How are we doing with this material? gjmoyar@aol.com In October I made my latest pilgrimage to Santa Rosa CA for the 25th anniversary conference of the Westar Institute. It is a familiar venue for me and Ruth. We have attended this conference for a majority of the twenty five years, know many of the "fellows" and identify with their mission. Here is a link to their website for those interested:http://www.westarinstitute.org/index.html. Here is my summary of meeting highlights and some sidebar thoughts. Jerry
Peanuts &Princeton
The
Peanuts comic strip featuring Linus telling Charlie Brown and Lucy about his
Dead Sea Scrolls show-and-tell project (posted here) has prompted a couple
of comments, including the respondents’
own picks for favorite Peanuts cartoons. Here are excerpts from comments
received, one from a classmate and the other from the Acting Head of the
Religion Department at Princeton:
From Stu Pertz’57
– "I
hadn't been back to the site in some time (secrets revealed) and enjoyed yours
very much. Of course the cartoon so hit me where I live (always at the
reciprocal end of some genius I know and love) that I couldn't resist a
"thank you."
My favorite of a similar ilk is lost
in its graphic form but is worth ashot: Charlie
Brown is trying to throw a ball in the air and catch it. In the first panel he
lofts the ball way up and in the next it falls past his classic pained grimace
through his wonderfully floppy glove to the ground. Charlie walks away,
shoulders slumped and head bowed, ‘twelve years,’ he says; ...’twelve years’
his dimming huddled figure repeats, and from a dot in the dim distance: ‘shot
to hell,’
Best,Stu”
From Prof. Martha Himmelfarb – "I very much enjoyed the
cartoon, which I had not seen before, although I do remember one in which Linus
visits Charlie Brown on the pitching mound (or perhaps vice-versa) and quotes
Job: ‘As surely as the sparks fly upward, man is born to trouble.’
It's always nice to hear that the
Religion Department has had a lasting impact on a student, and I'm delighted to
learn of your ongoing interest in the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are also an
interest of mine, and I continue to write about them. I'm attaching the
syllabus (click on) of a course I give on a regular basis, Ancient Judaism and
the Dead Sea Scrolls. I might also mention that one of our graduate students is
currently working on a dissertation on the Dead Sea Scrolls and modern legal
theory. Finally, for a brief statement of the importance of the Scrolls, you
might look at the first chapter of Florentino Garcia Martinez and Julio
Trebolle Barrera, The
People of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Writings, Beliefs and Practices (1993).
With all best wishes,Martha
Himmelfarb”
It’s interesting how much religious insight and
inspiration is reflected in Charles M. Schulz’s’ Peanuts cartoons. The
Gospel According to Peanuts, a book by Robert L. Short, is a good
example of that phenomenon.
Prof. Himmelfarb’s comments were in response to my
request for information on Princeton Religion Department studies related to the
Dead Sea Scrolls. A follow-up article on the Dead Sea Scrolls at Princeton
may be of interest to some of you. I’ll undertake this task after I manage to locate and
read my assignment from Prof. Himmelfarb. In the meantime you might want to see
what a 300 level course syllabus at Princeton looks like these days. (Click on)
There is a large Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Public
Museum in Milwaukee, WI, that opened this past January and closes on June 6,
2010. It includes many original scrolls from the exciting discoveries in caves
near the north west corner of the Dead Sea over the period 1947 to 1956. The
exhibit area covers many thousands of square feet, including full size cave
simulations. Go to http://www.mpm.edu/dead‑sea‑scrolls/
for a preview. Are any classmates willing to meet me there? More on this later.
Jerry Moyar’57
Our
classmate Jack McKenna offers a brief poetic piece on his dream of "The
Lion in Exile” . Asked if he was influenced by C. S.
Lewis, he responded yes, but writes. "My Lion has more to do with Amos
and Hosea and Ezekiel than C. S. Lewis .. . .The Lion of the House of Judah [Book of Revelation 5:5?], says the piece, ought to be in the dreams of every
old man sitting alone in the park in the hum of the city.” I believe this is
also a meditation on Jack’s ‘pre-Christian’ early life in the sub-cultures of California. Read on. Afterlife Reflections The unpleasant reality of six classmates dying recently might call for a "sieze the day" strategy. Our Religion Page editor has chosen to reflect on what comes next. Read on. Arthur Bellinzoni has a new book. It will not sell like the Da Vinci Code. But it will interest Biblical scholars and amateurs alike. Your editor provides this review and synopsis. For those who have not followed Arthur's career, here is what he has done.
Be Good for Goodness Sake
Read on, this is an important consideration for your moral health.
Cern Startup Recalls Class Mini on Science and Religion
Under Jerry and Ruth Moyar's direction the attendees in 2006 toured the Fermilab, still the premier facility in the world for subatomic research. The new supercollider on the border of France and Switzerland seeks answers to the mystery of the atom. The particle which gives mass, the Higgs Boson has been referred to as the God Particle. The Cern facility will provide new understanding of events just after the Big Bang. What are the religious implications of this research? Read this.
Galileo on Scripture
"the Bible is a book about how to go to heaven
not about how the heavens go"
First Year at Seminary
Turhan updates his First Day of School story with reflections on the completion of his FIRST YEAR at General Theological Seminary in NYC. He has experienced challenges and some academic anxiety, as well as the joy of learning and discovering new friends. Read all about it - here.
Responding to a "call" that is still not entirely clear to him, Turhan has started seminary. Most of his fellow students are candidates for the priesthood. Newly retired, he just wants to study. However, he wakes up at 4 a.m. on occasion anxious that he's not understanding the material and doesn't have time to complete the reading. He's still in shock but, basically, he very much enjoys the institution, the faculty and his fellow students. One building where he attends class is next to the Frederick Borsch Tennis Court. Fred obtained one of his degrees there and was interim dean once. In his class readings, Turhan comes across occasional citations to Fred's academic work.
Turhan's essay on his FIRST DAY IN SCHOOL may be read here
The God Question
Following up on some questions in the Survey used in our 50th Reunion Book your editor tries to position the class on this very important question. Read on.
So, you Have a Picture With George W?
Perry Smith '57
is on the right. Stay tuned for Perry's story.
Buddhists in PU57
[The following is taken from Turhan Tirana's "Class Notes" in the November 7, 2007, Princeton Alumni Weekly.]
Four classmates have exited the familiarities of their cultural heritage to embrace Eastern spirituality. One of these is ARBIE THALACKER, partner until 2000 and now of-counsel at the large New York law firm Shearman & Sterling. "There's nothing wrong with being a Buddhist lawyer," Arbie said. His partners have been aware of his spiritual orientation since he took a long vacation 17 years ago, not his custom then., to attend a Buddhist seminary in Colorado. For several weeks, he was virtually unreachable, highly unusual for someone in his position.
Ironically, perhaps, Buddhist practice has helped Arbie professionally. "There's a lot of aggression in the practice of law," he said. "When the other side attacked my client, I became impatient and irritated. Following Buddhist teaching, I became more detached. That led me to listen more deeply and to understand other viewpoints. In turn, I saw new ways to resolve issues." In other ways, too, Arbie said, "It's changed my life." His pastimes and friends are different (e.g., no more bird hunting) and he distributes his discretionary money differently.
All this began when Arbie figured out that he needed to find a way to deal with emotional pain other than shutting it off. In the mid-80s, he came across Buddhist meditation as an answer and began a long course of instruction. "I was never a spiritual seeker but was interested in understanding the nature of mind," he said. "Buddhism is not a religion so much as a science of mind. You learn not to get involved with your emotions."
You may read more about Arbie and Buddhism in the 50th Book. You also may read there how Buddhism changed Dr. MURRAY CION and about GUY WILLIAMSON's involvement. The fourth classmate is keeping private still a stunning commitment.
Charlie and Mary Fuqua's son David decided to become a Buddhist ten years ago and later to become a monk. Here are some thoughts from the proud parents.
