My final project for Theology I is a song I have written called "Tension". I meant to show the timeline of tension in the human race, from the Fall to the ultimate release of tension. In addition to being a timeline, this song is meant the show the constant struggle in which we live as bearers of the imago Dei (which is our dignity), and as sinners (which speaks to our depravity).

Part One (0:00 – 0:55) – Pre-Fall
This portion of the song represents the relationship of men with God before the Fall took place. The tempo and atmosphere is meant to show the relationship before the entrance of tension.

Part Two (00:55) – The Fall
This is the time when sin was first introduced into mankind. This is the beginning of the tension.

Part Three (00:56 – 01:36) – God’s conversation with Adam
This is the first conversation between mankind and God where tension is involved. Adam was no longer perfect, and his conversation with God soon after his sinning showed that.

Part Four (01:37 – 03:21) – Repentance
While wrestling with the tension, this is where humanity as a whole attempts to get back into good graces with God.

Part Five (03:22 – 4:29) – Modern(magnificence)
In this part of the song, one side of the spectrum of humanity is presented: the magnificence. This is meant to the show the imago Dei, the part of us which is righteous and contains the fingerprint of God.

Part Six (4:30 – 7:31) – Modern (Depravity)
This part of the song is representative of the opposite side of the spectrum. Although we are made in the image of God, we have to wrestle with our own depravity because of what Adam did.

Part Seven (7:32 – 10:15) Our Release
In this section of the song comes our release of tension. The "conversation", with the slow progression of low notes, then a similar progression of high notes, is upon release. This is man’s conversation with God, right before He comes. His coming was shown in the regal point at the finish of the song, in which there was meant to be a sense of eagerness. Throughout the "conversations" in the song, God’s "voice" was in low notes while mankind’s was in high notes. The end of the song is symbolic of the release of tension and the gap between these voices is finally bridged. (Note that God is the One who comes to the other.)

In honor of the human spirit in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

A shadow wavers and shifts with light.
It defies the fine detail of an image
and when compared to truth,
a shadow falls short.

If we forget that Jesus was a man, just as much as He was Divine, we focus on the shadow of Jesus Christ and do not truly know Him or know His ministry and we miss some of the magnitude of the message.

This is the message I hope to relay with this photo entitled, “The Shadow of a Man.”

Where the emphasis is on the shadow, the eye is drawn first to the shadow then to the man. It is symbolic of the way we tend to view Christ; we see His shadow first and then we see the Man. But once we see the Man our eyes cannot linger long on the shadow; they are intrinsically drawn back to the Man. Just as with Christ, we should not be able to go back to gazing intently at His shadow once we know Him

“Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razor's edge; someday I'll make it mine.
If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm." -Bob Dylan

“Whether or not each believer has a single angel assigned to him for his defense, I dare not positively affirm. When Daniel introduces the angel of the Persian and the angel of the Greeks, he undoubtedly intimates that certain angels are appointed as a kind of presidents over kingdoms and provinces. Again, when Christ says that the angels of children always behold the face of his Father, he insinuates that there are certain angels to whom their safety has been entrusted. But I know not if it can be inferred from this, that each believer has his own angel. This, indeed, I hold for certain, that each of us is cared for, not by one angel merely, but that all with one consent watch for our safety. For it is said of all the angels collectively, that they rejoice ‘over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance.’ ” -John Calvin