Lectures and Other Profitable Time Investments

At the moment I’m going to try and go to about eight hours of lectures this term:

Monday
MacCulloch on English Religion 1558-1600
Aquinas’ philosophy
Kant’s philosophy

Tuesday
Heidegger’s Being and Time (hopefully it’ll give me the boost to profitably finish reading that book that I have been fitfully reading for almost two years now)
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics

Wednesday
German for Theologians (try and cement what Kay Avery began)


Thursday
Pre-Nicaea theology (Dr Edwards my supervisor, and one of the exams at the end of the year - so a lecture series I'm particularly looking forward to),
Aquinas’ theology

The possible snag is that the lectures on Aquinas’s theology are for undergraduates only—I’m going to have to get special permission to attend. If that isn’t given I’ll both miss out on a possibly great overview, and will have only seven hours of lectures in this term. (Although my supervisor seems to think that eight hours is "a heavy lecture load").

Looking over the ‘menu’ that I selected these from produces mixed feelings. On the one hand I’m (very) appreciative of the chance to delve into historical theology and philosophy in a more focused and substantial way than we did at Moore.

However, looking over the lectures on offer makes me even more grateful and committed to Moore’s commitment to a (very full) ‘one size fits all’ BDiv program that focuses on Biblical studies primarily and a workmanlike doctrine and ethics program as the complement. This stuff is great for a postgrad (even if it is going to be at undergrad level – a whole term on a theologian by an expert, or a whole term by MacCulloch on Reformation studies is Time Well Spent) but I suspect it’d be pretty bitsy and dis-integrated if you were relying on it for your ‘bread and butter’ BDiv as preparation for a ministry of the Word. (If nothing else, the small amount of theological topics reflects my view of the limited range there that really grabs me).

To these lectures I think I’ll be adding the following:

Attending Wycliffe’s chapel a couple of times a week. This will be a sacrifice, as it starts a bit after 8am, which is not my idea of a civilised start to the day.

Reading and writing essays for the exams with my supervisor’s guidance.

Working on the 15 000 word dissertation

Working on my Greek and German. ‘nuff said.

Writing a series of studies on Gen 12-50 for Matthias Media. This was discussed about seven(!) years ago after I wrote the Judges studies and has been in desuetude most of that time. I haven’t had enough control over my time to carve out the space to pursue such a project. But life as a postgrad may well give me that kind of lifestyle. As it looks that I will be spending most of my time over the next four years engaging directly in everything other than the Bible, a project like writing some Interactive Studies seems like it could make efficient use of a single piece of rock in the termination of multiple fowl.

Other miscellaneous activities: writing overdue reviews for RTR, reading some books I’ve been wanting to read for a while, and the like.

Together that should be the kind of package that has enough diversity to keep me fresh, is sufficiently focused to drive the assessments at the end of the year, has enough in it to keep me stretched and yet hopefully won’t burden me with a sense of having too much to do. I’ll try it, and modify as needed. MDB