literature review

The article starts by describing an average Christian’s reaction to dealing with teachers who try to attack their faith for their own pleasure. He describes it as “bullying” and says that most do this in order to belittle someone and make themselves feel bigger. He says that even textbooks in college are geared toward having a biased opinion against those of faith. They say that “the educated and intelligent can only hold to an atheistic philosophy”, yet there are many extremely intelligent people who have a strong faith in Jesus Christ. The article goes on to advise Christians to not engage in active debate with others if they feel that they are incapable of defending their faith. The author talks about how he once was one of the people who actively tried to tear down Christianity any chance he got, until he met one who was so well skilled in defending his faith that he put him to shame. The author later went on to become a Christian and now helps give advice to those struggling with the same people that he used to be a part of. He belongs to the “American Scientific Affiliation, which is a group of scientists who are evangelical Christians,” and he says that probably the greatest weapon against the trials you’ll face in college is to know what you believe, and exactly why you believe it, but don’t be a “pompous blowhard” and egotistical about it. I found it very helpful. It really showed me that this is for sure what I want to research.

Hell Week

Ok so last week was the worst week that I have had at Tech to date. So I have lovingly dubbed it "Hell Week". It was terrible. I had three exams and a quiz in four days. I was constantly studdying anytime I got a chance. I had a Linear Algebra exam at the Math Empo on Monday, a Calculus quiz on Tuesday, a Calculus exam Wednesday, and a Chemistry exam Thursday. It was the worst time of my collegiate life so far. I studied so much and thought that I was somewhat prepared, but I was horribly wrong. I did below the class average on everything. So now I am wondering what exactly I can do differently in order to pull my grades up and succeed on my next series of tests. I mean I felt that I had done my best, but it just wasn't enough. At one point, I wondered why my instructors all hated me, but of course that was absurd, because none of them even really know who I am. At least tonight I had an Engineering exam that I feel I did really well on. That gives me a huge boost of confidence for going into the next series of exams in a couple weeks. Hopefully I'll find a way to prepare myself more efficiently. Until then, I'm praying that I'll find a way to make it out of it alive.

Site visit

I did my site visit a while ago actually but i was temorarily locked out of this site.
Anyway, I checked out the site for an organization called BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries). They are located righ here at VT, right off of Washington street. Their site gives a moderate amount of information on them, but makes you want to actually visit them to find out more. So I believe I will. I'll most likely be attending their Tuesday night service at 6:33. So that is where I will be on Tuesday, as long as nothing more important comes up again. And hopefully, I can sit down with one or more of the regulars there and do some interviews.

Communities Questions

Here are some of the questions I have thought to ask when I shall do my interviews in research of my chosen community: Christians at Tech.

1. Why is it that you decided to come to VT instead of a Christian college?

2. Is it ever hard to listen to something that is taught to you that you know is against your beliefs?

3. Do you believe that most people have a negative view of Christian groups on campus?

4. Do you think that it is beneficial or not for a Christian to attend a public university instead of a private, Christian college?

5. What kind of hardships or obstacles have you had to overcome as a Christian living at Virginia Tech?

6. Do you believe that you have grown stronger in your faith since first coming here?

7. What do you believe are the main problems facing Christians today who attend a large secular university such as VT?

Observations

For this assignment I didnt' really know what to observe. It just sort of happened that I ended up observing a friend of mine. He didn't know I was observing him. Probably the main reason why is because he was so drunk he could not walk straight without help. He kind of stumbled into the room I was sitting in using my laptop. His friends were with him, helping him to the trash can which he proceeded to throw up in. As I watched all of this unfold in front of my eyes I knew once and for all why I don't drink. It was the sounds of him throwing up, rambling on incoherently, and him repeatedly telling his friend to shut the door, which was already closed. He had obviously been out drinking and partying and had way too much to drink. As I watch all of this, I wonder if this is really what people mean when they say that they went out to drink to have a "good time". If this is considered a good time, then they can have it. I wouldn't want to wake up in the morning, not knowing where I am, how I got there, what I did the previous night, or why I smell like vommit.