SPA II Honors

Ending our year on a proper note is important. Throughout our studies of Spanish, we have attempted to place our study in perspective. We study Spanish for many reasons. We study it to develop the gifts God has given us. We study it to learn more about God and His beautiful gift of language, which He gives us to communicate and fellowship with each other and with Him. He has given us language so that we might learn more how to love. God speaks much in the Bible about loving our neighbor, which includes any "strangers" which God places in our path. Caring for the stranger is of great concern to our God as it shows and witnesses the new and charitable heart that God has planted in us as well as He uses those interactions to grow and teach us as well about Him. However, may we not forget the origin of this love. It ought never be for self-glory or done in a way that diminishes the utmost need we have for God's love FIRST. If we are given the opportunity to discuss our faith ...

We have come a ways in our understanding of how we can witness our faith to those "neighbors" or "strangers" that God puts in our path -- neighbors of all types, including those that speak a different language. Our calling to love our neighbor isn't nullified by that fact. We started by looking at how we can use language cognates to speak about the attributes of God. That information is below for you to review. We then discussed the particular trait of God known as His immutability (inability to change - He is always the same!) This is a particularly important one to be able to speak about since there is great comfort in the knowledge that our God is forever faithful in Himself and His promises. Below, you will find that information for you to review. Now, we are going to look at the authority of God as the Creator. This is important because it lays the groundwork or everything else. If God does not have authority over us as our Creator, then, truly...

Last year, we spent some time reading and discussing the blessing in the difficulty of learning a 2nd language. God's providence was clearly on display at the Tower of Babel. However, there is more to it than that, and I would like for you to give some consideration to the following article written by Kathleen Nielson, again refocusing on the pivotal Biblical event that reshaped the world of language forever. She provides a new perspective and also adds a depth to the discussion, helping to capture why we study languages and can be thankful for that study. Nielson lists 5 main areas in which we can learn about our God and language from the story of Babel: (1) language lets us make beautiful things, (2) language wields great power, (3) languages show God's judgement of fallen humanity, (4) languages show God's mercy, and (5) languages show the hope of redemptive history. I would like for us to reflect on these 5 elements of language and their relation to our our life and...