2011

Before the new year started, I made a lot of plans and resolutions for the new year. Some of them were related to school. Some of them were not. Some I have, so far, been able to keep, like going to bed at nine o'clock on school nights. Others, like waking up at 5:50 am on school mornings so as to have more time to get ready, I have had a hard time following consistently. (My alarm rings, so I do wake up, but I don't get out of bed!) I could list many other resolutions like brushing my teeth twice a day, reading the one year Bible, or thinking before I say something. But this is supposed to be a School blog, so I will focus on school things.

Perhaps the subject that is easiest to tell about is History. It is quite straightforward. Each week I will read two chapters of the Susan Wise Bauer book. Then, I will read a non-fiction book that goes along with what I read. I will also read a historical-fiction novel that happens in that time period. At the end of the week I will write a book report about the novel. Perhaps I will post it on this blog. I hope to finish this volume of the history series and then get half way through the next one by the end of May. Maybe I will continue reading it throughout the summer.

Math is pretty much the same as always. I work on Math Mondays, Wednesdays, and alternating Fridays. I do roughly three lessons a day and two or three tests a week. The test, when I have them, count for two lessons because they take me almost forty-five minutes to do. I hope to be finished with my math book by the end of February. I have 138 lessons and I am on the 97th. Then I will proceed to a 7th grade math textbook, which I probably will not finish.

I work on Language Arts, or English;as some might call it, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and alternating Fridays. I will do a chapter a week. Each one has five lessons. I will finish the whole book, (which has 29 chapters in it, out of which I have done 13,) somewhere around mid-April.

Theology; I will continue reading in The True Story of the Whole World.

In Science, I have a school text book. One that would be used for sixth graders in a regular classroom. I am making my own science book that would be made for a first or second grader. After I read the chapter, I write about what I have just read in simpler terms. I also include pictures that i take off the Internet.

I have no real goals for my foreign language study. Before Christmas, I finished my Latin textbook, we have ordered a new one. My new German Curriculum still have not come.

So I guess that is that. And I think that it is.

 

The True Story of the Whole World

I finished my first theology book by Packer around Thanksgiving. Now i have started another book for this subject. It is called "The True Story of the Whole World" by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen. Dad read the prologue with me and then yesterday i read the first chapter. The chapters are not too long. The book is trying to help us see the Bible as a whole. The authors tell us that there are many stories in the world. Some of them are true, and some of them are not. In the first chapter, the authors focus on several things. Who is God? Bartholomew tells us that the name for God used in the first chapters of the Bible tells us a lot about who he is. The English Translation says simply 'God'.  But God tells Moses that his name is the Lord. He identifies himself as redeemer of the people of Israel. Only later does he reveal himself to be both, the redeemer and the creator. The 'Lord God' tells us that both these roles are played by the same being.

In History i have been reading about  Joan of Arc. She was almost like a redeemer for the Prince of France. He wanted to keep France under French rule, but others wanted the child king of England to become king. Joan rode into battle and defeated many of the enemy. Finally, however, she was caught. Up until that point, she must have seemed like a redeemer to most of the people of France.

Where in the World is Marco Polo?

In China, of course. Well, at least he used to be there. Long ago before Christopher Columbus was even born, China was almost legendary to the people of what we now call Europe. It was so far away from where they lived, that it took almost five years to get there and back. But China had wonderful goods to trade such as gold, cloves and ginger, rare plants, beautiful rugs and silk cloth that only the Chinese knew how to make.  There once was a  man named Niccolo who traveled to China. While he was gone, his wife had a baby. The baby's name was Marco Polo.  Marco's father did not return until his son was fifteen. Niccolo had been made a messenger for the king. Now he wanted Marco to come back with him to China. Soon they set out. It took them around four years to reach China. When they finally arrived there, Marco wrote a book about his travels and for many years that was the only way for most people in Europe to find out what China was like. It would be kind of like Neil Armstrong writing a book about the moon and we would have to take his word on it.

Robin of the Hood

The famous classic "Robin Hood" has just been read  by me. I really loved the book that i picked to read as a story that took place in the Middle Ages. One thing that puzzled me was that one of the most famous "Robin of the Hood" stories was not to be found anywhere in the book. You probably have heard the story of how the evil sheriff sets up an archery contest to catch Robin Hood. (Robin goes to the fair under a disguise and wins the golden arrow set for a prize. After the contest is over Robin goes off and shoots the arrow through the Sheriff's dining room window with a note attached to it. It tells the sheriff that he gave the prize away to Robin Hood. The sheriff is outraged, etc. etc.) Well, the book doesn't include that story! Either it was not the original copy or the story was just made up by someone else and was immensely popular. The book, however, was a great read and i hope that someday whoever i reading this will read it,  too.



Ch. 8: Where is there hope?

This is the shortest and final chapter in the book For the Beauty of the Earth by Steven Bouma-Prediger. It is about hope and where we should put our hope. There are several places he lists that the world tends to put its hope in. Tales of ecological development and improvement are one example. New technology and growing awareness of the world are some others.  But although these may offer hope to some people, are these, to use Prediger’s term, “human seeds of hope,” enough?  He then uses the passage Isaiah 54 verses 1-10 to show us that there is only one real hope. That God is our redeemer and he is on our side. He will take care of us and so we need not to worry. None of the other reasons for hope should be dismissed, for they are real. But our God is a god that can do anything and everything good. So we should put our full hope in him.

Hope is not the same thing as optimism. Optimism is worldly.  Hope comes from another world and is as Prediger puts it, rooted in faith in God.   The last lines of Prediger’s book says,

“For the beauty of the Earth. May we each be so moved by love and gratitude that we bear witness to the good news of the gospel. In doing so, we will with our lives proclaim the hope that lies within us- the hope of God’s good future of shalom.”

Why worry about Galapagos Penguins and the Jack Pine? Continued

Why worry about Galapagos Penguins and the Jack Pine?

Arguments for Earth care

I am continuing the blog post that I started on Monday. Here are the next five of Prediger’s arguments.

Value Generates Duty

We should care for the Earth because certain animals, plants, and ecosystems are valuable for their own sake. There are two sets of distinctions that we should make when looking at the value of creation. The first is between instrumental value and intrinsic value. Instrumental value is when you give an object value only as much as humans get out of it. Intrinsic value is value of the object because of the benefits it gives God’s creation. Prediger uses this example: “So the worth of a maple tree as X board feet of lumber or as a location for a tree house is an example of instrumental value, while the worth of that maple tree as a habitat for cardinals or as a creature that praises God is an example of intrinsic value.” The second distinction is between subjective and objective. Subjective is when something is valuable only when people see it as valuable. Objective is when something is valuable whether or not it is valued by humans. We should see creation with an objective and intrinsic view. We have the duty to creation to help them praise and glorify God. Some argue that carrying out our duty to creation will interfere with our duty to help our neighbors. Here they have a point. Others persist that non-humans can not care so why should we care for them. Here they are wrong. God is not human and yet God cares for us and for all of creation.

　

We’re all in This Together

. Perhaps this is more of a self-interest argument. This argument says that we should work for the common good. Everything is interconnected and interdependent. When we do something that benefit’s the world, it eventually will come back to you

God Says So

This perhaps is the most straight-forward argument. We should care for the Earth because God has clearly commanded, (in the Bible,) us to. To quote Prediger himself, “It is difficult to find fault with this argument,” but he still lists some criticisms. One argues how do we know which bible passages to live by, if some of the parts of the laws of Leviticus are to be ignored, why not the ones in Genesis? Here is the answer. None of the Bible is untrue. The parts that are sited in Leviticus here, such as the kind of clothing to wear or the length of hair, were for culturally specific, and so we do not need to live by them anymore. Other parts of the Bible, however, can not be ignored

　

God’s Concerns are Our Concerns

God loves and cares for the Earth so we should to. That is a compelling reason for many Christians. But some object that God’s made us more important than the other animals, so shouldn’t we see ourselves that way to? The author answers that human beings were made in the image of God, and that we are important, but that this does not cover up our role as Earth-carers. The critic rejoins, “ Isn’t God’s primary concern that more human beings realize his love for them? Shouldn’t we put that first in our lives? The author says that this is wrong because it acts as if the Message is unconnected to the Earth.

For the Beauty of the Earth

The tenth and last argument says simply that we should care for the Earth in response to God’s blessing. When someone gives you a gift, you say thank you, but you also show how grateful you are for the gift by how well you take care of it. God has given us the Earth, and so we should take care of it.

I think some of these arguments are more persuasive than others, but there was some truth in each one, especially the last.

End of Note

Why worry about Galapagos Penguins and the Jack Pine?

Why exactly should we care for the Earth? There are many arguments as to why we should, and in the 7^th chapter of his book, Steven Bouma Prediger lists ten. I have chosen to break this chapter into 2 parts because it is a long chapter, and also because it has a lot of information in it. I will write about the second part of the chapter on Wednesday. After that I will have one more chapter, and I will probably be done with the book by the end of next week. And so, behold, the first part of the chapter, and five of the ten arguments he lists therein.
“If you breathe, thank a tree,” what a catchy phrase! That is actually his name for the first argument. It argues that it is in our self interest to take care of the Earth. We should not cut down trees because we depend on them for air. We should not let companies drain out their waste into lakes, because that is our source of water. Some people find this statement compelling, and it is. It looks at Earth-care as to our benefit. But Prediger says that “we must move beyond mere prudence.” Most people are looking for more than that in an argument.
“On loan from our children,” the second argument, states that our descendants need to inhabit this planet, so we have duties to protect it and to take care of it. Prediger thinks that this is persuasive for many people, and would compel them to watch out for the Earth.
The third statement is actually a song. “Tis a gift to be simple”. This argument argues that simply caring for the Earth is a more joyful way to live than not. But some object that most people do not live like this and doing so will separate people from culture. Still, Prediger states this is an argument to consider.
“The Poor and Oppressed Unite” is an argument that says simply that we should care for the Earth because all oppression is linked. The depression of the Earth will result in our depression. We need to care for the Earth and for other forms of oppression. But some rightly, (at least in my opinion,) object, it takes so much time to focus on everything, wouldn’t it just be better to focus on one thing?

I think these are all good arguments and worthy of consideration.