Thursday, August 19, 2010

The End of Summer The Start of Fall

The summer term is coming to a close. The fall term to begin soon. I look forward to the fall term with a renewed hope. I hope that I will be able to get a student to make the connection with the ideas that I am trying to get them to understand. I hope.

It was a good summer but many sad moments.

Dr. Skaff, my friend, mentor and teacher passed away in June. His death was a blow. He was the type of mathematician that I have always tried to be and his death leaves a large void in the department. I will miss him.

In July, Kathy Bush passed away. I did not know her well but what I did know of her I respected and admired. She was a wonderful person and she will be missed by all who knew her.

I have been wondering alot about God and what is it that I am looking for in life. I am constantly wondering what I am missing. Some people who believe in God seem so sure that they understand what God wants, why He created us and what He expects from us. I see people that are intelligent and people who are not so intelligent that share this unshakable believe in God and the Bible. I am having trouble with all of it and I cannot get my mind around it. I do not understand it. But one thing that I did notice today that is common with many people that have this unshakable believe in God and the Bible is that man is inherently evil and that we need God's forgiveness to escape damnation. Is man inherently evil? There are people out there that do very bad things. There is evil. That is for sure. But is man inherently evil? By man being inherently evil does this mean that human nature and the things that human beings feel are inherently evil? I cannot accept the answer of yes. I want to believe in humanity. The feelings and desires that we feel are natural and beautiful and as long as we do not hurt others it is fine. I wonder.....