Remember that time freshman year when I fell on my tail bone and thought I broke it and it's been hurting sporadically ever since? Five years after the fact I go to the doctor and learn the really disgusting truth:
I have a pilonidal cyst. I won't go into details, but prepare to be grossed out if you choose to research it for yourself. It's not dangerous, but I will be having it surgically removed either next month or after I get back from Africa, depending on the surgeon's recommendation.
If you've heard Dave's stories of cyst nastiness from college, this is the same thing he had.
Ew. That's about all I have to say about that.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Lent-tastic
I celebrated Shrove Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras) in style by gorging myself on half-priced appetizers at Applebees with some friends last night. Ah, the feast before the fast.
So overall I'm pretty bad at the whole giving something up for Lent thing. I was much better at it as a kid when 'because you're supposed to' was a good enough reason for me to give up cookies or salad dressing or whatever. But once I actually understand the purpose of giving something up (ie. cultivating a longing for Christ and identifying with his suffering), I had a really hard time thinking of things that would have that impact on my life, rather than just self-denying for its own sake.
But this year I'm back on it. The plan is to eat bland food, because life without Jesus would be bland. This being the first day of Lent, I'm not exactly sure yet what that will look like, but I figure there'll be a lot of rice, bread, hummus, and meat without sauce involved. I think I should still be able to eat pretty healthfully on this plan, and by the time Easter comes around I will definitely be longing for something with flavor.
There is much discussion on campus about the imposition of ashes. Are they self-righteous, it is meaningful, is it a good witness, etc. Thoughts?
So overall I'm pretty bad at the whole giving something up for Lent thing. I was much better at it as a kid when 'because you're supposed to' was a good enough reason for me to give up cookies or salad dressing or whatever. But once I actually understand the purpose of giving something up (ie. cultivating a longing for Christ and identifying with his suffering), I had a really hard time thinking of things that would have that impact on my life, rather than just self-denying for its own sake.
But this year I'm back on it. The plan is to eat bland food, because life without Jesus would be bland. This being the first day of Lent, I'm not exactly sure yet what that will look like, but I figure there'll be a lot of rice, bread, hummus, and meat without sauce involved. I think I should still be able to eat pretty healthfully on this plan, and by the time Easter comes around I will definitely be longing for something with flavor.
There is much discussion on campus about the imposition of ashes. Are they self-righteous, it is meaningful, is it a good witness, etc. Thoughts?
Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Late, Great Bruce Metzger
New Testament Scholar and Bible Translator Bruce Metzger Dies
Princeton, NJ, February 15, 2007–Dr. Bruce Manning Metzger, New Testament professor emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary and one of the preeminent American New Testament critics and biblical translators of the twentieth century, died February 13, 2007, at the University Medical Center at Princeton, at the age of 93.
Bruce Metzger was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania on February 9, 1914. After gaining a B.A. from Lebanon Valley College in 1935, he entered Princeton Theological Seminary, graduating with a Th.B. in 1938. So began a life-long association with Princeton Theological Seminary during which Bruce Metzger became not only a legend himself but also one of the school's greatest intellectual ornaments. He was ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (now the PCUSA) in 1939. In 1944 he married Isobel Elizabeth, the elder daughter of John Alexander Mackay, the great third president of the Seminary, who rebuilt and revitalized the school after the divisions of the 1920s. Bruce Metzger's sheer brilliance, clarity, and Christian devotion set a standard all of his own. He taught while he continued to study (Princeton University, M.A. [1940], Ph.D. [1942], Classics), serving as teaching fellow in New Testament Greek 1938–40 and as instructor in New Testament 1940–44. He was appointed assistant professor 1944–48; associate professor 1948–54 and professor 1954–84. He was named the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature in 1964. He retired in 1984 and was named professor emeritus.
An absolutely preeminent New Testament scholar, Metzger was known internationally for his work in biblical translation and the history of the Bible’s versions and canonization. He was one of the world leaders in textual study of the New Testament, the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. He served as Chair of the Committee on Translation of the American Bible Society 1964–70, and as Chair of the Committee of Translators for the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible 1977–90. The impact of this work is incalculable and Bruce Metzger saw it through the press almost single-handedly. The NRSV, published in 1990, made changes to the RSV in paragraph structure and construction, eliminated archaisms while retaining the Tyndale-King James tradition, polished renderings in the interest of accuracy, clarity, and felicity of English expression, and eliminated masculine language referring to people, insofar as this did not distort historical accuracy. In 1993 Bruce Metzger presented a copy of the NRSV, Catholic Edition, to Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Bruce Metzger understood and was passionate about the significance of biblical translation for ecumenical dialogue. In 1957 he served on the committee that translated the Apocrypha (the committee included the original RSV Committee plus Metzger, Floyd Filson, Robert Pfeiffer, and Allen Wikgren). In 1972 he chaired the sub-committee that translated 3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151 for an expanded version of the Apocrypha. He personally presented this expanded version to His All Holiness Demetrios I in 1976. It was important to him that Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant Christians be able to have recourse to a common biblical text as an instrument of unity.
Bruce Metzger cared about and provided for his students. Generations have been grateful for his Lists of Words Occurring Frequently in the Coptic New Testament, and his Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek (first published in 1946) became a standard study tool. He edited The Oxford Annotated Bible in 1962, and in 1966, along with Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, and Allen Wikgren, edited the United Bible Societies' edition of the Greek New Testament. This text, especially adapted to meet the needs of Bible translators, with its beautiful original font and indication of the relative degree of certainty for each variant adopted in the text, proved to be an enduring landmark. The editors were later joined by Carlo Martini (the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002). A warm friendship grew between Metzger and Matthew Black, the doyen of Scottish text-critical scholars. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from St Andrews University was bestowed on Bruce Metzger in 1964, and all Scots are moved by seeing that he is wearing his St Andrews tie in his portrait in Princeton Seminary’s Speer Library.
There were other honors. In 1994, Bruce Metzger was awarded the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies by The British Academy in London (of which he had been a Corresponding Fellow since 1978). This is only awarded in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished biblical study. Bruce Metzger was elected president of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (1971), the International Society of Biblical Literature (1971), and was the first president of the North American Patristic Society (1972). He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1969 and 1974) and visiting fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge (1974) and Wolfson College, Oxford (1979).
There were many other books, among which the classic studies The Text of the New Testament, Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (1964, and translated into German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian and Russian) and The Early Versions of the New Testament, Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations (1977) have been particularly influential. Bruce Metzger's last publication before his death was Apostolic Letters of Faith, Hope, and Love: Galatians, 1 Peter, and I John (2006).
Bruce Metzger cared passionately about the Bible, and in 1982 became the general editor of the Reader's Digest Condensed Bible. He lectured throughout the nation and the world, in North and South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, and South Africa, often at churches and universities where his former students ministered and taught. He was awarded honorary doctorates by Lebanon Valley College, Findlay College, St. Andrews University, the University of Münster, and Potchefstroom University in South Africa.
A Bible autographed by Bruce Metzger is sealed in the time capsule embedded in the corner of Princeton Seminary’s Scheide Hall.
Princeton Seminary President Iain R. Torrance said that, “despite all his distinctions, Bruce Metzger never lost his modesty, or his courteous welcome, genuine interest in and encouragement for much younger scholars. He was a warm and supportive colleague within the Seminary and beloved by many scholars and lay people in Princeton and throughout the world.”
Bruce Metzger is survived by his wife, Isobel, and his sons John Mackay Metzger and James Bruce Metzger. There will be a memorial service to give thanks for Bruce Metzger's lifeon Tuesday, 20th February at 2.00 p.m. in Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton.
[above: PTS students with Dr. Metzger after a seminar he led at Princeton UMC in Oct. 2005.]
Princeton, NJ, February 15, 2007–Dr. Bruce Manning Metzger, New Testament professor emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary and one of the preeminent American New Testament critics and biblical translators of the twentieth century, died February 13, 2007, at the University Medical Center at Princeton, at the age of 93.
Bruce Metzger was born in Middletown, Pennsylvania on February 9, 1914. After gaining a B.A. from Lebanon Valley College in 1935, he entered Princeton Theological Seminary, graduating with a Th.B. in 1938. So began a life-long association with Princeton Theological Seminary during which Bruce Metzger became not only a legend himself but also one of the school's greatest intellectual ornaments. He was ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (now the PCUSA) in 1939. In 1944 he married Isobel Elizabeth, the elder daughter of John Alexander Mackay, the great third president of the Seminary, who rebuilt and revitalized the school after the divisions of the 1920s. Bruce Metzger's sheer brilliance, clarity, and Christian devotion set a standard all of his own. He taught while he continued to study (Princeton University, M.A. [1940], Ph.D. [1942], Classics), serving as teaching fellow in New Testament Greek 1938–40 and as instructor in New Testament 1940–44. He was appointed assistant professor 1944–48; associate professor 1948–54 and professor 1954–84. He was named the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature in 1964. He retired in 1984 and was named professor emeritus.
An absolutely preeminent New Testament scholar, Metzger was known internationally for his work in biblical translation and the history of the Bible’s versions and canonization. He was one of the world leaders in textual study of the New Testament, the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. He served as Chair of the Committee on Translation of the American Bible Society 1964–70, and as Chair of the Committee of Translators for the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible 1977–90. The impact of this work is incalculable and Bruce Metzger saw it through the press almost single-handedly. The NRSV, published in 1990, made changes to the RSV in paragraph structure and construction, eliminated archaisms while retaining the Tyndale-King James tradition, polished renderings in the interest of accuracy, clarity, and felicity of English expression, and eliminated masculine language referring to people, insofar as this did not distort historical accuracy. In 1993 Bruce Metzger presented a copy of the NRSV, Catholic Edition, to Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Bruce Metzger understood and was passionate about the significance of biblical translation for ecumenical dialogue. In 1957 he served on the committee that translated the Apocrypha (the committee included the original RSV Committee plus Metzger, Floyd Filson, Robert Pfeiffer, and Allen Wikgren). In 1972 he chaired the sub-committee that translated 3 and 4 Maccabees and Psalm 151 for an expanded version of the Apocrypha. He personally presented this expanded version to His All Holiness Demetrios I in 1976. It was important to him that Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant Christians be able to have recourse to a common biblical text as an instrument of unity.
Bruce Metzger cared about and provided for his students. Generations have been grateful for his Lists of Words Occurring Frequently in the Coptic New Testament, and his Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek (first published in 1946) became a standard study tool. He edited The Oxford Annotated Bible in 1962, and in 1966, along with Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, and Allen Wikgren, edited the United Bible Societies' edition of the Greek New Testament. This text, especially adapted to meet the needs of Bible translators, with its beautiful original font and indication of the relative degree of certainty for each variant adopted in the text, proved to be an enduring landmark. The editors were later joined by Carlo Martini (the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002). A warm friendship grew between Metzger and Matthew Black, the doyen of Scottish text-critical scholars. The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from St Andrews University was bestowed on Bruce Metzger in 1964, and all Scots are moved by seeing that he is wearing his St Andrews tie in his portrait in Princeton Seminary’s Speer Library.
There were other honors. In 1994, Bruce Metzger was awarded the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies by The British Academy in London (of which he had been a Corresponding Fellow since 1978). This is only awarded in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished biblical study. Bruce Metzger was elected president of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (1971), the International Society of Biblical Literature (1971), and was the first president of the North American Patristic Society (1972). He was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1969 and 1974) and visiting fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge (1974) and Wolfson College, Oxford (1979).
There were many other books, among which the classic studies The Text of the New Testament, Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (1964, and translated into German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian and Russian) and The Early Versions of the New Testament, Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations (1977) have been particularly influential. Bruce Metzger's last publication before his death was Apostolic Letters of Faith, Hope, and Love: Galatians, 1 Peter, and I John (2006).
Bruce Metzger cared passionately about the Bible, and in 1982 became the general editor of the Reader's Digest Condensed Bible. He lectured throughout the nation and the world, in North and South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, and South Africa, often at churches and universities where his former students ministered and taught. He was awarded honorary doctorates by Lebanon Valley College, Findlay College, St. Andrews University, the University of Münster, and Potchefstroom University in South Africa.
A Bible autographed by Bruce Metzger is sealed in the time capsule embedded in the corner of Princeton Seminary’s Scheide Hall.
Princeton Seminary President Iain R. Torrance said that, “despite all his distinctions, Bruce Metzger never lost his modesty, or his courteous welcome, genuine interest in and encouragement for much younger scholars. He was a warm and supportive colleague within the Seminary and beloved by many scholars and lay people in Princeton and throughout the world.”
Bruce Metzger is survived by his wife, Isobel, and his sons John Mackay Metzger and James Bruce Metzger. There will be a memorial service to give thanks for Bruce Metzger's lifeon Tuesday, 20th February at 2.00 p.m. in Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton.
[above: PTS students with Dr. Metzger after a seminar he led at Princeton UMC in Oct. 2005.]
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Snow Day!
That's right, classes are cancelled due to crazy bad ice and snow. Wahoo!
In honor of the frigid weather, I'm posting this photo of me in Ghana, which serves both as a reminder that the sun is not all it's cracked up to be and as a precursor for a forthcoming post on the Field Ed office's explanation for why they are having me interview with Ghana sites for international field ed this summer.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Still here
I'd like to be able to say my fortnight's foray into the world of oblivion was filled with fascinating things to keep me busy and away from blogging. The reality is that I've been working a whole lot and going to classes.
I have to plan the spring retreat for my field ed church. This is not an especially daunting task, except that the theme is something along the lines of a spiritual spa. Now those who know me know my propensity toward ascetisicm (if not in reality than at least ideally), so my inclination was to do something on spiritual disciplines, kind of a weekend as a monk/nun thing. It probably comes as less of a surprise to you than it did to me that being a Religious for a weekend is not that appealing to the common church-goer. Hence, the theme of spiritual spa. I figured I could spin that so it sounds like a rejuvenating self-care weekend, then come out of left field with the idea that there's no place for self-indulgence in the Christian life (self-care is necessary and good in as much as it prepares us to live lives worthy of our calling in the world) and it's really all about God and not about us at all. It doesn't sound like that's the direction the Adult Education chair would have it go. We haven't done much in the way of planning, so I still have time to work with my supervisor and get the direction headed where I think it's more appropriate to go (i.e. toward God, not toward ourselves). I said something at our last meeting about having a flow of the weekend that goes from interiority, to focus on God, to being sent out into the world, and latter two seem to be very clearly lower on the hierarchy of importance. Thoughts on how to extricate the self-indulgent form of self-care from the spiritual spa weekend?
p.s. This is petty, I know, but the confusion of e.g. and i.e. is a pet peeve of mine. So for the greater good of all, here's the deal. E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means 'for the sake of example': (She likes fruit, e.g. strawberries). I.e. stands for id est, which means 'that is': ((I can read Greek, i.e. Koine Greek).
I have to plan the spring retreat for my field ed church. This is not an especially daunting task, except that the theme is something along the lines of a spiritual spa. Now those who know me know my propensity toward ascetisicm (if not in reality than at least ideally), so my inclination was to do something on spiritual disciplines, kind of a weekend as a monk/nun thing. It probably comes as less of a surprise to you than it did to me that being a Religious for a weekend is not that appealing to the common church-goer. Hence, the theme of spiritual spa. I figured I could spin that so it sounds like a rejuvenating self-care weekend, then come out of left field with the idea that there's no place for self-indulgence in the Christian life (self-care is necessary and good in as much as it prepares us to live lives worthy of our calling in the world) and it's really all about God and not about us at all. It doesn't sound like that's the direction the Adult Education chair would have it go. We haven't done much in the way of planning, so I still have time to work with my supervisor and get the direction headed where I think it's more appropriate to go (i.e. toward God, not toward ourselves). I said something at our last meeting about having a flow of the weekend that goes from interiority, to focus on God, to being sent out into the world, and latter two seem to be very clearly lower on the hierarchy of importance. Thoughts on how to extricate the self-indulgent form of self-care from the spiritual spa weekend?
p.s. This is petty, I know, but the confusion of e.g. and i.e. is a pet peeve of mine. So for the greater good of all, here's the deal. E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means 'for the sake of example': (She likes fruit, e.g. strawberries). I.e. stands for id est, which means 'that is': ((I can read Greek, i.e. Koine Greek).
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