre and Derrida). Levinas continues this critique of Western Philosophy, although with a Jewish flair (he was an Orthodox Jew), reveals ways in which Heidegger does not fully get away from Western philosophy's commitment to metaphysics, and ushers in a shift in philosophical thinking of nonfoundationalism (aka... the rumblings of postmodern thought). But enough of that...

In other news, Amber and I bought a new computer last week - should arrive tomorrow. It was what requested from both sets of parents for Christmas so we're pretty excited to get something that's actually current for once (the desktop we presently use is from 2001!!!!).

At the Open Door, the subject of becoming "Covenant Partners" (a better term for "church member") is being talked about during our Sunday evening services. We are definitely interested in coming on board even if we are in Pittsburgh for only another year and a half. We have enjoyed those in the church we have gotten to know, the community and participation in God that it fosters, and its appreciation for a variety of Christian heritages in its worship. We have been able to get more involved recently by co-leading a small group on Tuesday nights on the book of Malachi (a very interesting, though often ignored prophet of the OT) and are helping to serve/make coffee drinks on Sunday evenings before the service.

Over Christmas break, I had the opportunity to read a plethora of books all of which I highly recommend:
- Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling - A great intro to Christian existentialism and a work that continues to influence philosophers and theologians. Kierkegaard raises a swarm of ethical issues surrounding the biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and calls into question the immense focus of universality over the individual/singularity in ethics.
- John Caputo's What would Jesus Deconstruct? - If you need a basic introduction to deconstruction, this is it. Perhaps one of the top scholars of Derria, Caputo (who might be labeled a liberal catholic) explains the positive attributes of deconstruction and what benefits it can offer to the church (particularly to the audience he is shooting for, the religious right).
- Jacques Derrida's The Gift of Death - One of Derrida's most explicit works on religion, Derrida takes up many of the themes mentioned in Fear and Trembling (and workds by Levinas) but with his own twist. Anyone who has been told that deconstruction is nihilistic, relativistic, or atheistic needs to read this book and see some of the many contributions Derrida offers to the philosophy of religion and postmodern ethics.
- G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday - One of Chesterton's most famous novels, this "nightmare" (as he calls it) is more topsy-turvy than Alice in Wonderland and the Catholic king of paradox will leave you rethinking your notions of God and reality.

Currently, aside from my school studies, I'm reading Most Moved Mover by Clark Pinnock. Not that I necessarily ascribe to the Open Theist viewpoint (as of yet), I am finding the read quite enjoyable, very scriptural, and having many parallels with the critique of Western Philosophy made by Levinas and Heidegger. Pinnock points out the many ways our view of God are derived not from the Bible but from Greek Philosophy (Plato, Plotinus, Aristotle, etc) - such as immutability, impassibility, unconditionality, and aseity. None of these terms can be found in the Bible and yet they take great prominence in the works of theologians Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, and even Luther. Much more could be said here but perhaps you should just go research it yourself.

Aside from these things, work is going well. I spend about 16 hours a week working at Duquesne as an assistant in the graduate office and am working one day every other week at a local coffee shop. Amber continues to interpret Sign Language throughout the Pittsburgh area at local businesses and schools.

Mexico Trip Revisited

Well after a long trip and a long first week of grad courses, I'm finally beginning to feel up to speed and back into the swing of things, and thus, finally finding time to blog. So, with no further ado, I'll include some highlights of our Mexico Trip...

On Day two (Dec 28th), we around just one tiny portion of Mexico City where we visited the Diego Rivera Museum where we saw his most famous mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park" which includes dozens of famous individuals representing virtually every aspect of Mexican history since Cortes set foot on the continent (the boy next to death is a young Diego Rivera). Here is just one of the many amazing Rivera murals we saw throughout the trip (if you want to see more check out my photobook on facebook). One could stand in front of his murals for hours studying the intricate painting and contemplating the vast historical and sociologica points being addressed.

After lunch, we visited the Zocolo (Mexico City's main square) where a huge church is located that was built by the Spanish upon their conquest of the indigenous people. In fact, it is built right on top of a ancient site of pagan worship where people dressed in traditional ceremonial garb still come to perform REAL worship ceremonies including dances, offerings, and music to ancient deities. Interestingly enough, since Mexico City is built on a lake, the original steps of the church are 6-10 feet underground and can only be seen from above through a thick layer of plexiglass.

On the 29th, we visited the Government Building which housed many more Diego Rivera murals and visted the ruins of the Great Temple in Mexico City (which isn't really much to talk about now). Afterward, we made out way to the city of Puebla, the location of the battle of Cinqo de Mayo. This involved a long metro ride along with a really long, bumpy, foul-smelling bus ride (there was a poopy baby sitting next to me and a really stinky bathroom at the back of the bus). Needless to say, I was quite sick by the time we made it to the hotel... which involved another bus ride upon reaching Puebla. In Puebla, we stayed in an amazing hotel - especially in comparison to the hostel we had in Mexico City - for a mere $30/person for the one night we were there. That night, we also sampled mole (Puebla is the home of this interesting Mexican dish) which didn't settle too well with my stomach... However, the dinner included after dinner mints that were like fortune cookies. On the outside of the wrapper, each mint had a quote. Mine said, "Time is gold." Amber's said, "The bush keeps on growing fruit." (lol).