It doesn’t feel real. It can’t be. This journey can’t be over – it’s not possible.
I’m talking about my massive “Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Civilizations” class. Five semesters. 21 units. 30 entire books, plus countless excerpts. Unnumbered hours of reading, thinking, wrestling, and discussing.
Some of you may have heard me talk about this class before. The content covers church history, world history, culture/anthropology, missions, philosophy and more. It is hands down my biggest academic achievement yet to complete this journey. We’ve covered Descartes, Locke, Marx, racism, wealth, colonialism, baptism, atonement theories, church splits, Anselm, Augustine, America’s founding, contextualization, and more. Our book list includes a variety of authors – Chris Harman, Cornelius Plantinga, Jemar Tisby, Philip Jenkins, Joel Green, Bliquis Sheik, and Soong-Chan Rah to name a few.
It has been quite the journey and has been incredibly formative for me. I’ve learned to engage with deep thinking. I’ve had to wrestle with viewpoints I don’t agree with. I’ve learned to digest a ton of information. I’ve learned to analyze written works to draw out the author’s main point.
My worldview has been stretched and poked. I believe my faith has come out stronger. My love for the Lord and for all sorts of people has grown. My ideas about my future and my direction in life have shifted and been shaped.
And I have been profoundly blessed by the most amazing professors and fellow students to walk this journey with. Meeting weekly for five consecutive semesters to discuss hard things that touch each of our lives in different ways binds hearts together on a different level. Roughly seven of us attended zoom consistently from start to finish. We often joked that we could write a Dr. Suess book about all the places we have done zoom from – Asia, hospital waiting room, the back of an ambulance, the car, hair salon, soccer field, church office, home office, cabin…the list goes on. But in all seriousness, we have walked together through the joy of new life, the hardship of sickness, the sorrow of family and ministry mess, and the adventure of travel. We have prayed for, encouraged, and joked with one another. In short – we have become a community.
Each of these classmates brings different, unique perspectives to the interaction with the material. Whether as a mom or a dad, a single person or recently married, a pastor or layperson, whatever cultural background, each perspective has profoundly impacted my understanding of God’s world and these books.
As we close the chapter (literally and figuratively) on this journey and move on to our next classes, we mourn a little bit. The sense of community that we have built is overwhelmingly beautiful. The topics we have discussed have been truly impactful. None of us really wants to leave this behind. Oh, sure, maybe we don’t want to read that many books at once anymore, but this discussion and interaction has been valuable beyond words. We don’t want to leave behind the element of encouraging one another to see how Jesus speaks into all aspects of our lives and culture.
I hope to carry with me the ability to engage with a variety of topics and viewpoints, even (especially?) when I don’t agree. I pray that I will be able to ask questions and engage with the people and culture around me in a way that is full of grace and truth. And I praise God for the relationships he has gifted me with and the journey he has allowed me to take through this class.