The one line from the book that really struck me was Rabbi Saunders lamenting about his son, "Why did he have to be so brilliant?" as if intelligence is somehow an enemy of faith. For me personally, relating to people (or for that matter, God) has been a challenge for me all my life. I know a lot about Christian theology and Christian history. I have some understanding of how Christianity compares to other world religions, in the sense of how "our Truth" compares to "their truth." I have tried desperately to understand what makes Christianity's "One God" and Truth and teachings different from any other mainstream world religion, to develop an open and understanding world view, and it has left me a desperate agnostic. I had a lot of understanding for Rabbi Saunders at the end, talking about why "heart" was such a desperately important thing to have developed, and why an intelligent mind can so easily choke that out.
Foster Alley
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Everyone of you is chosen
I know that you will be talking a lot about the major themes of The Chosen in your first bit of time at JBU. So, instead of hashing those out, I want to encourage you to take advantage of this summer reading and really soak in what you’ve read this summer.
I am not a history major, nor am I an English major; so, on the surface The Chosen holds no true appeal to me. However, I chose to study Intercultural Studies and Cinema because I have an ‘obsession’ with humanity. I love to watch humans interact, I love to listen to their stories, and I love to watch them grow into the people they were meant to be. Those factors are what kept me reading this book. I loved watching both Reuven and Danny be brave. They both looked into different ideas and examined each of them. Each new idea, whether accepted or rejected, made them into new people. They grew because they knew and cared about other humans, family, Jews around the world, each other. They understood the connection with other humans that comes with simply living. Reuven and Danny are dealing with the essential questions of people our age: who am I? How do I fit in the environment around me? How does that fit in the world? They are asking these questions with each new lesson they learn.
That is what I love about college. JBU seems like a homogenous group, but in reality, there are countless lessons to be learned from interacting with every student you come across. I encourage you to learn from Danny and Reuven. Be brave, look at ideas outside of your norm. Really step back to see who you are, and put yourself in places to be molded into who God wants you to be. I am not at all the person I was during orientation freshman year. I guess you can say that my “earlocks” have been cut off, and I am walking “bent forward with eagerness and hungry for the future”. I cannot think of anything more exciting than being free to ask questions, find answers--find God. We don’t have to hide out in the library behind shelves like Danny to find out new ideas, we can do that in classrooms, in the dorms, in Walker Student Center.
With each book I read, I gain new insight about myself and the world around me. As you are beginning this journey, be inspired by Danny and Reuven. This is an exciting time, you were chosen by God to be at JBU for a reason, take advantage of it, learn all you can, and most importantly, live it to the fullest.
I am not a history major, nor am I an English major; so, on the surface The Chosen holds no true appeal to me. However, I chose to study Intercultural Studies and Cinema because I have an ‘obsession’ with humanity. I love to watch humans interact, I love to listen to their stories, and I love to watch them grow into the people they were meant to be. Those factors are what kept me reading this book. I loved watching both Reuven and Danny be brave. They both looked into different ideas and examined each of them. Each new idea, whether accepted or rejected, made them into new people. They grew because they knew and cared about other humans, family, Jews around the world, each other. They understood the connection with other humans that comes with simply living. Reuven and Danny are dealing with the essential questions of people our age: who am I? How do I fit in the environment around me? How does that fit in the world? They are asking these questions with each new lesson they learn.
That is what I love about college. JBU seems like a homogenous group, but in reality, there are countless lessons to be learned from interacting with every student you come across. I encourage you to learn from Danny and Reuven. Be brave, look at ideas outside of your norm. Really step back to see who you are, and put yourself in places to be molded into who God wants you to be. I am not at all the person I was during orientation freshman year. I guess you can say that my “earlocks” have been cut off, and I am walking “bent forward with eagerness and hungry for the future”. I cannot think of anything more exciting than being free to ask questions, find answers--find God. We don’t have to hide out in the library behind shelves like Danny to find out new ideas, we can do that in classrooms, in the dorms, in Walker Student Center.
With each book I read, I gain new insight about myself and the world around me. As you are beginning this journey, be inspired by Danny and Reuven. This is an exciting time, you were chosen by God to be at JBU for a reason, take advantage of it, learn all you can, and most importantly, live it to the fullest.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Silence of The Chosen - Esther Carey
Silence is a major theme of The Chosen. It occurs in several instances, but most notably between Danny and his father: they only communicated during Talmud quizzes or angry explosions. Danny could never understand his father’s silence. If you have finished the book, you know it was in order to teach Danny compassion that Reb forced him to find the answers within his own soul.
How do these ideas fit with Christianity? Is such silence Biblical?
First of all, we cannot really find truth within ourselves. Only when we look to God can we find true answers to our questions. Looking into oneself alone reveals only confusion.
Secondly, the possible consequences are very serious. When a father refuses to have a relationship with his son, there is no reason why the son should respect him. The son could simply make his own choices, freely disregarding his silent father’s wishes. The soul of such a son would probably become a ruined wreck of anger and bitterness instead of a heart of compassion.
Thankfully, God does not treat us as Reb treated Danny. Rather than forbidding us from hearing His word and leaving us to our own devices, He gives us His truth as the ultimate point of reference and sent His Son to rescue us from ourselves and our own foolishness.
To Danny, Reb Saunders was an impersonal force, there to lay down rules, but not to love and encourage him. The God of Reb seems much the same: “The Master of the Universe,” but not a personal God with whom one may have a relationship. For the Christian, however, God is both. Although He is infinite, He is also a personal God. He has not remained silent, He has spoken to us. Furthermore, He offers us the opportunity to have a close, personal communion with Him through the reconciliation of His Son, Jesus Christ.
How do these ideas fit with Christianity? Is such silence Biblical?
First of all, we cannot really find truth within ourselves. Only when we look to God can we find true answers to our questions. Looking into oneself alone reveals only confusion.
Secondly, the possible consequences are very serious. When a father refuses to have a relationship with his son, there is no reason why the son should respect him. The son could simply make his own choices, freely disregarding his silent father’s wishes. The soul of such a son would probably become a ruined wreck of anger and bitterness instead of a heart of compassion.
Thankfully, God does not treat us as Reb treated Danny. Rather than forbidding us from hearing His word and leaving us to our own devices, He gives us His truth as the ultimate point of reference and sent His Son to rescue us from ourselves and our own foolishness.
To Danny, Reb Saunders was an impersonal force, there to lay down rules, but not to love and encourage him. The God of Reb seems much the same: “The Master of the Universe,” but not a personal God with whom one may have a relationship. For the Christian, however, God is both. Although He is infinite, He is also a personal God. He has not remained silent, He has spoken to us. Furthermore, He offers us the opportunity to have a close, personal communion with Him through the reconciliation of His Son, Jesus Christ.
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