Theory

One of my classes is a history class that is heavy on theory. I would really like to know more about theory, but I have a difficult time finding the spare time to read theory when there is so much I haven't read in biblical studies. Below I have listed some books that I would really like to read when I have time, but who knows when that will be? (The books below are, in some cases, outdated and/or defunct, but they are all classics that I would like to read, despite whether or not they continue to be useful.)

Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Michel Foucault, The Order of Things (I’ve read half.)
Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy
Ludwig Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity
Karl Marx, Marx on Religion
Claude Levi-Strauss, The Savage Mind
Edward Said, Orientalism
William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (I’ve read bits and pieces.)
Carl Jung, Four Archetypes
Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo (I’ve read bits and pieces)

Life Away from the Computer

As of late, I've only been checking my email once or twice a day (later in the evening or early in the morning). People like to communicate with me by email, but I tend to not get this communication until after the day has gone by. My commute to Denver (using public transportation) and the time I spend there engulfs my Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, in addition to occasional Mondays or Wednesdays. So my life has changed, and it's nice in some ways to not to have to 4respond promptly to email.

My first week of school is done, and I'm enjoying it. Although I am enjoying it, I am ready to be done with course work. For the meantime, though, I'll focus on enjoying it. Next week I will teach one day for a little more than five hours (a freshman seminar, a graduate/undergraduate Dead Sea Scrolls class [I am more of a facilitator to my fellow graduate students in this class], and my regular Greek class). It sounds like an exhausting day!

Erin and Jacoby are doing well. Erin goes to Las Vegas this week for a quick trip, and Jacoby continues to increase his vocabulary on a daily basis. Erin seems to be feeling better these days, which is a good thing. This is feeling more like an email, so I'll stop now and attempt to send an email update sometime soon (unless my wife beats me to it!).

Seventh Anniversary

Seven years ago to the day Erin and I got married. How time flies! We enjoyed a weekend in the mountains with Jacoby to celebrate the event. We had a good time. We enjoyed a hike, some time by a lake, and a cabin that lacked every means of electronic communication (except for a local phone).

(PS I fear my rate of blogging has dropped to once every week or two due to my schedule getting busier again, but I still plan to keep up with it!)

Incommunicado No Longer

I've been incommunicado for the last week or two. I've been busily preparing for my teaching, which began last night. I'm looking forward to my class. I have about 18 students as of right now, and they seem like they will be an entertaining group.

Jacoby has been as lively as ever. He found a plastic bottle of teriyaki sauce that looks like a coke bottle. He tips it back as if it were a bottle of coke expecting to get a drink out of it (it still has its safety seal). He is also putting together two-word sentences now, like "tractor dirty."

I plan on reading some Greek and Hebrew tomorrow with my classmates, in addition to my tutoring Greek in the morning and teaching Greek in the evening. I enjoy the languages very much, but it is almost time to get back to more "substantial" (secondary) reading. That's all for now!

Jacoby's Transition Update

Jacoby has completed one week at his new school. He is actually home today with what appears to be a small cold.

His transition has gone fairly well. The first three days were difficult, one of them more difficult than the others. On Thursday he was back to normal. He came home that day with his first painting from this school.

The transition has been a little rough on the parents, but we are happy with his school and believe he will do well there. As I researched the difference between putting him in childcare and caring for him at home, I discovered that both scenarios have distinct advantages. Neither scenario appears to be superior to the other. In Jacoby's case, I hope the childcare setting develops his social skills.

Another interesting thing I found was that whether a child is in childcare or not, the child's family plays the greatest role in determining how well the child develops over time. See this website for more details on the research I have been reading.

Jacoby's Childcare Transition

Erin, Jacoby, and I visited the new childcare facility yesterday. It's a busy place! I was impressed by it, and we hope Jacoby is able to make the transition without too much trouble. We expect the typical first-week difficulties, but we think he might really enjoy this school. They give him numerous interests to choose from for his daily activities. (I'm guessing reading will come in first or second, but I could be wrong.) In addition, he will have other bambinos around to socialize with, especially as he gets a little older. (At his age, the kids tend to play beside each other not together.)

It's a difficult transition for his parents, but we expect it will work out well. I'll post more of our experience as he begins!

American Economy in Perspective

Here is a perspective-bringing, somewhat-scathing review of Christians' treatment of the American gas situation in view of the rest of the world's economy. I am often amazed at how America-centric American Christians are (I admit that I can be America-centric, too). Americans are often kind people, but they have little awareness of the outside world and the way they contribute to its problems and could positively influence it. I need to post more on economics and the Christian scriptures. I fear most American Christians see capitalism as a "Christian thing," but capitalism and the Christian thing, as it is expressed in the New Testament and early Christianity, are often (if not almost always) antithetical. Eventually, though, the economic system became very powerful, so Christianity gave in and blessed it and attempted to make it a Christian thing. This didn't happen until relatively recently.