On Religion

As someone who knows that interfaith interaction, especially between Christians and Muslims, is super tense a lot of the time, I was kind of surprised to read this article.  For those of you who decided not to follow the link, it's basically an article on a letter that Mohammad, founder of Islam, sent to an Orthodox Christian monastery; basically, the letter said that Mohammad would protect and honor the Christian's religious choice, and that this sentiment should be in effect forever.

It's kind of interesting, then, how much everything has changed.  There are Christians who really don't like Muslims, and I know there are some Muslims who really don't like Christians.  Strife between faiths is inevitable.

At the same time, I think Mohammad had it right - not only should we live and let live, we should live and help others live their choices.  Letting others be is not enough - if persecution is going to happen, then there has to be someone that's going to fight back.

I think freedom of faith is an important part of US culture, even if some people don't realize it.  There are some who think that the US was founded on Christian principles; Thomas Jefferson specifically said that it wasn't.  Some say that the US is a Christian nation, which is complete bullcrap.  There are so many faith communities in the US that calling it a Christian nation is almost insulting.  Sure, there are a lot of Christians, and a lot of Christian denominations that people follow, but that doesn't mean that this is a Christian nation.  That means that we have the freedom to practice Christianity - but also the freedom to practice Islam, Judaism, Wicca, Buddhism, Hinduism, Baha'i, Atheism, Agnosticism, or any sort of homebrew combination that explains what someone's individual view is on the status and existence of a higher power.

And, to follow Mohammad, we have an obligation to protect everyone's right to follow whatever faith they want or need to follow.

Singing and Greek Philosophy

The Greek language is one that will eternally frustrate me - not necessarily because verb conjugations and noun declensions are particularly difficult (though that is a majorly contributing factor) but because of the damn philosophy of it (also, I can no longer say or type 'philosophy' without thinking 'philo sophia' - 'I love wisdom').  It's quite interesting, don't get me wrong, and we had quite an interesting discussion this morning about it, but still - sometimes it's too philosophia-y for its own good.
For example, the Ancient Greeks had no past tense.  The aorist tense is what we would normally translate as an -ed verb (I walked), but that is not necessarily the case.  The difference between the aorist tense and the present tense is a one-time action versus a continual one - the difference between paying rent for one month one time and paying it several times over the course of the year.
And then there's the difference between the active voice and the middle voice (I walk versus I am walking).  Many verbs don't get philosophia-y, but there are some that do.  The verb for "I obey" is "I persuade" in the middle voice, for example; at its heart, "I obey" is really "I am persuaded."  Though this sort of philosophy is kind of cool, it gets frustrating when translating stuff.

This afternoon/ evening, I also had the amazing pleasure to work with Deen Entsminger and the chamber singers from Belmont University (it's in Nashville).  Let me say this: THE CHOIR IS F*CK*NG AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!  Their blend was awesome, and they do all of their pieces a capella - they're actually training to be able to find a pitch from a single note.
But Entsminger.  That man is a 70-something-year-old ball of happy, excited, wonderful, positive energy; he's the sort of man who seems like he has a good thirty or forty years left, and he probably does, even though it'll put him past age 100.  He dances when the music dances; and feels when the music feels.  I'm pretty sure he might not actually have real emotions, but just feel through music.  When he does feel, it's almost always some form of joy.  He composed a piece for the R-MC Concert Choir a few years ago, and he worked with us today on it - and it was the most unbelievable thing I've experienced, possibly ever.  There was such an energy in the room - you can't get it at just any time or just anywhere.