. . . etc . . .
The Weekly Miscellany of Regent College
February 24, 2009 http://www2.regent-college.edu/etcetera
Winter Issue 6
“Like”
by Rudi Krause
I
f an audio-recording were made of
the conversations that happen in the
Atrium and in community groups, and
if an analysis were done of the vocabulary used, it would be determined that
“like” is near the top of the list of mostused words. I’m sure you’ve noticed
this, like, yourself.
But then it could be argued that in
most cases “like” has ceased to be a
word. Rather it has become a conversational filler, giving bulk to our talk, filling in the gaps (as “ah”, “um”, and “er”
also do). Or we can think of it as insulation in the interactional walls through
which we try to communicate.
Please don’t take these observations
and reflections about our conversational habits as either criticism or prescrip-
tion. I wouldn’t want my own talk to be
recorded and analyzed. Surely I, too,
am prone to using such fillers. It could,
you know, be, like, embarrassing.
It would be interesting to engage
in conversational archaeology to find
out when and how “like” came to be
used in this way. I know that several
decades ago it was not; when I was a
young adult we had other fillers. But
what interests me here is not “when”
and “how”, but “why?” Why the word
“like”?
What would Noam Chomsky (the
linguist who studied the deep structures of language) have to say? What
might Freud or Jung make of it? Permit
me to make some tentative suggestions.
Do we use “like” (as in “alike”, “same”)
to remind us of all that we (speaker and
listener) have in common? After all, it
is only on the basis of our commonality that we can have a conversation - a
shared language for starters. We reside
in the same (“like”) “house of meaning” (Heidegger). Or, conversely, are
we expressing a desire to overcome all
that separates us based on the deep recognition that, after all is said and done,
we are different, we are on two sides of
a wall through which we communicate
- always tentatively, always prone to
misunderstanding (Simone Weil)?
Or is it that other meaning of “like”?
I am talking to you because I like you.
I am talking to you because I want you
to, like, like me.
A Celebration of Unrequited Love
by Anonymous
I
didn’t register for it, pay tuition for it,
or appreciate its pass/fail exams every
6 months or so, but I am, nonetheless,
signed up for one of the most popular
courses offered here at Regent: APPL
670: A Guided Study in Unrequited
Love. And while some days I really wish
I didn’t have to take it, I find myself celebrating this course nonetheless. Because
for me, unrequited love has been the catalyst to a closer relationship with God,
a greater sense of my own sinfulness, a
heightened ability to enter into the mind
and heart of others, and a greater appreciation for the mysterious workings of
grace.
It happened in the usual way -- a
friendship which developed into greater
levels of intimacy, a growing awareness
of my own attraction, an awkward conversation over dinner, and a disappointment which still stings some days. To
their credit, my friend did not flee after
I confessed my attraction: rather, they
chose to stick around and not let attraction be the determining factor in our relationship. I am learning how to let my
friend love me as a friend, despite the
frustration my crush must cause, and I
am learning how to honour my friend by
not letting my attraction (and the inappropriate thoughts created thereby) taint
our friendship. And, lest all this get too
weighty, we are also continuing to laugh
Quotable
and to play with each other, in simple
and silly ways.
I know (believe me, I know) that not
all unrequited loves work out this well.
Many, if not most, instances of such desire end in bitter tears and a friendship
torn asunder. I know just how lucky I
am to have a chance to redeem rejection
with friendship, and I am grateful for the
gift of being able to transform my painful
confession into a chance for truly honest
dialogue.
For, like most of us, I tend to hide my
true feelings, avoiding discussion of those
relationships which expose my deep-
See Unrequited Love, p. 4
“According to (Kierkegaard’s) punishing version of Hegel, Hegelianism seems to think the Word became flesh in
order to read about himself in German philosophy, while at the same time thoughtfully providing the theologians
with the opportunity to earn a secure living by speculating on the Crucifixion.”
- John Caputo
. . . etc . . . 2
Hockey, Obama and Taste of the World
by Matthew van Leeuwen, editor
T
his past Saturday was Hockey Day
in Canada on CBC. One full day of
hockey. Three hockey games featuring
all six Canadian NHL teams. Montreal
vs. Ottawa. Vancouver vs. Toronto. Calgary vs. Edmonton.
But the day was much more than just
these games. The day’s coverage was
seeking to embody something of the spirit of hockey in Canada. The main broadcast centre of the day was the small town
of Campbellton, New Brunswick where
host Ron MacLean spent most of the day
on his skates, on an outdoor hockey rink,
holding his microphone with a hockeygloved hand. The games were preceded
by three hours of stories from across the
country: stories of backyard rinks, small
town tournaments, and big league rivalries. The stories were told by both ordinary folk and hockey legends alike.
What I found most interesting about
the day’s coverage was when Ron Mac­
Lean brought up the question, “What
does it mean to be a true Canadian?” I
find it fascinating that it was precisely
this question that was brought up on this
day of hockey.
I think the answer to the question was
implicit in the day’s coverage. This—
these stories, spending a Saturday afternoon playing shinny on an outdoor
rink—is what it means to be Canadian.
In response to MacLean’s question, the
interviewee, novelist David Adams
Richards, said, “We are a nation when
we drop the puck. We cannot help but
be one unified nation when we drop the
puck.”
Why is this? I mean, it is just a game.
How is it that millions of Canadians associate hockey with being a member of
the nation of Canada? How is it that this
game can inspire such devotion and national fervour?
Another event occurred last week
which seems to me somewhat related:
United States President Barack Obama’s
first visit to Canada. His seven hour visit
was met with the type of fanfare we have
come to expect with this man. People
came from all over just to catch a glimpse
of him. Why this devotion?
How is it that these two things, hockey
and Obama, have such power to create a
common sense of ‘us’ which spans across
countries, continents and hemispheres?
This coming Saturday we celebrate
Taste of the World. It is a time when
we as a community celebrate the diversity within our doors, mainly through
sharing food but also through storytelling, singing and dancing. As we do this
I would like challenge us to reflect on
these things which have the power to
unite people on such a massive scale. I
think that nationalism (whether that ‘nation’ is a country or region, or a sport or
a product, or certain individual) is one
of the most significant aspects of our
postmodern society and one which the
church needs to spend some time reflecting on.
Is the church a nation? Does it supercede all other national allegiances? Does
it have the power to redeem other national allegiances?
These I will leave you to ponder.
Socr ates On Trial
Steve Wexler
Professor
Faculty Of Law
University Of British Columbia
Will read his new
colloquial translation of
Plato’s Apology
Date: Thursday February 26
Time: 7 Pm
Place: Regent College chapel
5800 University Blvd
This Is A Free Event!
February 24, 2009
Submission Guidelines
Who Can Submit: Current students, faculty,
staff and spouses are preferred (though exceptions can be made).
Articles: Maximum Length for all unsolicited
articles is 800 words, though shorter articles are
welcomed.
Book, movie, and CD reviews should be no longer
than 500 words.
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 200
words.
All submissions are subject to editing for both
clarity and length.
Visual Art: Works submitted in digital format are
preferred. No promises can be made about the
quality of the printing, however: black and white
photographs and line art will reproduce best.
Fiction and Poetry: Et Cetera welcomes submissions of fiction and poetry. The word limit for
such submissions is 800 words. However, because editorial revision is more difficult with these
submissions, longer poems and stories may not
be printed the same week they are received.
Anonymous Articles: Approval of anonymous
publication will be granted on a case-by-case
basis.
How to Submit:
For the Et Cetera: [email protected].
The Green Sheet: [email protected]
Submissions in Word format are preferred; RTF
works as well. No guarantees are made that a
submission will be printed.
Deadline for submissions is noon
Friday of each week.
Et Cetera and The Green Sheet are
published twenty-four times a year by the
Regent College Student Association.
Editor:
Asst. Editor:
Printers: Matthew van Leeuwen
Lucia Lam
Copiesmart
#103 5728 University Blvd
Views expressed in the Et Cetera do not necessarily represent the views of Regent College, the
Regent College Student Association, or the Et
Cetera staff. But hey, they still might.
The Et Cetera can be viewed on-line at:
http://www2.regent-college.edu/etcetera.
. . . etc . . . February 24, 2009
3
What the VP External Does and
How You Can Get Him to Give You Money
by James Matichuk, Vice President External- Regent College Student Association
I
am your RCSA VP External. That
means that more than likely you
have no idea what I do around here.
I have one of four executive positions
in the RCSA, each of us work hard,
albeit in different capacities, to serve
you our student body. Nobody fills
the role of Regent eye candy quite like
Curtis “totally hot” Ozirney. Matthew
Humphrey, our VP Academic is the
brains behind our organization (hence
the large brain case), and VP Internal,
Nerida Patton, pretty much does absolutely everything. Each us plays an
important function, like Paul’s description of the body of Christ. Or Voltron.
Anyway, enough about them, let me
tell you about me and my job. A significant part of my job involves attending long meetings, which is why you
might see me in the atrium chugging
a cup of coffee as large and as dark as
my heart. I have to get to go to these
long meetings because I am representing Regent Students here at UBC. So
I sit on the AMS council and a couple
of committees and drink lots of coffee
(straight black, if you notice I’m running low and I look ragged).
Another part of my job is to encourage Regent students to participate in
this wider community we are a part of.
Thereis a lot of fun things on campus
to get involved with. You can catch a
movie at the SUB, catch a concert, at- fund included: Jacob’s Well, Mosaic
tend public lectures, get involved Church, Journey Home Community
with campus clubs, and play intramu- (A non-profit organization ministerral sports swim at the aquatic centre ing to Refugees) and Outdoor Adven(which is now free all the time). You ture Relay for Darfur (STAND UBC).
can also get involved in ministries and This year we are receiving applications
advocacy groups on campus. There is until March 17. Applications will be
so much more to UBC than the U-Pass assessed on the basis of their commitand the Library. The vision of Regent ment to a holistic expression of the goshas always been engagement with the pel, the degree to which the applicants
wider academic community, which is are personally engaged in meeting the
why it is attached to a major univer- needs of the recipients in this ministry
sity and didn’t name itself Backwoods or charitable endeavor and the ComBible College. Get out of the biosphere pleteness of their application.
and engage the wider world (PSA now
To apply or for more information,
over).
please check the bulletin board outBut the most exciting part of my job side the Regent Office, or email me at
is that I get to give away money. As [email protected].
VIP External, I chair the
charitable purposes committee which gives money
to ministries or charitable
endeavors that RSCA For the past six years Don Lewis has served Regent College
members are involved as Academic Dean. Don’s personal integrity, commitment
with. The intention of the to prayer, love for Regent and its mission and tireless dilifund is to recognize those gence have been an example to many of us. I have apprecistudents in our midst who ated his partnership in ministry and have enjoyed working
are actively bringing and alongside him. His term ends this summer so the faculty
embodying the kingdom has gone through a process not just to select a Dean for this
of God beyond the green next season in Regent’s life but also to carefully reflect on
roof and to bless that en- the role itself. We have all agreed that the demands of this
deavor with some fund- role are far beyond what could be expected of any single
ing. Last year recipients person so we will institute a new structure in the fall which
of the charitable purposes will include an Academic Dean and an Associate Dean.
Announcement from the
President
Midnight Madness
Sale
& Public Lecture
+ Book Launch
Friday, February
27th, 2009
9.30am-6pm &
7:00pm-Midnight
Friday, February
27th, 2009 8pm
Regent College Chapel
“Luther's Strange Advice: How Running
Away from God Solves the Problem of Evil”
All Items at Least
25% off
John Stackhouse
Plus, many at 30%,
50% & 60% off
booksigning of:
Can God Be Trusted? (2nd ed.)
On Wednesday the new Academic Dean was voted in by
the faculty in the person of Paul Williams, Regent alum
and Associate Professor of Marketplace Theology and
Leadership. We all appreciate Paul’s willingness to let his
name stand for this position and welcome him to this new
responsibility. Paul is currently on sabbatical until the end
of the summer so there will be a transition process during
the summer.
Over the next number of weeks, the faculty will select an
Associate Dean to serve with Paul. At that time I will announce that person’s name to the community.
At a later point, the faculty and staff will have an opportunity to express their appreciation to Don for his leadership
as Dean.
- Rod Wilson
4
. . . etc . . . February 24, 2009
Unrequited Love
continued from page 1
est insecurities (“I am ugly and undateable”) and fears (“I will spend my whole
life alone”). Thanks to my own experience I now understand that behind every
exciting engagement and new baby announced in chapel there are many more
stories of relationships that did not work,
attractions that were not mutual, longing
glances which were never returned. But
we do not tell these stories of unrequited
love, because they are too hard, and because they do not have the traditional
“happily ever after” sort of ending we
have been conditioned to crave. We hide
these difficult stories, because we do not
wish to show our scars in public. It is not
polite.
We all experience unrequited love – for
we all know what it is to desire someone
(whether romantically, or merely as a
friend or mentor) and to have that desire
ignored or rebuffed. And this understand-
ing, only lately made clear through my
own experience, has made me much more
tender towards those I see around Regent;
for I can now begin to guess at how many
dramas must go on behind closed doors,
how many cheerful facades hide broken
hearts. Were I one day to find myself the
undesired object of someone else’s affection, I would work hard at loving them in
a way which affirms them and their emotions, but I would also, day by day and
conversation by conversation, aid them in
the painful realization that I really am not
attracted to them. Unrequited love and
loneliness are all around us, and so we
must be gentle with one another.
The Rolling Stones were right—we
can’t always get what we want. At least,
not in this age. For there will come a day,
a blessed and glorious day, when we will
be seen face to face, and when there will
be no more lonely loves left unrealized.
But until that day, I will continue
(whether I marry or not, whether I have
children or not) to have unrequited love,
and to let that sense of loss to spur me
towards God. Rather than capitulating
to the social pressures in Regent and in
the wider society—pressures which tell
me to consume and to consummate, at
any cost—I choose to celebrate my lack
and my loss. For it is in the difficult fact
of my unrequited love that I have found
the courage to be honest with myself and
others. I have also found the courage to
be honest before my God—who is, perhaps, the greatest unrequited lover of
them all. Because, you see, I do not (indeed, I cannot) love God as deeply as He
loves me, and so I must strive to accept
and to reflect that no matter what I do
or who I like, there is One who loves me
with a passion far greater and far more
enduring than I could ever requite.
What’s In Your Soup and Where It Came From:
Barley, An Unlikely Hero
by Sarah Crowley Chestnut
B
eef and vegetable barley soup was
one of the soups I grew up on. I
remember my Nana asking as I lifted a
spoonful of broth and barley to my lips:
“Do you know how those little barleys got the brown stripe on their
backs?” My eyes grew wide every time
as she told the tale.
“The princess of the barley kingdom
lived in the highest tower of the castle.
All the barleys of the kingdom loved
her. She was kind and generous, and
very beautiful. One day, though, a fire
swept through the castle and the princess was trapped in her tower. Luckily,
her cries for help reached the ears of all
her little barley subjects watching from
below. They quickly organized themselves and made a dash for the castle,
winding their way up the smoky staircase. They gathered around the princess, shielded her with their round little
bodies, and together, carried her down
the staircase. The flames snapped at
their backs, but they made it out of the
fiery castle to safety. The princess was
not even singed. The barleys, however, went away with a dark stripe down
their backs—a mark of the snapping
flames and billowing smoke. But of
course, this dark stripe was also a mark
of their bravery and a sign of their loyalty to the princess.”
While there is little archeological evidence to support the existence of Nana’s
barley kingdom per se, barley is, in fact,
an ancient crop with mythical and religious import. It was one of the first
domesticated crops of the Ancient Near
East, and is listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as
one of the crops of the Promised Land.
Early Israelite law required barley flour
as part of a grain-offering accompanying the trial of a wife suspected of
adultery. You can read the details of
the proceedings for yourself in Numbers 5:11-31. Similarly, in Anglo-Saxon
law, the ‘corsned’—or ‘morsel of execration’—consisted of a piece of barley
bread with a bit of sheep’s cheese and
was also used as a type of trial: the consecrated corsned was fed to the suspect
party and if guilty, the morsel would
cause convulsions and choking. If innocent, the morsel would be swallowed
freely and nourish the person.
Not a particularly appetizing bit of
barley history? I’m afraid there’s more
controversy to season your palate: today, barley is primarily a feed crop—in
the U.S. (the 9th largest barley producer
in the world—Canada is the 2nd, after
Russia), half of the barley grown is fed
to animals. Contrast this with the fact
that in Africa barley is a traditional
food crop, containing all eight essential amino acids, and full of potential to
foster rural development, increase nutrition, sustainable land care and food
security. Additionally, studies have
shown whole-grain barley to regulate
blood sugar far better than white or
whole wheat. Let the readers hear the
cooks’ confession: for many reasons,
we probably should be making simply
Vegetable Barley, minus the beef.
As for the soup we have made.
Those lovely little barleys with their
stripes for heroism were contributed
but not used in Stone Soup. We’ve
supplemented a bit, but thanks to those
who brought barley. The vegetables,
as usual, are all organic from Ralph at
Eternal Abundance (the canned tomatoes hail from California), and the beef
(local, grass-fed) is from Patrick at The
Butcher on 10th.
February 24, 2009
. . . etc . . . by Michael Pasche
hen I was a child playing with Lego
or drawing with coloured pencils,
people would inevitably ask, “So, what
are you making?” The assumption was
of course that I had a finished project in mind and
was diligently working towards its eventual completion and perfection.
My most genuine and
thoughtful response was
most often “Ummm...I’m
not really sure yet.” And
that was the truth. I knew
I was making something,
I just really didn’t know
what yet. Part of that was
definitely a defence against
criticism. If I don’t tell you
what I am making then
you can’t tell me that it’s
a dumb idea, that no one
would ever do it, or that
it’s not good enough or whatever. I’m
protected by anonymity in the process.
I’m not subject to your interpretation of
what a house or a car should look like,
or how you would do it instead.
However, this is not the whole story.
Even now, as an adult-ish person, I still
don’t know really know where I’m going when engaged in the artistic process.
People sometimes ask me what I take
pictures of. This is a perfectly decent and
intelligent question, one that I myself
might ask upon meeting a photographer
for the first time. Unfortunately, if I wish
to be completely honest I almost always
end up cringing and saying “Ummm...a
little bit of everything?” I feel like people
think I’m dissembling or trying to keep
some sort of secret, but I’m not.
I just...don’t really know.
Example: When I plan to go
out and take pictures, I generally have some specific destination in mind, like the beach
for example. On that basis, I
can have a fairly good idea
of what I will or will not be
photographing that day: most
likely rocks, sand, water and
sky will feature prominently
while carousels, crab apples
corner on
and medical equipment probably
will not.
Within the context of that general outline however, I am functionally unintentional to all
intents and purposes.
There is simply no way
of knowing what will
present itself in the
course of the day. I can’t
say for sure that I will
take a picture of such
and such a cloud formation, or of any particular
interplay of the elements
at hand; the harder I try,
the more frustrating and
futile the whole exercise will become. To my
mind, seeing is receiving;
any good picture is gift
from God. I simply try to
show up and be present
to the environment, to slow down, sit
still, to be still and know...
It’s been called karma, Providence,
the hand of God, being in tune with
the universe, any number of different
names. I also like to think of it as humility, a posture of being open to the
loving Creator/Artist who calls my
name. I’m conscious of the fact that I
am merely a steward, yet also an honoured guest and an adopted son. This
world is not my world, it is a gift from
a loving Creator, a Creator who understands the infinite beauty of His work
far better than I ever can, and who delights in nothing more than in sharing
that beauty with me, revealing a never
ending series of aesthetic surprises right
at my feet and everywhere else too, if I
will only stop and listen.
the arts
A Theological Justification for an
Intentional Lack of Foresight
W
5
Thank You...
...to all the people who helped make the Offering of the Arts
happen: musicians, writers and readers, visual artists, gallery
staff, editors, sound equipment people, cooks and kitchen
helpers, workshop presenters and attendees, and those who
helped with behind-the-scenes stuff.
- from the RCSA (Arts)
6
. . . etc . . . True,
False
or
H Ross?
The Back Page
O
ne of the most enjoyable aspects of coming to Regent is the ability to interact with
people from various cultures. There is often an
element of humor or awe in some of the stories shared and occasionally even an element
of disbelief at the near absurdity of what you
are hearing. Despite these moments of wonder
what most people find is that the people they
meet and the stories shared are typically similar in nature. But every now and then you meet
someone whose experiences are so unique
that your current paradigms no longer withstand their encounter. We have been blessed
to meet a few of these people in our lives and
are continually grateful for each one—even
though our nonplused expressions at the time
may suggest otherwise. While some of you
have met similar such persons yourselves, we
would like to make you aware of at least one
February 24, 2009
other. His name is H. Ross Dudley. While we
would love to tell you much more about H, it
seems only fitting that we share stories about
him and other Regent students in hopes that
you will make the effort to know him on your
own. Therefore, we plan on submitting a story
or two in each of the coming Et Cetera issues
(space and time willing) about H in hopes that
you too will share in his adventures that go beyond mere truth or falsity. Most of the stories
provided will indeed be true but there will be
the occasional red herring or tale of another Hlike person to keep your expectations in check.
This is where you must decide if the story is
True, False, or H Ross. So without further ado
please enjoy the first installment....
- Friends of H
Adventure #1 — While this Regent student was backpacking across Europe he and several other backpackers were
denied entry onto a train across Greece. Refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer this student organized a rebel group which
broke through security and boarded the train anyway. While the train was already in motion this student decided that he
didn’t want to go where the train was heading so he and several new backpacking friends jumped off as it sped through the
Greek countryside. After a long night of sipping beers, singing, and telling stories on the beach he withdrew to sleep. The
only shelter he could find was an overturned boat where he slept in the sand for a few hours only to be awakened in early
dawn with the view of four donkey legs and one giant donkey doo splattering upon him. T, F, or H?
Taste Of The World!
You are invited to the Regent College Taste of the
World Potluck which will be taking place
Saturday, February 28th from 6:00–9:00 pm
in the Regent Atrium.
All staff, faculty, students, spouses and
family members are welcome! Your country
coordinators will be contacting you to bring food
and possibly showcase your talent or culture.
If you have any question please contact Jodie
Smith [email protected].
The Quiz
Two questions:
1) Out of the 21 full-time
faculty at Regent, how many
of them have a Wikipedia
page about them?
a) 0
b) 1
c) 4
d) 11
Can you name them?
2) Out of the 10 emeritus professors, how many have a Wikipedia page about them?
a) 1
b) 4
c) 7
d) 10
Can you name them?
Answers can be found at wikipedia.org.