Seed Spring 2025

Vol . 21, No . 1 // Sp r ing 2025

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VISION QUEST LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

This publication is published by New York University students and NYU is not responsible for its contents.

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rom Biblical dreams and revelations to our mentors and role models, Seed looked into the concept of “Visions” where we explored visions of all iterations. Guest speakers shared their personal experiences, and members explored their personal journeys and visions.

Consciousness directly entails thinking in nonlinear time. Our mind is allowed to wander within itself, creating spaces for hopes, dreams, and visions to exist, often being the motivation for daily decisions. The additions of these small instant decisions ultimately build up to guide us to our final destination: God. We all choose to embark on different paths but, ultimately, we seek the same outcome. Whether it’s declaring a major or deciding on a job,we strive to serve God and those around us. The act of choosing entails doubt: Is the choice wrong?

God’s Vision, along with the one we have for ourselves, is what we are to trust and hold on to.

Visions, however, can be unclear, especially those not of our own choosing. God showed Jacob a staircase to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it (Genesis 28). He joyously concluded that even the wilderness could house the presence of the Almighty. But little did he know that in a few decades, the Lord would descend those stairs and challenge Jacob to an all-night wrestling encounter. The divine lesson to a fearful Jacob was that there was no one to fear except God Himself.

Whether God-given or humanly devised, the visions we chase inspire growth. They present opportunities to develop faith and mature into the people we could never otherwise envision ourselves to be.

In this issue, Seed contributors explored the ideas of identity, heaven, reconciliation, Empire, life, and death. A special thanks to our Seed alumni who shared their sage words of advice this semester to help us achieve our visions.

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CONTENTS THE ASTRONOMER Anonymous Contributor

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A MEDITATION ON EPHESIANS 5:1 Thomas Zhang

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YELLOW MOMENTS Alison Yelsma

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IF I COULD SPEAK TO MY STUDENT SELF ...

Various Seed Alumni

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RESISTING THE EMPIRE Anonymous Contributor

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY Anonymous Contributor

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VERITAS FORUM SPRING 2025 Yvette Shin 5

Ephesians A MEDITATION ON

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

Ephesians 5:1 ESV

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5:1 Thomas Zhang

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dentity is a fundamental question we spend entire lives figuring out.

This world is like a slow current, pulling us toward the idea that we might be the results we can produce, the influence we have, or the people who are happy with us. What could be true about our value engulfs us before we can realize. When our view of the truth is obstructed, we can believe anything. The truth is in the reclamation of our identity. We are beloved children.

This truth is consequential. There is a kind of inevitability in Paul’s words. That we are imitators of God follows from our identity as beloved children. And this truth cannot be avoided. But envisioning this reality is swimming against the current. The struggle of the heart first becomes the journey and then, the destination.

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Yellow Moments Alison Yelsma

Yellow moments, like Yellow lights, warn Yellow mug, chipped Yellow cabs, zoom by Yellow locks, braided Yellow skirts, knee-high Yellow sun, His rays Yellow pages, found Yellow fries, with salt Yellow daisies, dried Yellow moments, in Yellow knowledge, passed Yellow presence, enjoyed Yellow glory, praised

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THE ASTRONOMER Anonymous Contributor

An Astronomer went out at night to observe the stars. One night with his attention fixed on the sky, he accidentally fell into a deep well.

Crying out, a neighbor heard and rushed to the well. When he learned what had happened he said, “Why, in trying to see into the heavens, do you not manage to see what is at your feet?”

– Aesop

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I’ve never held certainty of going to heaven. The thought felt spiritually foreign, even dangerous, where the belief of such belonging was pride’s snare. So I kept my gaze low, wary of such sinful missteps. But in this avoidance, I stumbled upon another.

I mistook fear for humility and hesitation for wisdom, afraid that any semblance of certainty would upheave the delicate balance I had constructed upon doubt and devotion.

It’s hard knowing whether to look down in reverence or forward with trust.

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IF I COULD

SPEAK T O

M Y

STUDENT

S E L F. . .

Various Seed Alumni

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This semester, we assembled a “Vision Team” of NYU alums and former Seed members to share their experiences and impart wisdom. We asked, “If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your student self?”

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“Be curious. Ask questions.”

For my first couple of years at NYU, I did what everyone else did—drink, party, etc. When I realized this didn’t fit my identity as a Christian, I began asking questions about who I was. Don’t be afraid to be curious and honest about where you are in life. You don’t have to have everything figured out yet.

Alyson Class of 2016 Bachelor’s, Politics and Journalism

“Fake it till you make it.”

A lot of the time I felt in over my head, in school and eventually at work.

Imposter syndrome was real. Having been a teacher now for seven years, I feel as if I’m starting to get the hang of it. Don’t give up! As Apostle Paul said, press on, even when you don’t think you can.

Joseph Class of 2018 Master’s, Education

“Choose your mentors wisely.”

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Mentorship is a huge part of academia (and life in general). Choosing someone in your preferred field of study or interest is important, but also consider things such as temperament and communication styles. The Bible tells us that who we surround ourselves with is important. I was blessed with great mentors at NYU, both academically and spiritually.

Temi Class of 2022 PhD, Biology

“Have a conversation with God.”

I worked really hard in college because I was surrounded by driven, ambitious students. It’s no surprise that I burned out several times. Prayer helped me through. Every good thing in my life came not from striving hard to succeed but from God’s provision. Don’t stress about school or life! Have a conversation with God about it.

Elaine Class of 2003, 2009 Bachelor’s & Master’s, Nursing

“Accountability is important.”

The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone.

When I came to NYU, I was a new Christian; I was still learning what it meant to practically follow Christ in a real-world setting. Thankfully, God helped me to form healthy relationships and find the Seed community, which built me up and kept me accountable.

Darrell Class of 2016 Bachelor’s, Finance

“God gave you everything you need to succeed.”

I have always been a people pleaser. I thought being accommodating and likeable was the only way to succeed in life. Remember who you are in Christ and that you are exactly who you are supposed to be. I’ve learned that you will always find people who appreciate you just as you are.

Whenever I doubt myself, which is often, I remember that God is with me. And if God is for me, who can be against me?

Janice Class of 2007 Bachelor’s, History and Asian Pacific American Studies

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VERITAS FORUM

SPRING 2025

Yvette Shin

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his semester’s Veritas Forum centered on love and reconciliation in a climate of hate and discord. Musician and activist Daryl Davis along with Professor Michah Gottlieb of NYU commented on the discrimination that exists in their respective purviews and offered insights as to how these gaps can be bridged.

Davis shared the five core values that all people want: Everybody wants to be loved. Everybody wants to be respected. We all want to be heard. We all want to be treated fairly. And, we all want the same things for our family as anybody else would want for their family.

By expressing these values to those poised to hate him, Davis was able to create powerful connections that led 200 members of the Ku Klux Klan to leave their robes behind.

When happening upon a rally held in honor of the hostages taken during the October 7 attack, Gottlieb heard one speaker advocate healing through forgiveness … except for Hamas. While showing sympathy for those affected by this act of terror, Gottlieb pointed out that this sentiment contradicts the Jewish tradition of loving one’s enemy, a necessary practice that moves us forward toward reconciliation.

Davis cited two effective strategies against prejudice—travel and music. His experience as a traveling musician provided Davis with a hands-on education about people from different backgrounds, and his music became a common denominator which fostered communication and unlikely friendships.

According to Gottlieb, forgiveness can be complicated, especially when there is no regret or remorse. But we can love without requirement.

Davis displaying the hood of a KKK member that he befriended and influenced to leave the racist organization.

Davis’s advice is simple: Converse.

Learn and listen to the other side.

We can dislike their idea while striving to love the person. Loving one’s enemy is making connections, resisting the urge to “other” those who are different from us and emphasizing commonalities over differences. It takes practice. When we think about it, are we really that different from our enemies?

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Resisting the Empire Anonymous Contributor

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don’t think I need to tell anyone that Christianity has a long and complicated relationship with Empire. The Bible was forged in the fires of imperial oppression: The Old Testament was compiled under the Babylonians and Persians, and the New Testament was written under the Romans. But empires

have also co-opted Christianity for their own ends, from Constantine to the Age of Discovery to the New Apostolic Reformation. In this era of Christian Nationalism, I invite us to look to examples of resistance in the Bible to help form our own responses to and avoid the pitfalls of Empire. continued

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In his letter to the exiles in Babylon, Jeremiah wrote, “... seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:7 NIV). Daniel worked toward the advancement of Babylon in the court of Nebuchadnezzar himself. When John the Baptist was asked how to respond to Rome, he appears to have given a milquetoast response, even telling tax collectors and soldiers to simply carry out their work honestly instead of abandoning their Empire-building occupations. And in his letter to the church in Rome, Paul said to respect the government and pay taxes. But these are not people who embraced Empire or even simply avoided politics: Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, John was beheaded, and Paul was executed, all for their acts of defiance in the face of evil and injustice. In these examples, we can tease out multiple, sometimes conflicting, motivations, such as the love of one’s neighbors while opposing the empires they served.

One commonality we can see is their refusal to fight Empire with Empire: When confronted with injustice, they did not respond with violence but with nonviolent, prophetic protest, which the Rev. Dr.

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Martin Luther King Jr. said, “seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail).

Then there’s the example of Jesus, whose acts of nonviolent resistance created such tension that it resulted in the ultimate crisis, both at the sociopolitical scale and at the cosmic/divine scale. Jesus rejected the temptation to bow down to Empire, which promised him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor” (Luke 4:6). By teaching us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek, Jesus showed us how to expose the evils of Empire through peaceful protest. In his sacrifice, Jesus neither capitulated to Rome nor fought back with his own empire but revealed the injustice woven through imperialism. Through his resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and death, the building blocks of all empires including our own. Jesus walked the way of the Lamb, which bears crosses for our neighbors, rather than the way of Empire, which builds crosses for its enemies.

“Jesus walked the way of the Lamb, which bears crosses for our neighbors, rather than the way of Empire, which builds crosses for its enemies.”

Micah provides us with a bird’s eye view. The rulers of Micah’s day lorded their power over the oppressed and marginalized. Micah warned that if they continued in the ways of Empire, then Empire would swallow them up in turn.

But Micah’s words do not end in destruction.

He paints a grand vision of how God will judge the oppressors, beat their swords into plowshares, and elevate the oppressed—in short, God will rebuild the Garden of Eden on top of the rubble of Empire. But that is what God will do, so what is our job, as lowly humans? “To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). God will win. Justice will prevail. We don’t need to carry out God’s work by force, coercion, or lining up behind “the meanest, toughest son of a gun.” God does not need us to build him an empire. We are free to resist the Empire with love, compassion, and empathy for our neighbors.

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B I H R A T P H P D Y A - Y -

Anonymous Contributor

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0.0 “... that is precisely what I don’t understand: if my neighbors manage to survive without killing themselves, without going mad, maintaining an interest in political parties, not yielding to despair, resolutely pursuing the fight for existence, can their griefs really be genuine?”

– 2.0 what is happening? please understand as I let go out of precaution what’s real would surely not fade before my eyes

“No, don’t ask me. Tell me what you would really like … Have you anything which might be described as aspirations for the future? I suppose one can’t expect people one helps to understand how difficult it is to help another person.”

– 3.0 who are you? you say it’s me! but your face is glitching and I don’t know you

“The incomprehensibility of society is the incomprehensibility of the individual. The ocean is not society; it is individuals. This is how I managed to gain a modicum of freedom from my terror at the illusion of the ocean called the world.”

“I was afraid to board a streetcar because of the conductor; I was afraid to enter the Kabuki Theatre for fear of the usherettes … excessive tension, excessive embarrassment, excessive uneasiness and apprehension.”

“I felt convinced that their reprimands were without doubt voices of human truth speaking to me from eternities past …”

– 4.0 can you see me? even if I can’t see you where is the exit time to make my great escape

– 5.0 there is something wrong with me don’t say anything don’t say anything don’t say anything

– 6.0 out of the honey pot, into the fire there is something alluring about what I hope is the end

maybe if I don’t move don’t speak resign and close my eyes they will actually disappear

just an inch in front of me resignation indeed nobody moves and I grasp out into the blinding lights

Quotes from No Longer Human (1948)

by Osamu Dazai

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Check out https://issuu.com/seedatnyu for recent Seed issues and follow us on Instagram Editor in Chief Maria Jose Valbuena Mendoza Editing, Layout, & Design Maria Jose Valbuena Mendoza Rebekah Shin Yvette Shin Contributors Janice Chua Alyson Ferro Darrell Leong Maria Jose Valbuena Mendoza Temistocles Molinar Joseph Shin Yvette Shin Elaine Tsui Alison Yelsma Thomas Zhang In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Acts 2:17 NIV

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