Well, I went to the first meeting of our Greek Club at the seminary this morning, we're meeting every wednesday from 7:30-8:45 to work our way through the greek text of Mark (cause it's the simplest greek in the bible) and it was awesome. Brian, you'd love this, I wish we'd started something like this in BG. You should commute out for wednesday mornings, then back each week to BG. Anyways, we only got through like 13 verses, but it was great going through so slowly and just really digging into it together, there was maybe 8 or 10 of us there, so it's not a threatening environment to make mistakes, introduce heretical translations, etc.,..
In other news, starting the friday after this one, all fridays will be renamed Battlestar Galactica Fridays, as my friend John got a copy of the series on DVD and we're going to watch an episode on our lunch break every friday. Fridays a lot more laid back at the seminary, though honestly it's pretty laid back all the time.
Anyways, that's enough for now, because i'm tired.
9.22.2004
9.05.2004
Interpretation
I've been working on some reading for my classes today (though not as much as I should have been, I must admit the three day weekend has lessened my motivation for working ahead). I must be a super-geek because I am about to highly recommend a couple of textbooks to you all, how can I be excited about textbooks? I don't know but I am. The first is called Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought, which I found utterly fascinating. I don't know what else to say other than that I wish I'd read it years ago. It's so weird that the same things and questions we delve into today have been delved into before, and often other believers have found some decent answers. The church has already faced some serious challenges, and sometimes it's failed in the face of them. I think maybe we can do better if we at least see some of the mistakes that have occured in the past.
The other book is Introduction to Bilblical Interpretation, I know this probably sounds boring but seriously it's not at all so far. A lot of the questions I think we began to examine in our Bible study last spring and summer are addressed to some degree in this book, and I'm still reading it so I'll have more to write on it soon. Some of those questions of 'Why can't (or why doesn't) the Holy Spirit just illuminate every believer so that we understand Scripture in the same way, i.e., the way it was meant to be understood?' or just the general frustration that studying some passages can lead to, when it doesn't seem at all like God's word is clear or that we have all we need to understand it adequately, even though we know He's not trying to trick us or make things harder than they need to be. Anyways, I'm including a couple of quotes from this latter book, and will probably try and do this on occasion with things I'm learning in and out of class, just to share stuff that I find interesting/inspiring/disturbing/whatevering.
“Any type of oral or written communication involves three expressions of meaning:
(1) what the speaker or writer meant by what he or she said;
(2) what the recipient actually understood by the statement; and
(3) in some abstract sense, what meaning is actually encodes in the text or utterance itself.”
"To grasp the text fully—and, more important, to be grasped by it fully—means to enjoy the ‘pleasure of the text,’ to engage it joyfully and adventurously with our mind, emotions, and imagination.”
“When we simply allow our unchallenged feelings and observations to distort or determine what the Bible means, our experiences have become the measure for what a text can mean. We must adopt an approach to interpretation that confronts this danger, for Scripture alone constitutes the standard of truth for Christians, and we must judge our values and experiences based on its precepts, not vice-versa. It follows, then, that any valid approach to interpretation must concern itself with two crucial dimensions:
(1) an appropriate methodology for deciphering what the text is about, and
(2) a means of assessing and accounting for the readers’ present situation as we engage in the interpretive process. We must account for both ancient and modern dimensions.”
I guess I'm certainly interested in this last part as some of you probably know my frustration when I see what is written and can't line it up with what is. Anyways, I ought to get back to studying, but figured I should continue trying to blog on a semi-regular basis.
The other book is Introduction to Bilblical Interpretation, I know this probably sounds boring but seriously it's not at all so far. A lot of the questions I think we began to examine in our Bible study last spring and summer are addressed to some degree in this book, and I'm still reading it so I'll have more to write on it soon. Some of those questions of 'Why can't (or why doesn't) the Holy Spirit just illuminate every believer so that we understand Scripture in the same way, i.e., the way it was meant to be understood?' or just the general frustration that studying some passages can lead to, when it doesn't seem at all like God's word is clear or that we have all we need to understand it adequately, even though we know He's not trying to trick us or make things harder than they need to be. Anyways, I'm including a couple of quotes from this latter book, and will probably try and do this on occasion with things I'm learning in and out of class, just to share stuff that I find interesting/inspiring/disturbing/whatevering.
“Any type of oral or written communication involves three expressions of meaning:
(1) what the speaker or writer meant by what he or she said;
(2) what the recipient actually understood by the statement; and
(3) in some abstract sense, what meaning is actually encodes in the text or utterance itself.”
"To grasp the text fully—and, more important, to be grasped by it fully—means to enjoy the ‘pleasure of the text,’ to engage it joyfully and adventurously with our mind, emotions, and imagination.”
“When we simply allow our unchallenged feelings and observations to distort or determine what the Bible means, our experiences have become the measure for what a text can mean. We must adopt an approach to interpretation that confronts this danger, for Scripture alone constitutes the standard of truth for Christians, and we must judge our values and experiences based on its precepts, not vice-versa. It follows, then, that any valid approach to interpretation must concern itself with two crucial dimensions:
(1) an appropriate methodology for deciphering what the text is about, and
(2) a means of assessing and accounting for the readers’ present situation as we engage in the interpretive process. We must account for both ancient and modern dimensions.”
I guess I'm certainly interested in this last part as some of you probably know my frustration when I see what is written and can't line it up with what is. Anyways, I ought to get back to studying, but figured I should continue trying to blog on a semi-regular basis.
9.02.2004
Just a quick blog...
to say that my classes are awesome! Work is going really well too, but it's nice to have a night where I didn't head right from work to class. Tuesday is the roughest--but hey, Joel's been working 90 hours a week and taking classes for all this time, so I suppose I can survive without complaining too much.
In other news, Becca and I went to IHOP Sunday and saw Ricky Schroeder eating breakfast there, I guess he comes in every friday and sunday. Mr. T apparently eats at the Denny's--I guess they had some sort of falling out after the whole Silver Spoons ordeal, and that's why they now frequent different breakfast places. It's a fascinating place, this city of Scottsdale.
That's about it, but let me leave you with this: "In the Kingdom of the Noun and the Verb, all other parts of speech are but vassals."
In other news, Becca and I went to IHOP Sunday and saw Ricky Schroeder eating breakfast there, I guess he comes in every friday and sunday. Mr. T apparently eats at the Denny's--I guess they had some sort of falling out after the whole Silver Spoons ordeal, and that's why they now frequent different breakfast places. It's a fascinating place, this city of Scottsdale.
That's about it, but let me leave you with this: "In the Kingdom of the Noun and the Verb, all other parts of speech are but vassals."
8.28.2004
New Student Orientation
I was tempted to title this 'New Student Borientation' cause I thought that'd be funny, but it really wasn't that boring, so it'd be inappropriate. Becca and I were at the seminary from 8:45 to 12:30 today along with all the other new students and their spouses. For students who happened to be single, spouses were provided. As well, the staff and faculty were present, so I got to eat lunch (pizza!) with Paul Wegner, and throw my plate away next to Wayne Grudem. Pretty neat. Anyways, we got to meet a lot of really awesome people, I'll now know a couple of people in class, and it felt really great to be able to set down all my stuff I'd collected during the orientation time in my very own cubicle, with my very own nameplate on the wall. I can see why the seminary has been voted the number one Christian work environment the last two years, cause seriously everyone there really loves the Lord, and really loves one another. I can't wait to get started working Monday, and to start classes that evening.
Anyways, it sounds like I passed my Greek exam last week, though I haven't seen the official grade or anything, which means the courses I took during undergrad will replace the first year of Greek courses here. So, Monday night I have Greek Syntax & Exegesis with John DelHousaye; Tuesday night I have Principles for Biblical Interpretation with Fred Chay; and Wednesday night I have Living in God's Presence with Norm Wakefield-a class which Becca is going to take with me as a personal enrichment course.
Anyways, I gotta run for the moment--I'll try and start posting shorter, but more frequent blog entries. My goal is to be posting entries that just contain one letter, 120-150 times each day, but i'm not quite there yet.
Anyways, it sounds like I passed my Greek exam last week, though I haven't seen the official grade or anything, which means the courses I took during undergrad will replace the first year of Greek courses here. So, Monday night I have Greek Syntax & Exegesis with John DelHousaye; Tuesday night I have Principles for Biblical Interpretation with Fred Chay; and Wednesday night I have Living in God's Presence with Norm Wakefield-a class which Becca is going to take with me as a personal enrichment course.
Anyways, I gotta run for the moment--I'll try and start posting shorter, but more frequent blog entries. My goal is to be posting entries that just contain one letter, 120-150 times each day, but i'm not quite there yet.
8.24.2004
Good news...!
Well I finally have some news to share:
As of Monday, August 23, at about 11:30 AM I am the newest full-time employee of Phoenix Seminary! I start next Monday working as a Recruiter contacting potential students and working with area college ministries to help people discern if God is calling them to seminary, and if so if He is calling them to our seminary in particular. The job is an interesting combination of my work at Century & in 519, so I'm really starting to think God can take whatever experiences we have and use them to prepare us for something good He wants to do.
Basically, life is about to change a lot: I'll be at the seminary from 8:30 to 5 every day for work, then til 8 for class Monday and Wednesday, til 10 Tuesdays, and I won't be bored and feeling like a bum since I've been unemployed since May now. However, I have totally loved getting to spend so much quality time with my wife--how many people get to spend a summer together like we just did? It was such a blessing, and was much needed since we're about to see each other a lot less than we did when we worked together.
Let's see, in other news, we celebrated our 4th anniversary last thursday, and I simply cannot believe that we've been married that long. I've said it before, but it feels like we've been married only a few months, and at the same time that we've been married forever (the latter not in the sense of I find marriage interminable, but that I can't imagine what life was like when I wasn't getting to share it with Becca). We had a great day together (we've had a lot of great days together lately though), and Becca got a Seal CD (IV) which I have just become increasingly addicted to [it's on right now, in fact]. I decree that Seal and Sting must combine forces, and form Steal, or Sling, or something along those lines, and use their admirable musical abilities to thwart evil in the world. Or something like that.
I've got my Greek exam in about an hour here, if I pass it (which I had better) I get to skip out of the first year of Greek at seminary. I still will take just as many credits in Greek courses, but I'll get to take more classes focused on individual NT books instead of just the greek grammar courses. I am such a geek, I get excited about this stuff--Brian we need to figure out a way to use our blogs to make witty comments based on our extensive greek knowledge.
Well, I have to go study a little more before my test, I will try and blog a bit more often. Talk to you all soon!
As of Monday, August 23, at about 11:30 AM I am the newest full-time employee of Phoenix Seminary! I start next Monday working as a Recruiter contacting potential students and working with area college ministries to help people discern if God is calling them to seminary, and if so if He is calling them to our seminary in particular. The job is an interesting combination of my work at Century & in 519, so I'm really starting to think God can take whatever experiences we have and use them to prepare us for something good He wants to do.
Basically, life is about to change a lot: I'll be at the seminary from 8:30 to 5 every day for work, then til 8 for class Monday and Wednesday, til 10 Tuesdays, and I won't be bored and feeling like a bum since I've been unemployed since May now. However, I have totally loved getting to spend so much quality time with my wife--how many people get to spend a summer together like we just did? It was such a blessing, and was much needed since we're about to see each other a lot less than we did when we worked together.
Let's see, in other news, we celebrated our 4th anniversary last thursday, and I simply cannot believe that we've been married that long. I've said it before, but it feels like we've been married only a few months, and at the same time that we've been married forever (the latter not in the sense of I find marriage interminable, but that I can't imagine what life was like when I wasn't getting to share it with Becca). We had a great day together (we've had a lot of great days together lately though), and Becca got a Seal CD (IV) which I have just become increasingly addicted to [it's on right now, in fact]. I decree that Seal and Sting must combine forces, and form Steal, or Sling, or something along those lines, and use their admirable musical abilities to thwart evil in the world. Or something like that.
I've got my Greek exam in about an hour here, if I pass it (which I had better) I get to skip out of the first year of Greek at seminary. I still will take just as many credits in Greek courses, but I'll get to take more classes focused on individual NT books instead of just the greek grammar courses. I am such a geek, I get excited about this stuff--Brian we need to figure out a way to use our blogs to make witty comments based on our extensive greek knowledge.
Well, I have to go study a little more before my test, I will try and blog a bit more often. Talk to you all soon!
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