My Happy Place

-
Image
  “The floor was carpetless. The whitewashed walls were in parts scrawled over with strange diagrams, and in others covered with shelves crowded with philosophical instruments, the uses of many of which were unknown to me. On one side of the fireplace, stood a bookcase filled with dingy folios; on the other, a small organ, fantastically decorated with painted carvings of medieval saints and devils. Through the half-opened door of a cupboard at the further end of the room, I saw a long array of geological specimens, surgical preparations, crucibles, retorts, and jars of chemicals; while on the mantelshelf beside me, amid a number of small objects, stood a model of the solar system, a small galvanic battery, and a microscope. Every chair had its burden. Every corner was heaped high with books. The very floor was littered over with maps, casts, papers, tracings, and learned lumber of all conceivable kinds.” “The Phantom Coach” By Amelia Edwards (1831–1892)

Summer Courses in Muslim Studies

-
The Zwemer Center For Muslim Studies at Columbia International University offers courses to help you understand Islam and Muslims for field worker candidates, workers on home leave, professional tentmakers in an Islamic country, pastors serving where there is a growing number of Muslims, and students sensing God's call to work among Muslim people groups. Scholarships are available.

Current course offerings for Summer 2008 (credit/seminar):

ICS/MIS 5020 Islam through Christian and Muslim Eyes, June 23-27;
ICS/MIS 6072 Responding to Muslim Concerns, June 30-July 4;
ICS/MIS 6013 The Spirit World of Islam, July 7-11;
ICS/MIS 6071 Approaches to Muslims, July 14-18;
ICS/MIS 6037 The Sacred Sources of Islam, July 21-25;

Courses through Distance Learning (can be taken "any time" from home):

ICS/MIS 5020 Islam through Christian and Muslim Eyes;
ICS/MIS 6051 Understanding Muslim Women.

Popular posts from this blog

Rock Me, Epictetus!

-
Image
“Keep constant guard over your perceptions, for it is no small thing you are protecting, but your respect, trustworthiness and steadiness, peace of mind, freedom from pain and fear, in a word your freedom. For what would you sell these things?” EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.3.6 b –8 
Read more

The Smooth-flowing Life

-
Image
Legend has it that the astronomer Ptolemy (1st century A.D.) suggested that falling stars were caused by the gods moving in the heavens, thus knocking stars out of their places. Somehow people reasoned that that if the gods were moving, they must be getting close to earth so they would lift their "prayers" or "wishes" (literally, "desires") whenever they saw the stars falling in hopes the gods would notice and grant a favorable answer. But how does one wish on falling star? Once you see it, it's gone before the wish or prayer can be made! The answer is simple: meteor shower. That's how to get your wish. Mrs. Ann Hodges had a wish fall right into her lap. Sort of. In 1954 Mrs. Hodges was sleeping on the couch when a 8 1/2 pound meteorite fell through her house and into her living room where it bounced off the radio and struck her left hip leaving her with a bruise. Not sure what she was wishing, but that's not how to do it. Epictetus hel...
Read more