Horrifying Ugliness; or, incongruous and illogical

"No light penetrates the darkness of absurdity."

So said Dr. David Estrada-Herrero at Westminster's Commencement Ceremony for the class of 2010. His topic was Art & Evangelism, and he was well-spoken and passionate. He bespoke of how the death of God in culture, in art, in philosophy has lead to terrible changes. We now see horrifying ugliness in the arts--nothing makes sense, all is incongruous and illogical. We see that the death of God in Philosophy leads to a distortion of and decrease in man's knowledge and awareness of himself. All is absurd; there is no hope in this picture. No light penetrates this darkness.

And it is into this void we are sent; like sheep, who have no real means to defend themselves, we are sent to spread the good news to mankind...many of whom have no desire to hear it.

This is my kind of commencement speech. But really, why should we ever expect leaving academia to be an easy road? Academia is the one arena of life that I have found to be simple, logical, and low-risk. One knows what is expected of you, in general, and how one may work towards success. It was upon leaving this arena that I realized how unpredictable and chaotic the world is, and how much we are truly at the mercy of God in the midst of it. I found myself, during the ceremony today, missing the richness of academic life; the newness, the freshness of ideas and the excitement of working through them for the first time. And then knowing that you are in seminary, learning more about the character of God and our relationship with Him, makes the environment that much weightier and more stimulating. I would never have said it, and it took two years to get to this place, but sometimes I miss Westminster. Not the New Westminster, but Old Westminster, when the Old Testament department was strong and professors were not getting kicked out of the school. All that aside, sometimes I wish that normal, everyday life was as simple as school, where success is achievable and risk is minimal. Suspension of reality, anyone?

Congratulations, Westminster Theological Seminary Class of 2010!