Test jesus under plastic

When I was originally on my grad school and then seminary search, I was hugely attracted to Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. Already familiar with their President Dan Allender, the way MGHS framed their approach to theological education through a Deep Beauty view of the world called to me like family I hadn't yet known.

But in the end, though I struggled, I wound up dismissing them because they did not yet have the accreditation I needed to keep the door open for PhD work. But I still like to keep tabs on them now and then.  Check out this great promo video on loving your neighbor.


mhgs what no. 2 from blaine hogan on Vimeo.
(I don't know who Blaine Hogan is, but I have noticed that it looks like he just recently moved over to my neck of the woods to work for Willow)

I still have this funny hope that'll I'll find some connection with MHGS people. It's been a rather different experience here at NPTS... as an artist I sense I've shelved an entire side of me.  The social tone and space is warm, but encourages a traditionalism more akin to the Thanksgiving silk flowers on your parents table than the open mic, silver and expectant in the upstairs part of the gallery. The portraits in the halls are of elderly Swedes (none of whom I know about).  Culture is recognized here, but as something "other?"—something to be studied (vs. created). Sometimes it is perhaps presented in contradictory ways. My communicating the faith class made attempts, but at the end of the day had a superficial, contrived approach (to its defense--it's focus was personal evangelism). My theology class and others have had a incredibly dim view of beauty in the face of sin. I haven't had a class with missiologist Paul DeNeui (I typically find the missiologists the most insightful on culture in general). But I suspect that none of our classes embody expression that is detailed, creative, playful, and revelatory. I haven't seen professors here that think this way. (Nor at TEDS, where I've taken some additional courses).  Honestly, I think there are only a few classmates here that would naturally fit in a MHGS-lensed world.  Only a few of us who want to talk about life as art, indie music, and discover truth while tracing a twilight skyline.

Which again is hardly to discount the things I like very much at North Park. Just to wonder again at how I'm a "different person" here than I might be elsewhere.

First snow that's stuck.

The Covenant Church website has a feature story on my roommate and classmate, Luke Johnson.

‘Frisbee’ Passion Drives Student’s Choice of Seminary

By Stan Friedman

CHICAGO, IL (November 11, 2008) –  Luke Johnson had to decide whether to work fulltime for Young Life or attend North Park Theological Seminary. The decision was a difficult one as the seminary had offered him a Presidential Scholarship, which would pay all of his tuition.

In the end, Johnson says he chose the seminary because it gave him the opportunity to play Ultimate Frisbee.

Johnson is one of a number of North Park students and Covenanters – especially youth groups - across the country who are passionate about the game. The school also increasingly has become a national presence in both men’s and women’s competition.
Read the rest

One of easiest ways to stress myself out is spin myself into a materialistic web of anxious theological book shopping.  The Logos/Libronix software is my downfall on this. When I first hit seminary, I realized a Bible software program could be really helpful.  Though my professors tend to use Bibleworks in class, I looked at the options and chose Logos for two reasons:  it seemed better suited for a well-rounded collection with commentaries, etc.  And it's interface design was significantly better than Bibleworks (which has toolbars that look as if a programmer mashed them together using tinkertoys).

I had sticker shock when I first looked at the base-packages—they range from $150 to $1379.95—whoa! Because my degree was going to be more theological in nature and wasn't going to allow me to do any original language work, I chose the Bible Study Library package. It really didn't have everything I wanted, but I couldn't justify jumping to the Scholars library, which had lots of resources I'd just never use (I really think they ought to have a better "between" package there... but maybe more on that another time).

So now I've slowly been buying additional resources to add to my library, which is fun but really expensive.

Until Nov 10th, Logos has a sale again for North Park students (they do this every semester), so I'm back to wanting more stuff.

Here's the possibilities:

1. Interlinear LXX (Septuagint) - $109.  Greek version of the Old Testament.  Almost essential to word studies, etc.
   
2. BDAG/HALOT - $275.  The most authoritative academic standard lexicons (dictionaries) for Greek and Hebrew.
   
3. IVP Reference Dictionaries.  $120 Includes Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, and like eight others.
   
4. Anchor Bible Dictionary.- $250  More comprehensive, scholarly, and liberal than the IVP stuff, but will it be too redundant?
5. The TDNT (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, aka. "Kittel") - $199.  Massive standard comprehensive theological dictionary.
   
6. The Word Biblical Commentary Series.  $700  Pretty much all my Bible professors (including McKnight and Snodgrass) say that you shouldn't purchase one particular series of commentaries--each book tends to have it's best author, and it can be published in any one of the major series.  But the upside to buying an entire series at once is PRICE... Word Biblical Commentaries tend to be $35-$40 each.  Buy all 60-ish volumes at once?   $12 each!

Argh!  I can't afford all that!  I can't afford even smaller portions of that.  I'm not sure who these prices are made for, but not for seminary students living off part-time ministry financial support and student loans.  But to take advantage of the student discount I can get (which helps cut these prices a little, but not enough), I should buy now, while I'm in school.  Plus, I can USE them while in school.  I've gotta think about this as long-term investments, I think.

Decisions, decisions...  the sale ends Nov 10.