I don't know where to start. I'm not sure what to say.
Abandoned Danville Church Burns to the Ground
That link will take you to the WCIA news story about this old abandoned church in Danville that burned down. But it was more than an old building or an old abandoned church to me. This is... was the Old Edgewood Building with the attached Hope Christian School.
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| From the middle of the building, looking toward the sanctuary. |
This is (sort of) the third post in a series.
The First Post: Geometry and How to Think
The Second Post: Canyons vs. Crannies Theology
I am sure that there are a few people who've had their toes stepped on from my posts. If not these two, then any number of previous posts I've done, may have stepped on toes. I can admit that from time to time I've posted some things with the express purpose of toe-stepping. I can admit that. Though it was never meant to be overtly mean, I can admit that there have been a few times where I phrased things knowing that whether or not it stepped on any toes, it would still be received about the same way that a stray Lego piece is when encountered on the floor in the middle of the night... when barefoot. I could argue that some people just need to put shoes on (i.e. not be so sensitive), but that wasn't my main concern when typing these things out. Even though I can admit this with some previous posts, I want to stand by my claim that these last two posts, specifically the previous one, was not meant at all for an insult to anyone. The topic that I began to cover, I believe, is one of the most important topics that needs to be addressed in our American Church. I believe this for two reasons.
Please don't be offended by this post. If you read anything here that you find offensive, please just talk with me.
Anyone and everyone that believes that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, is a theologian on some level. I absolutely believe this to be true. A person doesn't always have to be a professional theologian to be a theologian. Theology is simply the study of God, so one could be a professional theologian, investing their time and energy into this study, but they might also be a lazy theologian, deeming the study of the Word to be not all that important, at least not as important as Sports Center or their Facebook feed, but both ends of the spectrum depict theologians none-the-less. If a person believes something... anything... about God, they are a theologian. And if they also believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, then to some degree those beliefs are shaped by their reading, or their lack of reading, the scriptures.
I know that anyone that comes across this will most likely find it a bit on the boring side. I get that. I'm not trying to build an audience here, I gave up on that dream long ago. At the same time, what I am going to say, I believe has relevance. I believe it is important. I believe that it borders on essential. And so I write it, not thinking that it is a statement that will sweep the nation or the educational system or even the 5 people I know online. I write it instead, as an actual exercise in thinking, which is the core topic of this post. So I encourage you to read it, to think about it, and to communicate with me about it, not for social media hype, but for community and dialogue and for thinking...
Geometry
The longer I teach Geometry, the more I believe that the real purpose of Geometry is not how to find angles and identify shapes and compare congruent triangles... No. All of those things are secondary to, what I believe is, or ought to be, the real purpose of a Geometry Course. Don't get me wrong, all of those things, along with slopes of lines and right triangle trigonometry and the surface area of spheres is all important: amazingly, exceptionally, actually important. The more technical our world gets, the more these things are drastically important. And even if I go another way with Geometry... the "Geometry in Construction" way, which is another course that I teach, these things are still really, really important. Houses still need to be built with the proper pitch of the roof. Rafters need to be cut, doorways need to be square, and floors need to be level. Again... all important stuff... but... But the longer I teach Geometry, the more I believe that the real purpose of Geometry is not necessarily any of these things. The real purpose may be... ought to be... probably should be or at least could be... how to think.
I guess that if I am going to talk about this topic in this format, I should probably attempt to accomplish a few things in this "talk". I most likely need to say something about the need for our youth to be taught how to think. You wouldn't think that this would need an explanation, but it might. From there I should try to show you why I think that the Geometry classroom is the proper delivery vessel for students to be taught how to think... I think. Let's start with the need for thinking by thinking about thinking, you think?
