I want to try to update this blog more regularly than I have the past couple months. So hopefully you'll see some more posts on her than last semester.
I always enjoy the moments when I can get away from campus and spend time just having a "normal" life (whatever normal can possibly mean in any context let alone a grad school context). Tonight was one of those nights where I was able to get away and have a relaxing time with good friends. Probably seems funny to the friends I was with since the night could been described as stressful rather than relaxing. =) But sometimes those goofy experiences are the ones we treasure more than the ones where everything is perfect. So sitting in traffic became a time to talk about music and talk about places where traffic is less of concern (you can probably tell who dominated that part of the conversation seeing as my friends are from Indiana and Ohio). Waiting at Pizza Hut for an hour just to get drinks and appetizers turned into a time to tell stupid stories (probably more crass than people would expect) and just goof around. And listening to rude complaining from the table next to us reminded us how difficult it is to work in service jobs, particularly when the staff is short-handed; and what it means to show grace, especially when you can tell that someone needs it.
In the sometimes asinine exercises of school, it's a pleasant respite to endure the challenges of regular life.
That's not to say I'm not enjoying my class during January. Quite the opposite in fact. It's nice to have a professor who is willing to be questioned after class about the more interesting points of his lecture. It's nice to sit down with him for lunch and just shoot the breeze. And it's nice to discuss a topic that has material implications for every day life. It sometimes gets lost in the academic ventures around here, and it's nice to see that at least some professors on campus have serious concerns about the way education is traditionally done and trying to find alternatives to address those shortcomings.
Two weeks down, one to go, and then it's a week off before starting my final semester at Princeton. Hard to believe that I'm already there and yet not completely surprising. One of my valued mentors, Michael Bruner, warned me a few weeks before I left for Princeton that my three years would fly by faster than I could imagine. And sure enough, when we had lunch the day I flew back to Princeton, we both reflected on just how quickly that time has gone. It certainly has been an interesting experience, in some ways meeting my expectations, in other ways challenging them. But I feel more confident as time goes on that, for some strange reason, this where God wanted me to be. It will probably take me some time before I truly understand why, but I have the fullest confidence that, despite what has arisen in the last three years that has been negative, this was where I was supposed to be.
It's time to hit the hay, but before I end, I just want to say that I am truly grateful for the things I have and the people God has placed in my life. I have a wonderful family who loves and supports me, an amazing girlfriend who I am looking forward to coming home to hopefully sooner than later, thoughtful mentors who have supported and challenged me as I continue to grow and learn, and wonderful friends both at school and at home who have been a steady support, particularly during the stormiest parts of my life. Thank you to all of you for everything you have done to support me, and I thank God for having you all in my life.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Recent Paper
Occasionally I like to post recent papers I've written so people have an idea of what I've taken away from seminary and the rest of my theological education. This essay was written for "Issues in the Theology of Scripture," and our assignment was to write a 1500-word essay answering these two questions: "What do we mean when we say 'the Bible is true,' and what methods of interpretation help us reveal its truthfulness?" It is an initial essay that we will be revising into a 2000-word essay at the end of our January intensive in a couple weeks, so the goal of the assignment is just to get our cards on the table so that we can see where we have confidence on what we know and what is fuzzy. So here is my initial essay. Feel free to comment if you'd like. I'll post my 2000-word essay at the end of the semester as well so you can see where my thoughts have progressed. I've entitled my paper: "Reading the Bible Faithfully"
*Side note: my footnotes could not be imported, so if it seems like something is unsupported, it's most likely because the footnote didn't make it.*
--
When the Church says the Bible is true, it means that the sacred texts of the Christian community are a trustworthy source of guidance concerning God’s relationship with humanity and what that relationship requires of those who follow God. To interpret the Bible faithfully, one must read it in a way that takes into account the whole story of the Bible, which can include but does not fully necessitate an understanding of the historical and cultural context in which the Bible was written.
We must first ask what the Bible is. This is a complex task at the outset because there are two different accepted Bibles in the Church: the uniformly accepted collection of 66 books from the Old and New Testaments and the collection which includes the Old Testament apocryphal books accepted as deutero-canonical by the Roman Catholic Church. This raises the question of why certain books were included in the canon while others were not. Furthermore, scholars believe there were at least 80 gospels written during the early centuries after Jesus’ life with about 30 of them being preserved at least in part. Of the 30 we have, four are contained in the Gospel. Further, some of the oldest manuscripts and lists of the canonical books show that the sacred texts of the Church changed throughout the first three centuries of the Church’s existence. Texts such as the Letter of Hermes and the Didache were eventually cut from the canon, while others such as 2 Peter and Jude were later additions. Questions about the Bible’s compilation – particularly about which books were included and which were not – are valid and serious questions.
Two historical reasons come to mind as to why the texts we have in the Bible were chosen. One reason why books were selected by Christian communities is because they were written either by the Apostles or close followers of Jesus. From that perspective, the early church found it important to include books that accurately told Jesus’ story or spoke of his life in a way that was theologically sound. Scholars have suggested that the early church was influenced by other motives, suggesting that the church fabricated stories about Jesus in order to boost his image and make him God-like. However, these arguments import modern notions about reality (particularly naturalistic and materialistic perspectives informed by modern science) into the first century world. Some scholars reject the possibility of miracles and other “supernatural” phenomena and assume that the audience of the first century would do the same. While naturalism and materialism could be argued to be flawed foundations, to import them into a first century perspective that was aware of sciences like biology and psychology is inappropriate. Other scholars have suggested that the early church was politically motivated to change Jesus’ image during Constantine’s time. However, historical evidence suggests that the canon was mostly established by the fourth century. Further, most of the Bible’s manuscripts were written before Constantine came to power, making this argument somewhat sketchy. There is enough reasonable evidence to believe that the early church was motivated out of a genuine desire to transmit the story of Jesus’ life faithfully rather than to create an image they knew not to be true.
The second historical reason for books being included in the canon is that only books in their original language should be included. This reason, generated from the Reformation, was used precisely to exclude the Old Testament Apocrypha from Protestant use. The emphasis on original languages is valid since we now know that the Septuagint (the source of the Old Testament Apocrypha in the Bible) had later additions not found in the Hebrew canon. But does that completely invalidate the Apocrypha and mean we should not consult it at all? This leads us to a discussion of what we mean when we say the Bible is true and how we interpret the Bible.
When we say the Bible is true, the Church does not necessarily mean that every detail of the Bible is historically and scientifically accurate. Some Christians do argue for the complete inerrancy of the Bible, but this argument is faulty. It assumes that the writers and audience of the Bible had the same tools for doing scientific and historical research and had the same attitude and approach toward science and history as modern society. Further, the Bible is not always correct when addressing science or history. The Bible’s cosmology is one where the earth is flat, surrounded by water around, above (being held up by the sky, which is a large dome), and below. Concerning the Bible’s reports of history, particularly pertaining to numbers and dates, the history is skewed if not completely unsupportable by historical facts. This is usually the case because numbers hold a symbolic meaning in the text rather than a literal one. Numbers like 3, 7, and 12 are incredibly important because of their significance to the Israelite community.
While historical and scientific perspectives of the Bible are not always correct, does this mean the Bible is not true? No, because the Bible is not meant to be a history or science book. We want to affirm the historical nature of the Bible; these are not simply stories made up by the early church or metaphors (and some scholars suggest) that have significant meaning. Paul says on a few different occasions – particularly I Corinthians – that if the death and resurrection of Christ did not literally happen, then Christianity is a waste of time. Furthermore, the Church needs to affirm the historical accuracy of the Bible to a certain extent. But when the Church says the Bible is true, it means that the Bible is trustworthy for learning about God’s relationship with humanity and what that relationship requires of humanity. This does not mean that nothing reported in the Bible literally happened, nor does it mean the opposite. What matters is that when the Bible speaks about God’s relationship and love for humanity and what that relationship looks like and requires, the Bible is valid and trustworthy. Apocryphal books are useful in that they give greater historical and cultural context to the Bible, but they are not true in the sense that they reveal God’s relationship to humanity or what humanity’s response to God should be.
What does a correct interpretation of the Bible look like? Part of the answer lies in translation. One option is for every Christian to learn Greek and Hebrew and read the Bible in its original languages. Aside from being impractical, this is unnecessary. One message of the Pentecost story is that the Gospel can be translated into any language without losing the core of the message. The Bible can be translated into any languages, but what does a good translation look like? We must look at how the Bible is best interpreted before this question can be fully answered.
There are two layers of interpretation when reading Bible in the best way. The first layer is to take into account the historical, cultural, and literary frameworks of the Bible. These are the tools that modern Biblical scholarship has used to help the Church better understand the texts. By using these tools, we can better understand what the Bible meant to its original hearers in the first century and earlier so that the Church can better understand what the Gospel means for us today. These are the tools we use to construct good translations of the Bible. A good translation of the Bible into any language is one which best tries to capture the meaning of the Bible as its original audience would have heard it – using the best tools and best available manuscripts – into the language of the new audience. This is why the NRSV, NIV, NASB and even the Message Bible would constitute good translations or paraphrases, while the KJV or NKJV would not.
The second layer of interpretation is a critical reading of the Bible as it is presented in good translations. While the contributions of Biblical scholarship are vital, they should not be considered the only valid way to read the Bible. Further, if Biblical scholarship has provided lay readers with the best translations (which most good English translations have), the cultural and historical context will come through in the translation, at least in part. A layperson’s reading of the Bible can be a valid interpretation if that layperson is reading a good translation and reading the Bible with an approach that seeks to understand texts within their literary contexts and the greater context of the canon. If the Bible is for and can be read by everyone, then interpretations from laity should be valid to garner truth from the Bible. The historical and cultural contexts can help lay readers better understand the Bible, but if they are reading a good translation with a critical eye, these tools should not be necessities to interpreting the Bible well.
Thus, the Bible is true in that it reveals to the Church what God has done for the world and what is required of humanity in response to God’s action in the world. A valid interpretation requires that one looks critically at the Bible with the tools available to the person reading it, including reading the Bible in community with the church as a whole.
*Side note: my footnotes could not be imported, so if it seems like something is unsupported, it's most likely because the footnote didn't make it.*
--
When the Church says the Bible is true, it means that the sacred texts of the Christian community are a trustworthy source of guidance concerning God’s relationship with humanity and what that relationship requires of those who follow God. To interpret the Bible faithfully, one must read it in a way that takes into account the whole story of the Bible, which can include but does not fully necessitate an understanding of the historical and cultural context in which the Bible was written.
We must first ask what the Bible is. This is a complex task at the outset because there are two different accepted Bibles in the Church: the uniformly accepted collection of 66 books from the Old and New Testaments and the collection which includes the Old Testament apocryphal books accepted as deutero-canonical by the Roman Catholic Church. This raises the question of why certain books were included in the canon while others were not. Furthermore, scholars believe there were at least 80 gospels written during the early centuries after Jesus’ life with about 30 of them being preserved at least in part. Of the 30 we have, four are contained in the Gospel. Further, some of the oldest manuscripts and lists of the canonical books show that the sacred texts of the Church changed throughout the first three centuries of the Church’s existence. Texts such as the Letter of Hermes and the Didache were eventually cut from the canon, while others such as 2 Peter and Jude were later additions. Questions about the Bible’s compilation – particularly about which books were included and which were not – are valid and serious questions.
Two historical reasons come to mind as to why the texts we have in the Bible were chosen. One reason why books were selected by Christian communities is because they were written either by the Apostles or close followers of Jesus. From that perspective, the early church found it important to include books that accurately told Jesus’ story or spoke of his life in a way that was theologically sound. Scholars have suggested that the early church was influenced by other motives, suggesting that the church fabricated stories about Jesus in order to boost his image and make him God-like. However, these arguments import modern notions about reality (particularly naturalistic and materialistic perspectives informed by modern science) into the first century world. Some scholars reject the possibility of miracles and other “supernatural” phenomena and assume that the audience of the first century would do the same. While naturalism and materialism could be argued to be flawed foundations, to import them into a first century perspective that was aware of sciences like biology and psychology is inappropriate. Other scholars have suggested that the early church was politically motivated to change Jesus’ image during Constantine’s time. However, historical evidence suggests that the canon was mostly established by the fourth century. Further, most of the Bible’s manuscripts were written before Constantine came to power, making this argument somewhat sketchy. There is enough reasonable evidence to believe that the early church was motivated out of a genuine desire to transmit the story of Jesus’ life faithfully rather than to create an image they knew not to be true.
The second historical reason for books being included in the canon is that only books in their original language should be included. This reason, generated from the Reformation, was used precisely to exclude the Old Testament Apocrypha from Protestant use. The emphasis on original languages is valid since we now know that the Septuagint (the source of the Old Testament Apocrypha in the Bible) had later additions not found in the Hebrew canon. But does that completely invalidate the Apocrypha and mean we should not consult it at all? This leads us to a discussion of what we mean when we say the Bible is true and how we interpret the Bible.
When we say the Bible is true, the Church does not necessarily mean that every detail of the Bible is historically and scientifically accurate. Some Christians do argue for the complete inerrancy of the Bible, but this argument is faulty. It assumes that the writers and audience of the Bible had the same tools for doing scientific and historical research and had the same attitude and approach toward science and history as modern society. Further, the Bible is not always correct when addressing science or history. The Bible’s cosmology is one where the earth is flat, surrounded by water around, above (being held up by the sky, which is a large dome), and below. Concerning the Bible’s reports of history, particularly pertaining to numbers and dates, the history is skewed if not completely unsupportable by historical facts. This is usually the case because numbers hold a symbolic meaning in the text rather than a literal one. Numbers like 3, 7, and 12 are incredibly important because of their significance to the Israelite community.
While historical and scientific perspectives of the Bible are not always correct, does this mean the Bible is not true? No, because the Bible is not meant to be a history or science book. We want to affirm the historical nature of the Bible; these are not simply stories made up by the early church or metaphors (and some scholars suggest) that have significant meaning. Paul says on a few different occasions – particularly I Corinthians – that if the death and resurrection of Christ did not literally happen, then Christianity is a waste of time. Furthermore, the Church needs to affirm the historical accuracy of the Bible to a certain extent. But when the Church says the Bible is true, it means that the Bible is trustworthy for learning about God’s relationship with humanity and what that relationship requires of humanity. This does not mean that nothing reported in the Bible literally happened, nor does it mean the opposite. What matters is that when the Bible speaks about God’s relationship and love for humanity and what that relationship looks like and requires, the Bible is valid and trustworthy. Apocryphal books are useful in that they give greater historical and cultural context to the Bible, but they are not true in the sense that they reveal God’s relationship to humanity or what humanity’s response to God should be.
What does a correct interpretation of the Bible look like? Part of the answer lies in translation. One option is for every Christian to learn Greek and Hebrew and read the Bible in its original languages. Aside from being impractical, this is unnecessary. One message of the Pentecost story is that the Gospel can be translated into any language without losing the core of the message. The Bible can be translated into any languages, but what does a good translation look like? We must look at how the Bible is best interpreted before this question can be fully answered.
There are two layers of interpretation when reading Bible in the best way. The first layer is to take into account the historical, cultural, and literary frameworks of the Bible. These are the tools that modern Biblical scholarship has used to help the Church better understand the texts. By using these tools, we can better understand what the Bible meant to its original hearers in the first century and earlier so that the Church can better understand what the Gospel means for us today. These are the tools we use to construct good translations of the Bible. A good translation of the Bible into any language is one which best tries to capture the meaning of the Bible as its original audience would have heard it – using the best tools and best available manuscripts – into the language of the new audience. This is why the NRSV, NIV, NASB and even the Message Bible would constitute good translations or paraphrases, while the KJV or NKJV would not.
The second layer of interpretation is a critical reading of the Bible as it is presented in good translations. While the contributions of Biblical scholarship are vital, they should not be considered the only valid way to read the Bible. Further, if Biblical scholarship has provided lay readers with the best translations (which most good English translations have), the cultural and historical context will come through in the translation, at least in part. A layperson’s reading of the Bible can be a valid interpretation if that layperson is reading a good translation and reading the Bible with an approach that seeks to understand texts within their literary contexts and the greater context of the canon. If the Bible is for and can be read by everyone, then interpretations from laity should be valid to garner truth from the Bible. The historical and cultural contexts can help lay readers better understand the Bible, but if they are reading a good translation with a critical eye, these tools should not be necessities to interpreting the Bible well.
Thus, the Bible is true in that it reveals to the Church what God has done for the world and what is required of humanity in response to God’s action in the world. A valid interpretation requires that one looks critically at the Bible with the tools available to the person reading it, including reading the Bible in community with the church as a whole.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Only Five More Months
I'm back in Princeton after another trip home. Every time it gets harder to come back to school after being at home. And especially after this break, it has been even harder. I think most of the readers of my blog know this already, but just in case you hadn't heard, I am no longer single. My girlfriend is Cathy Hansen. We've been dating for almost four weeks now. We met about five years ago, and have been good friends for about four years. After being in denial about it for a long time, I finally admitted that I had feelings for her. And there you have it. :-) So it probably shouldn't take too much to guess why going back to school was little harder this time around.
Alas, I am back at school, ready to get started on my work so I can finish it quickly. I only have five months left until I am done with school, graduated, and on to the next great adventure of my life. What that adventure will be is up in the air once again. I have decided to put my Ph.D. aspirations on hold for the near future. The more I have thought about it, the more I feel getting "life experience" under my belt would be more useful for me at this point. That's not to say that school isn't a life experience in itself, but I want my learning to stop being theoretical for the time being. There were some other considerations in there as well, but that was a major influence on my decision.
So I am going to try to power through this semester and make the most of my last semester here at Princeton. It has been a struggle to fully appreciate my time here, but, as Simone Weil put it, the importance of education is not necessarily what you learn, but simply the fact that you challenged yourself to go beyond what you thought possible. And sometimes it has felt like pushing against a brick wall, but even if I moved that wall an inch, I'll consider these three years a success. I am slowly beginning to see the progress I've made even though I feel like I've hardly gone anywhere. I imagine that as I continue to process these last three years, I'll see that I've come a lot farther than I thought.
For those who are curious what I'm taking this year, here is my class schedule:
Exegesis of Ephesians - Shane Berg
Israel's Wisdom Literature - Choon-Leong Seow
Film, Faith, and Spiritual Formation in Young Adults - Kenda Dean
Word and Act: Service in the Lord's Day - Nancy Lamers-Gross
I'm still working on my Lesslie Newbigin research paper.
Now, it's late, I'm jet-lagged and I should sleep. So until next time...
Alas, I am back at school, ready to get started on my work so I can finish it quickly. I only have five months left until I am done with school, graduated, and on to the next great adventure of my life. What that adventure will be is up in the air once again. I have decided to put my Ph.D. aspirations on hold for the near future. The more I have thought about it, the more I feel getting "life experience" under my belt would be more useful for me at this point. That's not to say that school isn't a life experience in itself, but I want my learning to stop being theoretical for the time being. There were some other considerations in there as well, but that was a major influence on my decision.
So I am going to try to power through this semester and make the most of my last semester here at Princeton. It has been a struggle to fully appreciate my time here, but, as Simone Weil put it, the importance of education is not necessarily what you learn, but simply the fact that you challenged yourself to go beyond what you thought possible. And sometimes it has felt like pushing against a brick wall, but even if I moved that wall an inch, I'll consider these three years a success. I am slowly beginning to see the progress I've made even though I feel like I've hardly gone anywhere. I imagine that as I continue to process these last three years, I'll see that I've come a lot farther than I thought.
For those who are curious what I'm taking this year, here is my class schedule:
Exegesis of Ephesians - Shane Berg
Israel's Wisdom Literature - Choon-Leong Seow
Film, Faith, and Spiritual Formation in Young Adults - Kenda Dean
Word and Act: Service in the Lord's Day - Nancy Lamers-Gross
I'm still working on my Lesslie Newbigin research paper.
Now, it's late, I'm jet-lagged and I should sleep. So until next time...
Sunday, November 29, 2009
An Update At Last
Well, it's taken almost a month and a half to write again, but it's been quite a month and a half. There has been a lot happening, a lot to process, and a lot to struggle with. Now I find myself way behind and most likely needing to request extensions for deadlines and classes.
So where to begin? My sister visited me back in October, and that was a lot of fun. The third family member to come to visit in Princeton (after Paul and uncle John), and it's always exciting to show new people around. Unfortunately, I broke her camera while we were in New York, but thankfully she had mine to use to take pictures. She got to see the fall colors, the Princeton University museum, and most of the city. Pretty exciting.
Then my friend, Cathy, came out to visit. Before that, through numerous phone conversations, I found out that my grandmother was beginning to decline fairly quickly, and probably didn't have much more than three weeks left. That was when my schedule came to a screeching halt. My thoughts and feelings were all at home at that point, and I was just waiting for the point when I could come home physically. Still, I tried to push on (unsuccessfully), and having Cathy come out was definitely uplifting.
We went to New Hope, which is a location I was told I had to see. I can see why it is, but it's definitely a Fall/Spring place. The outdoor entertainment is the draw, but when it's 40* outside, there's not much outdoor entertainment to be had. But, believe it or not, I actually found a decent Mexican restaurant in New Hope. It's still only good by East Coast standards, but still good. Her visit was enjoyable, but unfortunately cut short.
While Cathy was visiting, I received the phone call that my grandmother had passed away. It was right after we had gotten back from New Hope. I was shellshocked from the news, but I had alerted my professors to what was going on, so I was able to leave quickly. Being at home was good, though hard under the circumstances. I was happy to be able to see family and church friends. But my grandmother is also the closest person I've known who has passed away, and dealing with that first close loss is always difficult.
It didn't hit me until the day of the funeral, and a lot of the emotional outpouring happened on that day. It has been difficult since then as well. Being back at school as been a struggle. My mentally and emotionally I'm not here even though I physically am. It's only two weeks until I am back at home again, which sometimes makes me wonder why I came back out here at all. But with final papers due and other obligations, I suppose there's no way it could be avoided. For now, I have to try to focus on what's going on out here, and deal with the rest as it comes.
It's moving toward winter here, though it's still pretty warm (mid 50s most days, down into the high 30s at night). And registration for Spring classes begins on Wednesday. I have no idea what I'm going to take; its been the hardest semester to try to figure it out because none of the classes look all that appealing. No doubt my current emotional state is partly to blame for that.
I'll be home again on December 15. Seems so far away, even though it's only two weeks. Hopefully when I update again, things will be a bit cheerier than they are now.
So where to begin? My sister visited me back in October, and that was a lot of fun. The third family member to come to visit in Princeton (after Paul and uncle John), and it's always exciting to show new people around. Unfortunately, I broke her camera while we were in New York, but thankfully she had mine to use to take pictures. She got to see the fall colors, the Princeton University museum, and most of the city. Pretty exciting.
Then my friend, Cathy, came out to visit. Before that, through numerous phone conversations, I found out that my grandmother was beginning to decline fairly quickly, and probably didn't have much more than three weeks left. That was when my schedule came to a screeching halt. My thoughts and feelings were all at home at that point, and I was just waiting for the point when I could come home physically. Still, I tried to push on (unsuccessfully), and having Cathy come out was definitely uplifting.
We went to New Hope, which is a location I was told I had to see. I can see why it is, but it's definitely a Fall/Spring place. The outdoor entertainment is the draw, but when it's 40* outside, there's not much outdoor entertainment to be had. But, believe it or not, I actually found a decent Mexican restaurant in New Hope. It's still only good by East Coast standards, but still good. Her visit was enjoyable, but unfortunately cut short.
While Cathy was visiting, I received the phone call that my grandmother had passed away. It was right after we had gotten back from New Hope. I was shellshocked from the news, but I had alerted my professors to what was going on, so I was able to leave quickly. Being at home was good, though hard under the circumstances. I was happy to be able to see family and church friends. But my grandmother is also the closest person I've known who has passed away, and dealing with that first close loss is always difficult.
It didn't hit me until the day of the funeral, and a lot of the emotional outpouring happened on that day. It has been difficult since then as well. Being back at school as been a struggle. My mentally and emotionally I'm not here even though I physically am. It's only two weeks until I am back at home again, which sometimes makes me wonder why I came back out here at all. But with final papers due and other obligations, I suppose there's no way it could be avoided. For now, I have to try to focus on what's going on out here, and deal with the rest as it comes.
It's moving toward winter here, though it's still pretty warm (mid 50s most days, down into the high 30s at night). And registration for Spring classes begins on Wednesday. I have no idea what I'm going to take; its been the hardest semester to try to figure it out because none of the classes look all that appealing. No doubt my current emotional state is partly to blame for that.
I'll be home again on December 15. Seems so far away, even though it's only two weeks. Hopefully when I update again, things will be a bit cheerier than they are now.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
My 100th Post!
I've reached my 100th post! Hooray! I feel like I should throw a party or do some sort of giveaway in celebration. But, then again, 100 is just a number, like 99 or 101, so I suppose I can just do a standard update and that will suffice. =)
This week is going to be a high stress week. It's that time of year again: midterms, midterms, midterms. Thankfully, I don't have any formal midterms, but I do have a five page paper due on Tuesday and a presentation to do on Thursday. So there is always something to do.
It is scary how fast time goes by. On Monday morning, I will be leading the worship service for the seminary's Chapel, which I am very excited about. I will have audio and video recordings of the service, so if anyone wants one, let me know and I'll figure out how to get those to you. I will be the owner of the master copies, so I can make as many copies as I want (in case anyone was worried about that).
I'm also at the halfway point of the semester, which is equally scary because it means I only have half the semester left to work on my independent study. Enough time, but the clock is winding down quickly.
But I'm also excited because starting next week, I'll have little moments of respite in my busy schedule. Melissa, my wonderful sister, is coming to visit on Wednesday, and I'm so excited. (Ali, you're wonderful too, but you aren't visiting yet, so you need to rectify that somehow. ;-) ) Then I have another friend visiting in November. Then I get to come home for Thanksgiving, and then a few weeks after that, I'm done and will be home for Christmas. So I'm about to enter a rapid-fire portion of the semester, so time management is going to be important.
My teaching ministry internship is going so well. I'm realizing more and more that teaching is my strong suit. I'm good at it, and I feel most alive when I'm doing it. The current session we're working on now has been going great, and the next session I get to teach solo, which will be a fun and challenging experience.
I should probably get back to my studies, so I will end this post here. Reading week (our fall "break") is coming the week of Halloween, so I'm looking forward to that, not only for rest, but to hopefully get some work done on my research paper and maybe some exploring of the East Coast. But more on that next time...
This week is going to be a high stress week. It's that time of year again: midterms, midterms, midterms. Thankfully, I don't have any formal midterms, but I do have a five page paper due on Tuesday and a presentation to do on Thursday. So there is always something to do.
It is scary how fast time goes by. On Monday morning, I will be leading the worship service for the seminary's Chapel, which I am very excited about. I will have audio and video recordings of the service, so if anyone wants one, let me know and I'll figure out how to get those to you. I will be the owner of the master copies, so I can make as many copies as I want (in case anyone was worried about that).
I'm also at the halfway point of the semester, which is equally scary because it means I only have half the semester left to work on my independent study. Enough time, but the clock is winding down quickly.
But I'm also excited because starting next week, I'll have little moments of respite in my busy schedule. Melissa, my wonderful sister, is coming to visit on Wednesday, and I'm so excited. (Ali, you're wonderful too, but you aren't visiting yet, so you need to rectify that somehow. ;-) ) Then I have another friend visiting in November. Then I get to come home for Thanksgiving, and then a few weeks after that, I'm done and will be home for Christmas. So I'm about to enter a rapid-fire portion of the semester, so time management is going to be important.
My teaching ministry internship is going so well. I'm realizing more and more that teaching is my strong suit. I'm good at it, and I feel most alive when I'm doing it. The current session we're working on now has been going great, and the next session I get to teach solo, which will be a fun and challenging experience.
I should probably get back to my studies, so I will end this post here. Reading week (our fall "break") is coming the week of Halloween, so I'm looking forward to that, not only for rest, but to hopefully get some work done on my research paper and maybe some exploring of the East Coast. But more on that next time...
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Moving Right Along
No rest for the weary.
Things have been moving pretty quickly this semester, and it feels a little crazy trying to keep everything straight sometimes. It is weird to think that at 2:00 this afternoon, I will already be 20% with Fall Semester. Time is already running out to finish some of my major projects, and I've hardly even started! But that's the nature of grad school, and I need to keep plugging along.
I added an independent study to my course load this semester, which was always in the plan. It will be a good study, but it's going to be pretty intense. 2000 pages minimum of reading with a 30-40 page research paper as the product. It will be the larger project I will have completed in my educational career so far, so it's a bit intimidating. But I have a great advisor, one of the leading theologians in his field in the world. And after submitting my paper proposal and course line, he called it "first class," which is always reassuring. Of course, now I have even more stress because I made the "mistake" of impressing him upfront and now I actually have to deliver on my first class introduction. I work better under pressure.
For those who are curious, my indepedent study is focused around Lesslie Newbigin. He was a missionary in India for 40 years, and after returning to England, his main agenda was challenging the church to re-engage modern western culture. He felt that the church had neglected the West and had too readily accepted modern principles without question. He died in 1998, and unfortunately, from my perspective, it seems that a lot of work has been blown to the wayside. He's quite a fascinating figure and a great writer, so it won't be hard to plug through 2000 pages of his work. My aim in my paper is to examine his position theologically and biblically. What biblical foundation is he working from? How does his approach to mission affect his overall theological vision? Is it problematic? And since he's specifically thinking of the western church, I find this an extremely practical paper for the church in my local contexts.
I seem to be settled in now. I'm more comfortable being back now, though I still wish I was at home. But, as I said before, I am determined to make the best of my last year and take advantage of as much as I can before my time is done. Having good friends out here certainly helps to keep my mind off things, and they've really been there for me in that respect. Certainly makes the adjustment easier.
That's all for now. It's about lunch time, and my stomach is reminding me of that fact. More to come soon.
Things have been moving pretty quickly this semester, and it feels a little crazy trying to keep everything straight sometimes. It is weird to think that at 2:00 this afternoon, I will already be 20% with Fall Semester. Time is already running out to finish some of my major projects, and I've hardly even started! But that's the nature of grad school, and I need to keep plugging along.
I added an independent study to my course load this semester, which was always in the plan. It will be a good study, but it's going to be pretty intense. 2000 pages minimum of reading with a 30-40 page research paper as the product. It will be the larger project I will have completed in my educational career so far, so it's a bit intimidating. But I have a great advisor, one of the leading theologians in his field in the world. And after submitting my paper proposal and course line, he called it "first class," which is always reassuring. Of course, now I have even more stress because I made the "mistake" of impressing him upfront and now I actually have to deliver on my first class introduction. I work better under pressure.
For those who are curious, my indepedent study is focused around Lesslie Newbigin. He was a missionary in India for 40 years, and after returning to England, his main agenda was challenging the church to re-engage modern western culture. He felt that the church had neglected the West and had too readily accepted modern principles without question. He died in 1998, and unfortunately, from my perspective, it seems that a lot of work has been blown to the wayside. He's quite a fascinating figure and a great writer, so it won't be hard to plug through 2000 pages of his work. My aim in my paper is to examine his position theologically and biblically. What biblical foundation is he working from? How does his approach to mission affect his overall theological vision? Is it problematic? And since he's specifically thinking of the western church, I find this an extremely practical paper for the church in my local contexts.
I seem to be settled in now. I'm more comfortable being back now, though I still wish I was at home. But, as I said before, I am determined to make the best of my last year and take advantage of as much as I can before my time is done. Having good friends out here certainly helps to keep my mind off things, and they've really been there for me in that respect. Certainly makes the adjustment easier.
That's all for now. It's about lunch time, and my stomach is reminding me of that fact. More to come soon.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Off and Running
It's only Tuesday, but I've already been to all of my classes this semester. For the first time since I've been here, I am really excited about all of my classes. This will be a little easier than other semesters, in that I'm only taking two classes plus an independent study. I will have a January short term class on Issues in the Theology of Scripture, which should be great as well. I think what makes this semester a little different is that I really enjoy all the professors I have. I've had one of them before, and the other I've heard nothing but good things. Here are the two classes I'm taking:
Introduction to Prophetic Literature - Jeremy Hutton (had this prof for Hebrew)
Ethics and the Problem of Evil (John Bowlin, has been great so far)
I also have my teaching ministry internship in West Chester, PA, which should also be a great experience. I'll be teaching at least four classes, one on World Religions, and I'll most likely be doing a repeat of my class on Fantasy Literature, with tweaks.
I'm still not quite ready to be out here again, but I'm determined to get things going. You'd think that after two years I'd finally have this transition down, yet I think this has been the hardest year to transition back to school. But, it's one last year, and before I know it, it's going to be over. I am hoping to do quite a bit this year off campus, explore a bit more than I have in previous years, and really take advantage of being on the East Coast as much as possible. We'll see how I do at accomplishing that goal.
More to come later.
Introduction to Prophetic Literature - Jeremy Hutton (had this prof for Hebrew)
Ethics and the Problem of Evil (John Bowlin, has been great so far)
I also have my teaching ministry internship in West Chester, PA, which should also be a great experience. I'll be teaching at least four classes, one on World Religions, and I'll most likely be doing a repeat of my class on Fantasy Literature, with tweaks.
I'm still not quite ready to be out here again, but I'm determined to get things going. You'd think that after two years I'd finally have this transition down, yet I think this has been the hardest year to transition back to school. But, it's one last year, and before I know it, it's going to be over. I am hoping to do quite a bit this year off campus, explore a bit more than I have in previous years, and really take advantage of being on the East Coast as much as possible. We'll see how I do at accomplishing that goal.
More to come later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)