7 Quick Takes – Vol. 45

— 1 —

Hello school! I’m back at BC and classes are well underway. Here are my thoughts on each class so far:

Statistics: I was quite apprehensive going into this because math can be hard (and the name statistics doesn’t make it sounds more exciting). But now I don’t think this will be too crazy. And that’s because my teacher is basically focusing on using and manipulating numbers through excel. He said 80% of our class time we’ll be on the lab computers and he’ll demonstrate how to do things. I like that because I’m learning not by listening to a lecture, but by doing something. Woot!

Microeconomics: This is definitely looking like it will be easier for me to grasp then macroeconomics because it is more specific and you can apply it more easily to real life situations. It’s also a different teacher. This is not going to be an easy class by any means, but easier.

Christian Moral Life: This is the class I am most excited about. It’s basically learning how to apply Christian morals to our lives (and learning the Catholic position so we’re able to defend it). We have a fabulous reader with excerpts from encyclicals and even news articles that have to do with very recent issues. One part I’m really excited about is that for each controversial topic in class, we have debates. You could probably take a wild guess and figure out the one I want to do 😉

International Management & Culture: This is really interesting because my professor is using a teaching method called problem-based-learning. Instead of lecturing and then giving us tests and questions to test what we know, we’re given a problem and have to go through an established process with a team to figure out what we need to learn to succeed. I think this will prove to be an interesting learning experience.

Accounting: This is the sequel to the accounting class I took last semester. And I predict I will do better because I know the book and system better and feel more prepared.

On top of that I’m doing concert chorale, a leadership seminar, and yoga next quarter. Whew!

— 2 —

The internet in my dorm has been down since we all got back from break. But would you believe it? We’ve been SO productive! I’ve actually gotten to bed before midnight every night * cough cough 11:59 last night * and I’ve made an effort to do my reading and take good notes on homework. It’s feels so awesome.

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Inspiring or Catholic-ish thought of the week: Nietzsche claimed that Christian moral values are our prejudices. In fact, he argued that Jesus was the ultimate hater by trying to make himself look good by doing something seen as noble. That’s why we do good things: to feel good and look good to the world (he said).

How would you respond? Two suggestions from my professor:

“If you pray, you will believe” said Mother Theresa. You can’t know the faith until you’ve lived it, just like you can’t say you hate ketchup until you’ve tried it. So try it out, Nietzsche, and see what it’s really all about.

The other way he talked about approaching this is reductio ad absurdum (reduce to absurdity). Does this not sound absurd? Look at the beauty and happiness of people who live a fully Christian life. Look at the despair of many non-believers. Throughout history, it seems that many of the happiest people have been saints, and there’s got to be some reason.

Another point Nietzsche made was that Christians “should look more redeemed”. I thought that was interesting, and think he has a point. We certainly don’t do our faith or God justice much of the time. If we lived completely as we should, people would be looking our way constantly wondering what we have that causes us to be so full of joy. Like we learned, though, the greatest argument against the Church is Christians (because many of us aren’t the Christians we should be). And the greatest argument for the Church is good Christians (ie. saints). Let’s try to be the saints of our time.

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On Monday we’re leaving for the March for Life. Whoohoo! I’m excited to be a bus captain on one of the 8 buses we’re taking. Be sure to watch coverage on EWTN and look for news stories. Check out this story on how this was able to happen.

— 5 —

Did you see this article about chivalry? What do you think?

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Here’s a good video made as we near 41 years of legalized abortion.

You know what’s interesting though? I don’t think my generation is going to be the one to “end abortion” because I don’t think abortion will ever cease to exist. It was around in ancient days in different ways, and it’s going to be here after I’m gone. Of course I do think we’ll be the generation to make serious headway (if not overturn) Roe v. Wade. So that’s what I’m going for.

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Now it’s time to go back to productivity mode and get my homework done so I don’t have to do any over the March for Life trip! I’ve had great opportunities to connect with people and meet more of my fellow Ravens recently, and look forward to the challenges and opportunities the coming months will bring. Here’s to a good semester!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!