For the Curious

Hmm...As I wrote that title, it occurred to me that the Latin word for "why" is "cur." I don't know if curious is a derivative, but that is still awesome. So, to answer the question some people have been asking, why should I drop the Ancient Languages major, and instead walk down the path of English, notably, English Writing? The question is a serious one. In fact, I could easily pursue the Ancient Languages major without more-than-average difficulty (seeing how I opened with the questioning of a derivative). So the question does not concern difficulty or anything of that nature, but instead, it is one more of benefit and enjoyment and compatibility.

I love Ancient Languages, most notably, Latin. I am a Latinus, not a Helenus. Meaning, I enjoy Latin more than Greek, but this love complicates things here at Wheaton, seeing how Greek and Hebrew (which I have not taken) are the major courses in the Ancient Languages discipline, while Latin is a distant third. Besides, as I have moved further away from 6-203 and Roberts' cave, my love of Languages has not diminished, as much as my love of Philosophy and the written word has increased.

With consideration on the future, what I want and what God wants to do with my life, and my passions, the Ancient Languages major seems to be more and more a fading thing. I guess I should expound on why I originally wanted to be an Ancient Languages major. Well, the reason is simple. I wanted to be a Bible translator, because of my love for missions. I still love missions, as I read Scripture more, and am challenged by it, I don't negative my purpose or goal in this life - to be missional. Now, what does that look like? Quite simply, it is living a life that in all words, but more importantly, in actions follows Christ. To be missional is to be a demonstration of Christ in the world, transforming the world through the relational invitation to come and join this little rebellion against the status quo of humanity, known as Christianity, more explicitly, being a disciple of Christ.

So where does an English Writing major, and for that matter a Philosophy major, come in? They come in to play like such - the world, especially the Church world, is in a shift. The secular words has generally already made the shift to postmodernity. But where is the Church? Lagging behind - not that we should follow the world, but we need to know how to communicate with it! At the beginning of epochs, such as this is, a few scholars direct the course of human thoughts and human undertaking through their works - notably, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Bacon, and in the Church - Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Chesterton and Lewis. Who will that be for this generation, this epoch? I think I have the responsibility to at least attempt to mark, through His grace, this world for good in a similar way. This is the reason I am pursuing the degree in Philosophy - to learn to sift through the ideas and the consequences. Why writing? The most affective ideas have come from the most effective communicators. I know I am not the best speaker, but I love to write and can hone that talent. My whetstone would be an English Writing major.

I hope that begins to answer the question. I am in the process of answering it as well, but as I have epiphanies or anything that resembles one, I will let you know.