Gift & Sacrifice

One of our classes is called Gift and Sacrifice. It's basically a philosophy class. I'm glad I finally figured this out, because before it was irritatingly difficult to explain to people what I was actually studying while in Rome. We have two enormous reading packets full of articles from various scholars, anthropologists, and philosophers, all pertaining to the concept of a gift or a sacrifice, and how these concepts have manifested themselves in different cultures. It makes for some pretty good discussion at times, during our 4-hour classes held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But it can also be frustrating, because some of the theories posited by these philosophers just don't add up or work in everyday life. For example, today we read an article by Simmel, which states that if you are given a gift of a vase, and you turn around and sell it, that is perfectly fine, because the it wasn't the vase that was the important part of the gift. The author justifies this by differentiating between the object that is given and the feeling and relationship behind it. While this may be true on some level, none of us would actually be ok with someone so disregarding our chosen gift and trying to sell it. The class also inevitably results in spiritual conversations, which is cool. For instance, today one of our discussion questions was about almsgiving, which developed during Christianity as a way of marking the rich and poor, and making charity somehow obligatory. We were asked whether charity is a true gift if we are just trying to gain God's favor, and also whether gifts from God are ever redeemable. Obviously from a Christian perspective the answer is no. We can never earn the gifts God has given us, especially the gift of salvation. We aren't worthy because of sin, and Jesus paid the price for us as a sacrifice and a free gift. However, some of the Catholics in the group come to the table with a different perspective, namely that salvation is more earned than freely received. As such, it is common for them to place a lot of emphasis on works such as charity, as if by doing so we can earn our salvation, or become equal with God. Combine this discussion with our visit to the Vatican yesterday, and religious themes are definitely in the air, which is awesome! It still continues to amaze us (the Christians on the trip) how so many of our peers have never actually heard the Gospel, even students who profess similar faith to ours. Too often they fail to see the contradiction in their version of Christianity. Praise God for the conversations we've already been able to have, and the assurance of more to come. As we move on to the theme of sacrifice, it will be impossible to forget that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for me.