Journal Entry 3
Oct. 29, 2007
It’s hard to believe that the semester is half over. It feels good in a lot of ways. First off it means that the work for the semester is half done, but also it means that I have actually done the work for half of a semester. That is a big accomplishment. The past two weeks have included mid-term exams for two of my classes. I was encouraged with what I had learned, but also was quite challenged. Even when something, like Greek, seems to make sense most of the time, when it came time for the test I sat for a long time trying to solve the puzzle before me. In the end though, yes, Greek remains my favorite class.
I don’t know that it is fair for me to generalize and say that I like one class better than another. It is very true for me to say that I am learning something from all of them. Part of the challenge is opening myself to the different bits of knowledge being given in each class, and figuring out where this information applies to my life. Maybe it doesn’t apply right now, but I trust that someday it will come in handy. In Christian Tradition we are learning about key figures in the history of the Christian church. A few of them I have never heard of before and several of them I at least have heard their name somewhere. The really interesting thing is learning more about them and knowing where they really stood or how their beliefs have shaped the church. I appreciate that we aren’t told one way that we are supposed to think. The Anabaptist tradition practices believers’ baptism as opposed to infant baptism. In discussing Augustine’s affect on the development of infant baptism our professors never came out and said, “So this is why infant baptism is wrong.” They presented the events taking place in the early centuries of the church and the conceptions or misconceptions of church leaders. Each person then had the ability to choose what to make of the information.
One other thing that has been interesting to me is the way that what I have learned in seminary classes is already useful outside of seminary. I regularly attend a young adult Sunday school class at the church I have been going to. On different occasions during our discussions, topics come up that I can bring things from my classes into. One Sunday we were talking about how people view the church, what they expect to get out of it, or what the church should be. As people shared their views I recalled what I learned in class about the beginnings of the church. I had a different perspective on the conversation because of the background of the church that is being established in me. Times like these definitely feel like affirmations for being in Seminary.
