So ist das leben

This is a great article.

With the semester nearing completion, I am beginning to prepare for my summer classes. I will be taking three classes and will finally be finished by July (just in time for a one year anniversary vacation with my wife). Two are here at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, and for the other I’ll be heading to New Haven, CT for a summer term course at Yale Divinity School. Here’s the lineup:

Kingdom of God

A study of the Kingdom of God beginning with the mediatorial idea, the establishment of the Kingdom at Sinai, its monarchial form, the Kingdom according to the prophets, its offer by Jesus to Israel, its rejection, postponement, and eschatological establishment.

This is my first class with Dr. McCune. He is legendary around here and this is supposed to be one of his best classes, so I’ve been greatly anticipating this course for some time.

The primary textbook is Greatness of the Kingdom by Alva McClain.

The World of Jonathan Edwards

This course will examine the life, thought, and legacies of Jonathan Edwards, one of the great theologians in the Christian tradition and one of the most significant figures in American religious history.  The classroom portion of the course will feature lectures and discussions of common readings. Daily themes for lecture and discussion will include, among other things, Puritanism and the Post-Reformation Era, Jonathan Edwards the Theologian, Jonathan Edwards and The Great Awakening, and Jonathan Edwards’s American and Global Legacies. There will be ample time for questions and dialogue on these issues.  Common readings will include selections from printed collections of Edwards’s writings and secondary sources. Also, the course will be integrated with the use of materials located in The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online.  Special features of the course will be a viewing of Edwards’s manuscripts at Yale’s Beinecke Library, and a daylong tour of sites in the Connecticut River Valley relating to Edwards and the Great Awakening.

This is the one at Yale. I’m especially excited about the professors here, because they are some of the foremost Edwards scholars in the world. Two are at Yale already and one is from Princeton. Yale University also has an entire Jonathan Edwards Center devoted to the study of his life and works. I also plan to use the material gleaned from this class as the basis for a paper I’m writing next semester on Jonathan Edwards and New England Theology.

The primary textbooks are A Jonathan Edwards Reader edited by Jonathan Smith, and The New England Theology: From Edwards to Edwards Amasa Park edited by Sweeney and Guelzo.

Reformation Theology

A critical examination of the basic doctrines of the key Reformers, creedal statements, and controversies.

 I’ve heard that this is Dr. Priest’s forte, so I’m excited to hear him wax eloquent from 8-12 every day. I anticipate this being an excellent introduction for both my Church History (covering Reformation era) and Systematic Theology classes next semester.

The primary textbook is Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George.

I’ve recently been reading mammoth portions of Philip Schaff’s 8 volume History of the Christian Church to fulfill the reading requirement for my Medieval Church History class this semester. Portions are fairly dry and the amount of reading gets rather tedious (almost 1,500 pages of Schaff alone), but on the whole it’s been interesting and even entertaining reading. The superstition/mysticism that was so prevalent in the Middle Ages led to some rather hilarious scenarios. I thought of posting some of the funnier ones, but I imagine I would be one of the few people I know that would find medieval hermeneutical blunders funny.

On a more immediately profitable note, I have been able to squeeze in another book in between Gregory VII and Innocent III. Namely, John Piper’s “Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.” This is an excellent book. It is geared towars pastors, but any Christian would greatly benefit. There are 30 short, easy to read, and yet greatly thought-provoking chapters. I’ve had a difficult time putting the book down, because each chapter is so uniquely challenging. Some of the highlights for me include:

Brothers, Beware of Sacred Substitutes (”The great threat to our prayer and our meditation on the Word of God is good ministry activity.”)

Brothers, Bitzer Was a Banker (Inspirational essay on the value and necessity of pastors learning Greek and Hebrew. Also deals with the superiority of investing time/energy learning the original langues as opposed to “more practical stuff” in a D.Min type program.)

Brothers, Read Christian Biography (Sounded a lot like Minnick here.)

Brothers, Magnify the Meaning of Baptism (This was the most helpful chapter in the book for me. It essentially is a short defense for believer baptism by immersion as traditionally espoused by Baptists as opposed to paedobaptism as is advocated amongst Presbyterians, etc. Very strong, succint apologetic for believer baptism.)

Brothers Let the River Run Deep (”There is no necessary contradiction between form and fire.” Deals with the idea put forth by some that spontanaeity is to be chiefly valued in expressing emotion (and worship) as opposed to form. Uses the book of Lamentations as an example of how form better communicates depth of emotion.)

Brothers, Don’t Fight Flesh Tanks With Peashooter Regulations (Discusses the deadly nature of legalism. Interestingly, tries to prove from Scripture [Colossians 2:16-23] that a church demanding total abstinence from alcohol as a prerequisite for church membership (like in a church covenant, etc) is legalism.)

Overall, a great book. Accessible yet profound on many levels.