I just finished my 3rd week of classes and I'm still in seminary. They haven't kicked me out yet for heresy. (I'm keeping quiet.) I'v onley hadd won test (2 daze ago), so they hav'nt had the oppertoonity to re-think there decizhun to admitt mee in the firste plase.
I have 4 classes, and I'm enjoying all 4 of them, but from different perspectives. While others find the church history (apostolic age to reformation, 1650) to be somewhat dry, I'm relishing both the stories and the facts--names, dates and places. Our Old Testament class is stretching me--my time and my mind. Along with reading the Old Testament (Genesis through Judges so far), we're also reading 2 different texts which shed light (or are supposed to) on the history of the literature, the culture in which it was written, etc. One of the texts is actually fascinating, but the other one (copyright 1973) refers to "recent" scholarship in the 1930s. zzzzz You Language Arts teachers will appreciate our search for clues about the genre of various passages and none of you will be surprised that I had my hand up (in the small discussion section--I keep my mouth shut in the big classes---yes I do.) constantly asking for those clues. How else would I be able to figure this stuff out on my own in the future? Yes, I'm still detail-oriented.
In both our worship and theology classes, the profs are stressing the big picture/conceptual thinking. Our theology prof read an Everybody book in class yesterday which he felt illustrated something about the glory of God as John Calvin attested. (Bagels from Benny) At the end, he teared up and had to collect himself before proceeding. Sound familiar? I much preferred that to reading John Calvin and Thomas Acquinas (Yes, we've been studying a Catholic theologian in a Presbyterian seminary.) Talk about obtuse. Those guys are obtuse--most of the time. But, it's cool when our prof points out Calvin's maternal images of God. (Hmmm, did John Calvin set the stage for feminist theology 400 years in the future?) We are also reading texts from theologians in this century--connecting our Reformed tradition to Liberation Theology, Feminist Theology, and Womanist Theology (and yes, I really enjoy those texts.)
We got moved into our seminary apartment in early August, and it's great to be on campus. We have a buyer for our house and expect/hope to close at the end of the month. I am typing this to y'all from my (Apple) laptop sitting in my swing among some of my plants transported from my backyard. The other residents in our building (affectionately called "the bombshelter" due to its cinderblock construction from the 1950s) are enjoying my "garden". One is looking into getting an outdoor fire pit to burn logs in this the winter, so we can use this garden area year-round as a community space.
Speaking of my swing--I was sitting in it when I first "heard" the call to go to seminary back in summer 2007--Last weekend, I met with the Committee on Preparation for the Ministry and have been approved by them to become on Inquirer. That's the first step in the ordination process in the Presbyterian Church. Seminary (education) and Ecclesial (ordination) preparation are 2 separate (but parallel) tracks I have to follow for the next 3 years.
Well, I hope I haven't disappointed anyone who was hoping I'd learned to write brief emails with this lengthy discourse.
I'm very close to UT, so you're welcome to come visit anytime you're in the UT area.
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