Another semester is well under way, so it seems like a good time to give my first impressions of each class I'm taking. I'm only taking four classes, plus preaching.
Preaching - This class is going to be a little different from last semester because they switched professors on us. Before I had the professor who preached a sermon every class whether he meant to or not. Now I have the professor who begins weeping on a regular basis.
Theology of Paul Tillich - I am intriqued with this man's thought, but reading it makes me feel incredibly stupid. Much of it is really dense, philosophical stuff. Fortunately, I am taking it pass/fail, so I feel a little more freedom to get creative and be dumb.
Theology, Cosmology, and Creation - Interestingly enough, most of what we've read so far has been from a book called Cosmic Jackpot, which gives a really good layman's overview of physics. I am gaining a greater respect for my friends in college who were ballsy enough to study physics and I kind of wish I hadn't asked them to stop talking about physics at dinner. It will be interesting to see if any of my theology is fundamentally changed based on what I learn in this class. Jordan is in this one with me and listening to him talk I am in awe of his ability to understand and integrate seemingly unrelated concepts.
The Biblical Canon - This might be my "easiest" class. Not that we're not going to deal with some tough concepts and work through some tough questions, but it is a large class with a visiting professor, who is possibly the cutest old man ever. His wife is taking the class with us. Anyway, it's not a lot of reading and there's a whole lot of repetition from other courses I've taken on the Bible.
Spiritual Autobiography - This is going to be my best class. We are reading about 10 different autobiographies and working with them both as literary and theological works. The professor is Yolanda Pierce, who just started her career at PTS last semester and is already in high demand. She's this fabulous, earthy, real African-American woman who is not afraid to get into the real stuff of life. Several of the books we are reading are repeats for me, but I never tire of re-reading and discussing good literature.
I think this is going to be a good semester. There are already a lot of connections coming out between my various classes, especially Paul Tillich and Theology, Cosmology and Creation. Last semester was a little boring at times, so it's nice to have a semester in which I am genuinely interested in every one of my classes.
1 comment:
oh, this looks so fun! i wanna get another degree! your prof cries regularly? sheesh. and are you reading pauli murray? a great autobiography, she should be added to the list if she isn't already there.
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