writing:  Ryan

We've officially been in Lexington for about a month.  Cassie has begun classes and has actually already written several papers.  She's officially a graduate student.  加油!

It's been an interesting month.  We've celebrated Cassie's birthday, tried several churches, I've finally started getting called for interviews, etc.  Also, we've had to list our Kia (beloved Casper) on craigslist because there are just too many things that need fixing.  Thankfully, even with me listing several things wrong with it, someone has fallen in love with it and will hopefully be buying it soon.  We purchased an older vehicle (16 years old, but with only 40,000 miles on it).  So, thankfully, God provided a wonderful vehicle that we've named Madea.  Yeah, we're those weirdos that refer to our vehicle by a name.

Our apartment is quite nice.  It's close to campus, but unfortunately, since Lexington has the worst traffic problem I've ever experienced, it still takes quite awhile to get anywhere.  We'll eventually post photos of our apartment, but we're still in the process of getting furniture.  Our front room has one rocky chair in it and our dining room is empty still.  We've got a bit of stuff to buy still.

Cassie is trying to figure out what type of internship she'd like to do next semester and I'm still trying to figure out if next year will be my year for graduate school or the year after.  I guess I should finalize where my top options are and what is required to go there?  Hmm.

Well, it's about time to start dinner.  I miss my milk tea, cheesy potatoes and good Vietnamese food.  :(  But, I can eat lots of cookie dough here. :)

Writing: Cassie

I read this off of someone's blog and wanted to place it somewhere that others could read and reflect on it as well.  I hope you enjoy it.

“Let me explain the problem science has with religion.” The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

“You’re a Christian, aren’t you, son?”

“Yes sir,” the student says.

“So you believe in God?”

“Absolutely. “

“Is God good?”

“Sure! God’s good.”

“Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?”

“Yes”

“Are you good or evil?”

“The Bible says I’m evil.”

The professor grins knowingly. “Aha! The Bible! He considers for a moment. “Here’s one for you. Let’s say there’s a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?”

“Yes sir, I would.”

“So you’re good...!”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“But why not say that? You’d help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn’t.”

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. “He doesn’t, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?”

The student remains silent. “No, you can’t, can you?” the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. “Let’s start again, young fella. Is God good?”

“Err...yes,” the student says.

“Is Satan good?”

The student doesn’t hesitate on this one. “No.”

“Then where does Satan come from?”

The student falters. “From God”

 “That’s right. God made Satan, didn’t he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?”

 “Yes, sir.”

 “Evil’s everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything, correct?”

 “Yes”

 “So who created evil?” The professor continued, “If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.”

Again, the student has no answer. “Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?”

The student squirms on his feet. “Yes.”

 “So who created them?”

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. “Who created them?” There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. “Tell me,” he continues onto another student. “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?”

The student’s voice betrays him and cracks. “Yes, professor, I do.”

The old man stops pacing. “Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?”

 “No sir. I’ve never seen Him.”

 “Then tell us if you’ve ever heard your Jesus?”

 “No, sir, I have not.”

 “Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?”

 “No, sir, I’m afraid I haven’t.”

 “Yet you still believe in him?”

 “Yes”

 “According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?”

 “Nothing,” the student replies. “I only have my faith.”

 “Yes, faith,” the professor repeats. “And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.”

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. “Professor, is there such thing as heat?”

 “Yes.

 “And is there such a thing as cold?”

 “Yes, son, there’s cold too.”

 “No sir, there isn’t.”

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. “You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don’t have anything called “cold”. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.

We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.”

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

 “What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?”

 “Yes,” the professor replies without hesitation. “What is night if it isn’t darkness?”

 “You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it’s called darkness, isn’t it? That’s the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?”

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. “So what point are you making, young man?”

 “Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.”

The professor’s face cannot hide his surprise this time. “Flawed? Can you explain how?”

 “You are working on the premise of duality,” the student explains... “You argue that there is life and then there’s death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought.” “It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.” “Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a common ancestor that monkeys also evolved from?”

 “If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.”

 “Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?”

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

 “Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?”

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. “I guess you’ll have to take them on faith.”

 “Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,” the student continues. “Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?”  Now uncertain, the professor responds, “Of course, there is. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.”

To this the student replied, “Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.”

The professor sat down.

The student was Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein wrote a book titled God vs. Science in 1921.

writing:  Ryan

Today was the last day of school.  It was a bittersweet experience.  There have been days and times that my school has made me want to scream, but I will truly miss the kids.....even the ones that drove me bonkers.  We accompanied our students to Danshui today.  We just spent some time with them as they had a fun day after finishing Chinese school.  It was really nice.

We've been quite busy as of late.  On Saturday we had a beach day.  We have to get our fill in before we become landlocked again.  Oh, I'm going to miss being an hour by train from the Pacific.  Then, on Sunday we went river tracing on Yangming Mountain in Taipei County.  We hiked up a river---through the river, climbed up a cliff, repelled down it, climbed up a waterfall, repelled down it, etc. etc.  It was awesome.  We got to hike through the forest and hear the bugs doing their thing.  It reminded us a lot of Indiana.  We also realized that we're going to have to get used to the sound of nature again......and not the sound of crazy cats, recycling vehicles and horns.  It will take some readjustment.

Last night, after school, we thought we were going (or, I did) with a co-worker and her boyfriend--we went river tracing with them this past weekend, but it turned out that it was a surprise dinner from all the workers at both of the schools we work for.  It was really nice to get to spend time with all of our co-workers one last time.  We've spent so much time with these people that it was really a treat to have a fond farewell.

Then, today, before I left school I had a major surprise.  It was supposed to be for both Cassie and me, but there was some miscommunication.  I teach three kids that are cousins.  I have taught one student for two years.  This boy was in Cassie's first summer class in Taiwan, too.  He's enamored with her although she only taught him for like four weeks.  Nevertheless, jokingly, I had said that we needed a rice cooker and a Taiwanese flag one day when they were asking me what I'd like.  Well, today, we received a rice cooker and a Taiwanese flag.  I was speechless.  Also, I was given the guarantee that whenever we have children, no matter how many years down the road that is, that they need to know so that they can send us the best baby items from Japan. 

After that, our landlord had a going-away dinner for us just as he had for the previous tenants.  We went for a dinner at a Peking Duck restaurant near our home.  It was nice.  He had us invite friends, so we did.....and we ate.  Since he isn't a Christian, I think it was good for him to have interactions with a group of Christians without having religion shoved down his thoat.  We can only pray that we helped plant a seed in him.  He's already told us that after us, he would always like to rent to Christians because we are so clean and polite.  So, at least we've made some kind of impression on him......or, maybe Cassie was the one who made the impression since she's the clean one.

I think tomorrow will be the hardest day.  Cassie will spend most of the day with Judy.  Judy has sort of been Cassie's rock in this country.  She's been there for Cassie in every situation and always showed her love so abundantly.  She will escort us to Main Station on Saturday, but tomorrow is the major goodbye day.  So, please pray for both Cassie and Judy.  I'm sure this will be a hard day.

So, as our time in Taiwan ends, a new chapter will begin in Kentucky.  It's scary, it's exciting, it's sad, it's . . . Taiwan has at times driven me crazy, but I have called it home for two years.  We will leave with many good, bad, happy and sad memories, but they are memories nonetheless, and they will help to define us in the future.  It's impossible to sum up two years of utter experience overload . . . but I have to live the rest of my life trying to remember.   Souvenirs . . . check, boxes of other stuff . . . check, bike I had to fight for . . . check, amazing friends . . . check, experiences . . . check, eaten a duck's eye . . . begrudgingly, check . . .

So, in case there isn't another blog.

謝謝您,台灣!
再見.