Seed Spring 2021

Vol. 1 7 No. 1 // Spring 2021

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

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Alyson Ferro

I took my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in early April, and with it came a host of emotions. I was immensely thankful, yet my mood was somber, thinking of friends who had died of COVID-19 during the tumultuous start of the pandemic.

In spite of these emotions, I felt a pervading sense of hope.

As the end of lockdown becomes imminent, the world is asking, “What next?” How will offices and schools operate? How do we socialize after living apart for so long?

Questions like these are challenging, but they invite us to reinvent ourselves and our society.

During the pandemic, I developed passions, rested, and took charge of my time instead of letting it slip away from me. I was reminded to be generous and forgiving towards others. I am hopeful that as we find our “new normal,” we will remember history while consciously choosing to change it—by embodying these positive ideals instead of returning to the way things once were.

As you read this issue of Seed, we invite you to reflect upon what you are hopeful for and also to remember the hope that God gives us despite our circumstances.

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The real hop Who is the most Is good.

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a Choi

e all know life is unfair.

The system we live in does not necessarily account for how we live.

The grades we receive, the money we make, or the status we have Do not accurately represent the real value of our efforts.

How much we sacrificed for our families How much we tried to love our neighbors How eagerly we struggled to forgive our enemies How often we thought of and prayed for lost souls.

This world cannot measure real value But hope lies in the fact that God is very exact.

He knows exactly how we’ve suffered He sees how beautiful and deep our love is He listens to our cries and counts each teardrop.

en we can value unseen things, we can do what is right ore acting for show but from genuine conviction.

pe is in faith that God, powerful, who even created this world,

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What Water Can Be Claudia Sindoni Bonilla There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, “What the hell is water?”*

That’s a parable by David Foster Wallace, author of numerous novels and Pulitzer Prize finalist. I’m convinced, though, that this parable was his best work because he made a great point: What is water?

Sure, it’s life. It’s this life which engulfs us and does it so well that we’d have hardly known it was there had it not been brought to our attention. But what is life afterwards? What’s water once we’re aware that it’s a transparent liquid, suspending us all? It took me all ofthe first part ofthis year to figure it out, but I suppose the answer is that, initially, water is whatever kind oflife we’ll allow it to be. Water takes the shape ofits container, after all.

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But I’ve noticed a funny thing that happens once we’ve allowed it to be just about anything for some time: We start wanting it to be something.

At first, water was just about anything to the disciples. Some lived by it. Some worked by it. Some worked in it. But then they all started wanting it to be something, too, because when Jesus tells them to follow Him and do away with what it has been, they accept. And so they’re in awe as the once transparent liquid, merely suspending them all, becomes this substance of wonder.

Miracles are performed by the water. Miracles are performed with the water. Miracles are performed in the water.

To answer the initial question, “What is life afterwards?” I would say that life can be this same substance of wonder, no longer transparent, suspending, or hardly noticeable. Life can be this same substance of miracles. Life can be His water, if we accept. *David Foster Wallace, 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon College

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S T O Yvette Shin

I have been up all night.

I should be exhausted, but instead I’m on edge. As I wait for the others, I toss a stone up in the air and catch it again. Toss and catch. The repetitive motion calms my nerves. They told us that if we truly loved our nation, we should be willing to do anything to protect her. For God and country, I am willing to lay down my life. The rest arrive just before dawn, and together we tiptoe to a dwelling at the edge of town.

Then it begins. We charge inside expecting to meet resistance.

What we find, however, is a terrified couple in bed scrambling for their clothes.

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N E S Adulterers. Confused, the woman asks, “Who?” and, “Why?” and finally, “Have mercy!” We drag her out while the leader tosses a bag of coins to the man.

As the sun dawns, I realize she is just a girl. She can barely walk, the tiny stones on the road cutting into her bare feet.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the teachers of the law and Pharisees headed in the same direction, toward the temple courts, toward a rabbi.

We thrust the girl before him while the religious leaders ask whether or not to stone her in accordance with the law. It dawns on me that the real target was not the girl but the rabbi. They wait for a response, but He bends to the ground and begins to write with His finger, oblivious to our bloodlust. The religious leaders impatiently demand an answer while we pick up stones; we must purge the evil from Israel. Suddenly, the rabbi rises and speaks.

Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.

continued

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The silence that follows is uncomfortable. I look at the stone in my hand—it feels like a thousand pounds.

Then I hear it. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Others drop their stones one by one.

Hesitant, I drop mine as well. I immediately feel lighter, but it has nothing to do with the stone.

We scatter in different directions as the sun continues to rise. As I walk away, I hear the rabbi say, Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.

I realize then why they targeted the rabbi. He teaches radical, dangerous forgiveness. But where is the atonement? If she does not pay for her transgression, someone must. Who will pay the price of her sin? I wonder how the rabbi would answer that.

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Love Wins

A Ten-Year Restrospective Anonymous Contributor

It’s been ten years since Rob Bell published his infamous book, Love Wins, and was “canceled” (or “farewelled”1 ) by the Evangelical community for questioning conservative views on hell and Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT). How have views on this book and topics presented in it evolved since then? How does it fit within the greater Christendom?

continued

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While most Evangelical churches preach ECT, Christians have held a wide range of views on hell throughout history. ECT is not a new idea; proponents range from Tertullian to John Piper. On the other end of the spectrum is Universalism, which says all are (eventually) saved. Like ECT, Universalism is traced to ancient church fathers such as Gregory of Nyssa and Clement ofAlexandria.

Then there are views between the two extremes. Some, such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, suggested that nonbelievers are annihilated rather than tortured for eternity.

Others, including Billy Graham and D.L. Moody, suggested some nonbelievers will go to heaven (Inclusivism). There are also various theories on what hell is like: In The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis imagines hell as just an eternal existence separate from God. But what does the Bible say? There doesn’t seem to be a straightforward answer, with some passages2 implying ECT3 , Annihilationism4, Inclusivism5 , or Universalism6, depending on one’s interpretation. This is excluding the discussion on what is translated as “hell” (Sheol/Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus), or how we can be assured of our salvation7. Add the fact that many are convinced of their particular interpretation, and it’s no surprise this is such a divisive topic.

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Despite the falling out with his core audience (Evangelicals) and publisher (Zondervan), like most white male victims of cancel culture, Bell continues to find success as an author. Similarly, not much has changed for Evangelicals: Reflecting on his ministry with Francis Chan, who authored Erasing Hell in response to Bell, Tim Ritter said, “Any time there’s a new progressive idea [...], the conservative reaction basically is to [...] become even more conservative and more entrenched.” On the other hand, while none of the ideas in Love Wins are new, it has become one of many voices in the growing “Exvangelical” movement. Outside Evangelicalism, Love Wins would not feel out of place in some Mainline, Catholic, or Orthodox churches. As Bell says in his book, Christianity is “a deep, wide, diverse stream that’s been flowing for thousands of years, carrying a staggering variety of voices, perspectives, and experiences.” The numerous responses to Love Wins, from those who consider it heretical, to those who find it edifying, to those to whom this is all old news, reflects the diversity of ideas presented in the Bible and that has always existed within the church.

1. https://twitter.com/johnpiper/status/41590656421863424 2. The following list of passages is not exhaustive.

3. Revelation 20:10, 21:8 4. Matthew 10:28, John 3:36, Hebrews 6:8 5. John 10:16, Romans 5:8, 1 Peter 3:18 6. John 12:32, Romans 5:18, 1 Timothy 2:4 7. 1 Corinthians 4:4

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It Is Well With My

Soul

Abigail Lee

In 1873, Horatio sailed on a ship heading to Wales—and his grieving w ship approached the place thought to be the site where his daughters dr sea, he wrote: When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.

The author of this famous hymn, Horatio G. Spafford (1828-1888), wa from Chicago. He and his wife, Anna, were devout Christians and clos evangelist Dwight L. Moody. They were also no strangers to tragedy. T died of pneumonia in 1871, and the Great Fire of Chicago reduced the ashes, along with most of their fortune. Two years later, his family plan to Europe, but due to last minute business developments, Spafford stay in Chicago and sent his wife and four daughters ahead. On November carrying his family crashed into a British vessel and sank, taking his fo daughters down with it. Anna sent her husband a telegram: “Saved alo shall I do.”

Spafford immediately booked passage on the next available ship. Four the captain notified Spafford that the ship was passing over the area w daughters had drowned.

He wrote to Rachel, his wife's half-sister, “On Thursday last we passed spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs, before very long, shall we be too.”

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The The Other Other Side Side Joseph Shin A man is beating a wall.

You look in the mirror You forget what you saw You construct something better Something important Something heroic It’s not real Yet you believe it is How can I blame you?

The belief will carry you While the truth might sink you But What do you do When you realize that you’re the weak one?

When the truth about your sins Becomes a truth to others?

When the pretense falters And all that’s left is You Try to see the big picture And discover the deeper meaning But All that’s left is cause and effect Reaping and sowing A tragedy that is so predictable 16

What happens when you understand all human beings When you see the strings And realize that no one is pulling them?

Flat on your face While others hop over you It’s time for a new narrative There is a beauty that’s strong That can withstand more than you think That can withstand even yourself There is a beauty that’s wise Calculating the steps of this dance Understanding what is and isn’t There is a beauty that’s true That stands on its own In spite of our wonderful shortcomings Why are you sinking inward And letting that abyss inside you Swallow you up?

Will you let yourself be lifted And look?

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What We Know (And Don't Know) About COVID-19 Temistocles Molinar, Jr. In January 2021, a team of researchers assembled by the World Health Organization (WHO) gathered in Wuhan, China, to initiate the first major investigation into the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected hundreds of millions of people worldwide and killed over three million. The team’s goal was to investigate the two possible hypotheses that may explain how the COVID19 pandemic began.

One hypothesis presumes that the virus began circulating in humans through a natural zoonotic jump while the other presumes that the virus leaked from a lab that had either engineered the virus or stored it after isolating the virus from nature. Although the WHO investigation ultimately concluded that the lab leak hypothesis is highly unlikely to be correct, it was unable to identify a natural origin for the virus; as a result, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 remains unknown. continued

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The WHO investigation is an important step toward determining the cause of one of the worst pandemics in human history, and there must be more investigations like it in the future. It is my sincere hope that we determine the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic so that we will understand how to mitigate the risk of future pandemics. As bad as this pandemic has been, we can also take heart in how far humanity has advanced scientifically and technologically.

The last pandemic comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic was the 1918 influenza pandemic; back then, our knowledge of biological systems was so primitive that the causative agent of the pandemic was not identified until more than a decade after the pandemic was over. By contrast, the entire genome sequence of SARSCoV-2 was determined within a few months of the COVID19 outbreak, and the first vaccines were developed less than a year later.

In addition, the mRNA vaccines produced against COVID-19 are a new class of vaccines that offer several advantages over traditional ones, and they hold much promise for battling future pandemics. Should another pandemic arise, we can have hope that we will be better prepared for it than we were for COVID-19.

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Things We Won't Miss about Masks

Though masks are still in our immediate future, the long awaited de-masking of America is definitely in sight.

Here are ten things we will NOT miss about our dearly beloved face coverings.

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1 2 3 CHRONIC EYEGLASSES FOG. 4 5 6 7 SUPERIOR MASK ENVY. 8 9 WALKING OUT THE DOOR, THEN TURNING AROUND THREE SECONDS LATER BECAUSE I FORGOT MY MASK.

INVOLUNTARILY JUDGING OTHERS WHO WEAR THEIR MASKS INCORRECTLY OR NOT AT ALL.

THE STRONG PULL OF A FRESH MASK ON THE BACK OF MY ALREADY-CHAFED, TENDER EARS.

TRYING—AND FAILING—TO SMILE WITH JUST MY EYES.

REMOVING MY MASK TO DISCOVER THAT IT'S WEARING MORE FOUNDATION AND LIPSTICK THAN I AM.

SWEATY LIPS AND MASKNE CAUSED BY MY NOSE-POWERED MASK SAUNA.

MASKS THAT TRY WAY TOO HARD TO BE SARCASTIC, POLITICAL, OR WOKE.

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HAVING TO SMELL MY HOT, PUTRID BREATH ALL DAY LONG.

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CONTRIBUTORS Claudia Sindoni Bonilla Petra Choi Alyson Ferro Abigail Lee Temistocles Molinar, Jr. Joseph Shin Yvette Shin

EDITING & LAYOUT Alyson Ferro Rebekah Shin Yvette Shin

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31 NIV