Hats Off to the Society

Posted on August 19th, 2009 under Uncategorized

Earlier this week I received a cheery piece of mail: a check from the St. Andrews Society of Philadelphia. I am indebted to this organization for giving me the opportunity to study abroad. All of my dealings with this organization have been delightful, even the interview, which wasn’t so bad once it got doing.

During the interview, my friends from the Society, among other things, asked me if God has a sense of humor. With an uncharacteristic burst of providence and congeniality, I replied Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. If that doesn’t mean that God endorses merriment, I don’t know what does. I look forward to keeping the Society updated on my travels, especially all events related to golf and aforesaid merriment.

Greetings

Posted on August 14th, 2009 under Uncategorized

Welcome to my desk, where I hope you will accept my invitation to look over my should from time to time as I seek to unearth, decipher and interpret the ostraca of my life and experiences. But what, you ask, are ostraca?

Ostraca are “fragments of pottery recycled for writing notes, lists, even brief hymns or religious maxims. These fragments broaden our understanding of ancient Hebrew paleography, grammar, and syntax, and shed light on the society in which they are found.” All types of information are found on ostraca: business recipes receipts, personal notes, even simple writing exercises.

Through this blog I hope to give you a glimpse of the beautiful country of Scotland by sharing my travel experiences and photographs. When I’m not roaming the countryside, I will be working with exciting course material at St. Andrews (learning about cool things like ostraca). Every now and then I will post thoughts about research projects, theological quandaries, and book reviews and recommendations. Just as ostraca span a wide range of topics, so too will this blog cover a wide range of reflections on my time and experiences in Scotland. I can assure you that your support and encouragement is always treasured. If something I write interests you, leave a comment and let me know. I love to get feedback, positive or negative.

With the study of ostraca, as with all disciplines, the endeavor is to find truth, to put the pieces back together to reconstruct the whole. Truth is knowledge of what is real, or more simply, what is. The most real being is God himself, who requires nothing in order to exist, but through whom everything exists. Sin has broken the world. Evil is the great nothing, the no-thing that separates us from the truth. Sin is the crack. That has spread far since the Fall, leaving fragments. I invite you to join me as I examine these pieces, these ostraca, to envision what the whole was and will one day be again.