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I'm Writing This Instead of Studying
I’ve been dreading the end-of-spring-semester packing and cleaning since I moved here in August, but suddenly sorting my clothes and dishes into boxes and mopping up the floor seems exceedingly appealing. Lately it’s been hot and humid and North Carolina pollen is not a force to be reckoned with, but I’ve been putting in extra runs and laying out during the day, because who wants to be “that girl” who came back from college in the South out of shape and pale? Also, has anyone noticed the news has been especially interesting lately, specifically the Miley Cyrus/ Annie Leibovitz photo scandal? Just riveting. Oh, and I’ve been spending a lot of time deleting e-mail. There’s a pastime that never gets old.
I only have two final exams but it’s been a crunch fitting them in, given my clearly overwhelming schedule. For at least two hours every day I have to sit in the quad and solve world issues with my friends. Also, I must allot at least an hour and a half for both lunch and dinner. That’s when we discuss Barack Obama’s campaign strategy. Then of course there’s club cross country practice, which at this time of year is optional, and I’m not really training for anything but I’ve got to hit all the major trails before I move back to Iowa on Wednesday. I had a test this morning, but of course we had to watch “The Office” last night, and then debate which moments were the funniest, and then I got back to my room and knew I should get a bit more studying in, but packing up those boxes just seemed so cathartic and appealing.
I got through my English test this morning somehow and after writing five essays concerning various British Renaissance theories on the Anglican Church I’m about ready to be done with religious theorizing… until next Tuesday, that is, when I take my New Testament exam for Bart Ehrman’s class. This semester has proved an interesting intersection between religion and education. I haven’t quite figured out how to read one of John Donne’s Holy Sonnets or a passage on love from 1 Corinthians from a secular, intellectual perspective. Astonishment at the beauty of it all keeps getting in the way when I should be analyzing historical context and rhyme scheme. Sort of like “The Office” getting in the way of memorizing Bacon’s five idols of the mind.
So I’ll spend my weekend packing, and hanging out with friends, and eating on Franklin Street one last time (until August of course), and obsessively checking Facebook, and looking suspiciously at my New Testament textbook, and pretending going to church can count as an hour of studying. Then I’ll go into my test Tuesday afternoon hoping God doesn’t mind that the five minutes before Prof. Ehrman passes out the test is the hardest I’ve prayed in quite some time, but hey, it’s a test about Jesus, right?
By
Erin Becker
|
May 2, 2008; 1:07 PM ET
| Category:
Tar Heel Testament
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Posted by: Ash | May 9, 2008 7:23 AM
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You are taking a Christianity class using Bart Ehrman's work?? That professor knows nothing about Christianity from the Christian point of view. If you want to learn about Christianity, Bart Ehrman is an athiest, or atleast teaches from an athiestic point of view. I recomend that you study the Church Fathers to learn more about Christianity and get a real Christian understanding of Scripture.
Posted by: Jasmine | May 6, 2008 2:22 AM
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Erin,
I have really enjoyed reading your blog since your mom told me about it. It sounds like your first year at UNC was a success! Your family will surely be glad to have you home soon. Best of luck with your finals...I know the feeling of suddenly wanting to clean when textbooks are staring at you from your desk. You'll get through it, we all do. :-)
Ms. Byers (from WHS)
Posted by: Anonymous | May 5, 2008 1:20 PM
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Good God- This is the future face of journalism?
Despite how interesting you may be to you,
your self-absorption has little interest to the rest of us. Do us a favor, dear, and next time- just study instead of regaling us with every minutiae of your dull life.
Posted by: Is this for real? | May 3, 2008 10:30 AM
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Erin,
I don't think the analogy of the "astonishment at Donne" to "the office crowding the idols" quite works. The Sonnets ARE astonishing.
Have you yet had the experience of seeing how close reading can make them even more so? They glitter. They really do.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 3, 2008 8:57 AM
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Jasmine,
Considering Bart Ehrman was a fundamentalist Christian who attended and graduated from fundamentalist colleges, it's a safe bet that he knows a great deal about Christianity from both Christian and non-Christian points of view.
You should put less faith in the authority of "the church fathers" and focus on an intelligent analysis of the facts if you wish to establish any kind of relationship with the truth.