Dear Reader,
As a child, I remember a constant state of confused curiosity. How do things happen, and why do they work the way they do? Is there any reason for them to? These questions applied to frivolous things then – why trees were usually green, why dogs barked, why I had to sleep instead of being awake and playing all through life. But they applied to serious things too – why do I need to go to school, why do people die, why do I sometimes feel bad, why do people act in the ways they do?
Some of these questions have simple, easy answers. Trees are green because their leaves have chlorophyll, which transforms the rays of sun and carbon dioxide into usable energy. Dogs bark because that is how they communicate. You sleep because your body requires rest to restore itself to proper function, and you get sick and even die because it cannot permanently maintain that function. Even then, there are deeper questions about purpose behind all of these – human beings want to understand things in terms of their goals, their point, their telos, as the Greeks called it. And of course, much of this world seems to have immense meaning.
Even if this world seems to have meaning, though, the answers are often far from cut and dry. Take the last question I raised in that series: why do people act in the ways they do? There are so many possible avenues for explanation – psychological, neurological, physiological, anthropological, theological, philosophical – and all of them will likely be able to rightly explain a part of the human experience. And yet, they will not always offer a satisfying answer. Even the broadest possible answer which is common to the Christian faith – that people act in the way that they do because they are by nature prideful, foolish creatures – only explains so much. In fact, original sin may offer an excellent explanation of human behavior, but it is a general solution to a problem which is all too often particular in nature. Humans are complicated creatures, and a simple, general answer – even and especially a true one – will only sound trite and foolish without an attempt to understand its particular outworkings.
As a result of questions like these, our editorial board decided that one of the most important questions we could ever ask is “Why?” And so I am proud to announce the current issue of Vanderbilt Synesis, Issue XIV: Purpose. In a new twist, it will be released digitally at regular intervals through the rest of the semester. In these new pieces, authors will explore a series of questions relevant to the lives of students everywhere, with the hope and prayer that everyone reading would be encouraged and challenged. Please keep an eye on our website for more updates as they come.
Additionally, I would like to announce with the bittersweetness appropriate to goodbyes that this will be my last issue acting as Editor-in-Chief. I have been so grateful for the opportunity to serve students in this role, and to lead such a wonderful team of writers as we have been blessed with. I would like to thank Dean Emeritus Eric Johnson, our long-suffering Faculty Advisor, and Paige Clancy, our wonderful coordinator with VSC – you have both been remarkable in your help and guidance to me and this journal. I would also like to thank our board for their patience and hard work – you have all been a tremendous blessing to me. Thank you, too, to our wonderful community of writers – your joy and commitment to write has made this a terrific joy. Finally, thank you, dear readers, for actually considering what we have to say. I have been amazed at the support from the unlikeliest places which we have received, and hope you will continue to closely follow the journal’s work ahead.
In Christ,
Jackson Lee
Editor-In-Chief,
Vanderbilt Synesis