Tag archives for SEBTS

An English Christmas

By | Published 12/10/2007

Leaving on Wednesday (12/12), we’re heading to England over Christmas and New Years. We’ll be back just in time (the day before) to start our respective schools on January 7th. J-term Hebrew I, here I come.

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As Long as Dr. Hogg Teaches, There’s Only One Choice for Church History

By | Published 12/10/2007

As long as Dr. Hogg teaches, there’s only one choice for Church History at Southeastern. Dr. David S. Hogg is also the only Church History professor I’ve taken at Southeastern. But as I say to people who ask why I got married so young: why keep looking if you’ve found what you were looking for? There’s only one choice for Church History at Southeastern. What I can appreciate about Dr. Hogg is that he hasn’t gone through the “Southern Baptist” education system, majoring in Bible at Famous Baptist of Yesteryear College in Podunk, South, but has worked through the University of Toronto, Westminster Seminary and the University of St. Andrews. As one reviewer noted on RateMyProfessor, he is “quite possibly the coolest Canadian in existence.” Why he is at Southeastern we may never know, but that he is we can rejoice for the way he de-homogenizes our SBC milk. In summary and because I’m enjoying lists at the moment, here are some further pointers evincing the notion that one should take a professor and not a course, in this case Hogg:

  • No textbook.
  • In place of a textbook are primary sources that are freely available in the public domain. Instead of reading what someone has to say about Athanasius, you read Athanasius. What a concept.
  • Direct application to ministry. Hogg asks, what can we learn from the ministry of John Chrysostom? Nobody asks that question and for three reasons: (1) they don’t know Chrysostom, (2) they don’t know to even ask about Chrysostom’s ministry, and (3) they don’t know Chrysostom’s ministry and the practical import thereof.
  • Hard exams. You actually feel like you’re in seminary, not a Sunday school class.
  • Balance. We considered the basis for the papacy. Not only that, but we did a long section on the popes of the Middle Ages.
  • Regular writing exercises instead of regular quizzes. Last semester’s syllabus contained this quote by Augustine: “I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write.”
  • History is narrated instead of regurgitated from a Powerpoint.

I’m excited to see that he has also taken on teaching Theology. My Friday’s will be spent with him next semester in Theology II.

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Answering the Call to a Great Commission Resurgence

By | Published 11/28/2007

Our SEBTS president, Dr. Akin, emailed to the student body and posted on his website the paper he delivered at the SBC Building Bridges Conference this week entitled “Answering the Call to a Great Commission Resurgence.” I’ve yet to give it a gander, but can guess where he’s going to go with it and am interested to hear comments on it and the Conference in general around the blogosphere. It seems like Timmy Brister’s blog is a good place to keep up with things and download MP3s and PDFs of the presentations.

Here are links to Akin’s paper:
PDF
Online (Google Documents)

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SEBTS C. S. Lewis Conference Audio

By | Published 11/08/2007

Below is the audio from the plenary sessions of the C. S. Lewis conference recently hosted at Southeastern (October 26-27,  2007). I was unable to attend and have not yet listened to the audio in its entirety, but am hosting it here (with ID3 tags for those, like myself, wishing to put the files on MP3 players [seize that commute!] and renamed filenames for utility’s sake).

Session 1
Walter Hooper - Work as Editor of C.S. Lewis’ Works (12MB)

Session 2
Bruce Edwards – C.S. Lewis: America’s Bonny Fighter (9MB)

Session 3
Walter Hooper – C.S. Lewis: Reflections about the Man (12MB)

Session 4
James Como – Culture and Public Philosophy: The Other C.S. Lewis (11MB)

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Weekly Review: 10-05-07

By | Published 10/05/2007

Theology I (Dr. Keathley)

New Testament I (Dr. Black)

  • Dr. & Mrs. Black share stories, pictures, and video from their work in the far away land of Ethiopia. I watched a blind man recite a large chunk of Matthew’s gospel in Amharic which he was able to memorize from cassette. Younger ones recite passages (not verses!) in exchange for a Bible. Why do I devote my time to that which will not last? Tears began to fill my eyes as this Scripture came to mind:“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

    Yes, Amharic! Sing to Jesus for by his blood he has ransomed you, too!

Church History I (Dr. Hogg)

  • I am amazed at how much Southern Baptist students care about the rise of the papacy and its sidekicks (indulgences, relics, supererogatory acts). Just checking what the grass is like on the other side of the fence? Looking for ammunition? Or plain ignorant? I have to admit that the questions intrigue me as well.

Baptist History (Dr. Harper)

  • The 19th century Anti-Missions movement did not stem from unevangelistic hyper-Calvinism as one might conjecture, but from a concern that the organization of mission boards and societies was unbiblical. Baptists are building schools and the Anti-Missions folks are asking, Where is building schools in the Bible? A good example of not to suppose you understand where someone is coming from until you’ve got it from the horse’s mouth.

Miscellany

  • Happy birthday, Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703).
  • SEBTS chapel Q&A with President Akin. The question of worship style came up again. As my tenth grade science teacher used to say, “We think we don’t have answers, but what we really don’t have are questions.”
  • I now understand the Southern Baptist denomination a little bit better thanks to Nathan Finn.
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Weekly Review: 9-28-07

By | Published 09/28/2007

Theology I (Dr. Keathley)

  • If you’re attending Southeastern and getting the Southern Baptist discount (1/2 off tuition) and plan on not serving in a Southern Baptist church and giving back to the Cooperative Program (which pays that other half of your tuition) after you graduate, you should go down to the Business Office right now and tell them not to give you the discount and start paying the regular price

New Testament I (Dr. Black)

  • I can’t pray unless the Holy Spirit prays, but the Holy Spirit won’t pray unless I pray; prayer is an inter-trinitarian process.
  • “Abba” was an intimate word used by a son to a father wherein obedience (not love) is at the core. The essence of “Abba” is “not my will but yours be done.”

Church History I (Dr. Hogg)

  • Early on (at the time of Jerome) baptisms were done in the nude. (How symbolic of casting off that which is earthly and being born again!)
  • In translating the Bible into Latin (what would later become the Vulgate) Jerome started to translate the Apocrypha, but ceased doing so, considering them uninspired and not Scripture. The apocryphal material was added back into the Vulgate after his death (in a sub-Jerome translation) and continue to be in the canon of the Catholic church today.

Baptist History (Dr. Harper)

  • We think of America being founded on religious liberty for all but, at the time of the colonies, one was only aloud freedom of religious expression insofar as one practiced the denomination of that particular colony. Consequently, to practice otherwise was met with persecution.

The Albert Mohler Radio Program

  • Tuesday – Dr. Mohler interviews Dr. Patterson (President of Southwestern Seminary) about a new degree program in their college that has caused a lot of media attention and controversy: a degree in the humanities with an emphasis in homemaking. The point of the program is this: there are those women who have both the desire and ability to be a stay-at-home homemaker, or those women who may find themselves on the mission field needing to make clothes and subsist without electricity and running water; this program is to equip those women. The program is open to women only (“as soon as we get a pregnant man walking in, we’ll sign him up”); but requires two years of both Classical Greek and Latin. Dr. Patterson invited any dissenters to come take the program and see if they can pass!

The Way of the Master Radio

  • Wednesday – The hosts of the program are on tour in Europe and toured the John Bunyan museum in England (which reminds me that I need to finish Pilgrim’s Progress). This podcast takes the listener right through the museum with the crew.
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Timothy George Lectures

By | Published 09/18/2007

Timothy George is on campus today and tomorrow giving lectures in chapel. To be honest, I was unfamiliar with the gentleman prior to hearing about his coming to SEBTS to deliver lectures. This says more about me than it does about him for today was a fantastic recap of the Reformation era in a lecture entitled Five Revolutions of the Reformation Era. The five revolutions corresponded to five well-known men of yesteryear:

  1. Copernicus -posited heliocentricity contra geocentricity; Luther theocentricity contra anthropocentricity
  2. Christopher Columbus – “Christopher” = “Christ bearer” (Greek); charting new geography displaced eurocentricity; that we would be Christ bearers (“Christophers”)
  3. Gutenberg and his printing press – years later, Baptists in love with printing Bibles and publishing translations
  4. Erasmus and his Greek New Testament – ad fontes approach; “do penance” (Vulgate) vs. “repentance” (GNT)
  5. Luther and the rediscovery of the gospel – justification through faith alone in Christ alone (to be elaborated on tomorrow)

It doesn’t appear that the lecture is online yet, or else you would have a link pointing to it in place of this sentence. George did mention that the lecture today would be the first chapter in a forthcoming book; consequently, it’s possible that the lecture might not be posted online and you’ll just have to wait for the book.

Update: Lecture 1 and Lecture 2 for download. [HT: Denny Burk]

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Bathroom Barney Rubble

By | Published 09/18/2007

(Keep in mind this all happened in an instant.)

I just visited the bathroom at the library to open the door and find a young man, glabrous like I, staring at himself in the mirror. Surprised by my intrudence, he quickly turned towards the door and mumbled these words, “Sorry. Excuse me. I was just looking for something.” You were looking for something!? You were checking yourself out in the mirror, holmes.

The men’s bathroom can be awkward at times. It’s a mixture of personal and public that produces awkward. To this lad I extend grace. Go on, look at yourself in the mirror. Nevermind me.

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If We Are the Body, Why Don’t We Take Casting Crowns’ Indictment Seriously

By | Published 09/05/2007

This week at Southeastern we had the privilege of being led in worship by 3 of the 7 members of Casting Crowns who write some beautiful, thought-provoking praise and worship songs. They played one of their most popular songs If We Are the Body (YouTube). I found that I was unable to sing this song in an attitude of worship because at its core, it’s an indictment on the people of God for our laziness and passionless hearts. While some were raising their hands in worship, I found I had trouble even mouthing the words because the Spirit began convicting my heart.

Here’s the chorus:

But if we are the Body
Why aren’t His arms reaching
Why aren’t His hands healing
Why aren’t His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren’t His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

Is this a worship song? This is an indictment song, a call to repentance and fervency in sharing the gospel; because, I am the reason why his arms aren’t reaching and his words aren’t teaching. Christ has trusted his message to the faithful (if we can even be called that in the face of our apathy).

That our hearts would be transformed and we would show the world that we are the body and Christ is the head.

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Upcoming Conferences at Southeastern

By | Published 07/09/2007

Three upcoming conferences at Southeastern Seminary. Right now, I’m planning on attending the Convergent conference if for no other reason than to hear Mark Driscoll in person. Note: I think the prices listed are for SEBTS students. Check the respective site for more info. Also, the image is too wide for my blog. Click on it to view the full size. (I don’t know why they insist on sending image emails.)

image0011.jpg

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