The Calvin Who Had No Hobbes

Today was a very busy day. I began class at 8:30 this morning, breaking only for lunch and 2 hours in the afternoon, with lectures continuing until 8:00 this evening. I took a lot of notes and did a lot of thinking, in the end reaching the conclusion that my training at Concordia, Ann Arbor has served me well. The first three days are focusing on World View Training, and in particular it seems, the teachings of the Presbyterian church and a man named Francis Schaeffer who seems to have had a tremendous impact on my instructors. This sounds cynical, but it is simply the reality of the class so far. I am enjoying it and am learning a great deal, but find the subtleties of Schaeffer's ideas to be at odds with Confessional Lutheranism (and then by extension: the Bible). Really it is good for me to be exposed to real life "Calvinists" and to be forced to address the differences without the support of hundreds of other Lutherans around me. In fact I'm the only Lutheran participating in the World Journalism Institute this year.

As I said earlier, this experience will stretch and challenge me in many necessary ways. Bizarrely, this is also my first experience with having a roommate arrangement (I now have two). I have traveled throughout the world, lived in a hut in the Darien Rainforest, and in an apartment in downtown Macau, but this is my first experience living with someone else. I'm sure my fiance will be glad I have gained a little experience in sharing a living space before our wedding!

I'm getting to know the subway system pretty well already, mostly a bi-product of getting lost and having to find my way back home in midtown Manhattan. I took a trip to China Town this evening in the hopes of getting a story. No one would speak to me, at least not in English, and my mandarin isn't much good for anything other than saying hello and buying groceries.

We were also given several books today to read. I am continually amazed at how much stuff they are giving us here, both as a burden and a gift. I read "Imagine" by Steve Turner tonight as required, and once again that Francis Schaeffer character played a central role. I suppose it's sort of like getting constantly bombarded with Sasse but for Calvanists...