Five Important things to do at GCTS

Written by Mandy on August 24th, 2010

Over the past six months we’ve received several emails asking about what we might recommend for new students to do at GCTS. Primarily students are concerned about “must-take” classes, or little hints for excelling at GCTS. It ought to go without saying, but the most important ingredient for excelling at Gordon-Conwell, or any other school for that matter, is hard work. But here is a list of five things we’d recommend to students, new and old, at our alma mater.

1. Take BTI Classes – Through the Boston Theological Institute you are afforded a number of opportunities as a student at GCTS. Not only do you have access to the libraries at each member school (a huge help in and of itself), but you can also cross-register classes. Most people pile on the classes at Harvard, and that is all well and good, but don’t miss some of the other great opportunities at BTI schools, especially Boston University and Boston College. Our personal list of recommendations is: Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible with Dick Saley at Harvard, and anything with Dr. Alejandro Botta at Boston University. We’ve also heard great things about Katheryn Pfisterer-Darr’s classes at BU. Of course you ought to also be on the lookout for classes that interest you with Peter Machinist and Jon Levenson, both at Harvard.

2. Take language classes – If you plan on learning to study the Bible, you want to go on for a PhD, or you just enjoy learning, then there is really no substitute for learning as many languages, at as high a level, as possible. Intermediate Hebrew at GCTS is a must, as are Aramaic and Ugaritic. We’d also recommend starting work on either Akkadian or Middle Egyptian (the latter can be had at BU with A. Botta). Also, don’t underestimate your own resources at Gordon-Conwell. If you are studying Old Testament or Biblical Languages, track down Tom Petter to take Epigraphic Hebrew and Advanced Hebrew Grammar (independent classes as of now). We also recommend plenty of Hebrew or Greek reading courses. We know it sounds lame to pay for three credits where you basically read/translate XX number of chapters and report to a professor about it before taking a final exam. But your Hebrew really will improve from the discipline. And please – certainly don’t neglect the basic languages. GCTS has a heavy emphasis on Greek and Hebrew, and if you don’t take the time to learn them well, you will suffer for it, both academically at GCTS and personally as you seek to go on for further study. Take advantage of that emphasis for your own benefit!

3. Listen to your fellow students, but also…don’t – What we mean by this is simple, your fellow students can be a great help. They can point you to resources you might not know about, tell you about classes you wouldn’t have taken otherwise, help to carpool to BTI courses, and a host of other things. However, it can also be discouraging when you talk to them. Time and time again Mandy and I were told never to take more than three classes a semester. Of course, if you do this, you’ll take three years just to complete a single MA. Mandy and I never took more than five, and we found our sweet spot to be four (which requires summer term classes to complete your degree in two years, three for the M.Div.). What we’re trying to say is this: know your limits academically, and go with those, regardless of whether others tell you you’re taking “too many” classes. If you’re getting As and you’re learning, don’t take fewer classes just because someone gets you worried.

4. Fill those “core requirements” with helpful classes – All MA students at Gordon-Conwell are required five “core classes.” At first, these classes can seem like throw aways. A world missions elective, Theology survey, Church history survey, etc, etc. However, if you have a religious studies/Bible college background, you are often able to waive the required theo and church history surveys and take more advanced electives in those areas. We really aren’t sure how to redeem the theology requirement yet, but we definitely recommend Historiography with Dr. Rosell if you can get the required survey waived. Also, don’t just throw away that world missions elective on “Personal Evangelism through the Local Church.” Instead, take Applied Anthropology with Paul Martindale. This class was without a doubt, for both of us, the single best non-biblical studies class we have ever taken. Dr. Martindale let us shape are research papers to a very large degree, and so we were able to interact with cultural anthropology in relationship with the Old Testament. We highly recommend this class.

5. Use Semlinks sparingly. Unless you live far enough away from the school that they become a vital part of completing your degree, don’t rely on them too heavily. They can be helpful for filling in a class or two, especially your core requirements, if you’re unable to take the advice in number four just because of the way classes pan out in the schedule, or if you need a summer class and there isn’t anything being offered that will meet your needs. Above all, do not use Semlinks for your basic language classes, Hebrew or Greek, especially if you’re going to be studying either language for the first time at GCTS (also, please, if you can avoid it, don’t take the basic language classes during the summer if you hope to retain the languages). Why do we give this advice? There is nothing wrong with Semlink courses, generally speaking. In fact, if you’re a pastor looking to brush up on Hebrew or Greek, do some extra study, or just an interested lay person, and you don’t want degree credit, the value for what you pay is phenomenal, and I’d highly recommend them. But the fact of the matter is, for degree-seeking students, there is just no substitute for in-classroom instruction.

In summary:
1. Take advantage of the BTI, and not just Harvard.
2. Take as many language classes as is helpful to your degree and personal goals.
3. Listen to the advice of others, but know your own academic limits.
4. Don’t waste your core requirements – if you can get waivers, look for classes that will relate somehow to your field.
5. Use Semlinks sparingly to fill in where scheduling doesn’t work out for you.

Feel free to contact either of us if you have questions, concerns, or would like further suggestions.

 

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Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative by Adele Berlin – Chapter One

Written by Calvin on August 23rd, 2010

One of the things I’m hoping to do, now that things are settled enough in my personal life to allow for more regular blogging, is post book reviews with some degree of regularity. Writing a review of a book often helps me to process the information more thoroughly. What I hope to do is, as I’m reading a book, write a review for each chapter as a way to process the information and interact with it. These reviews will, at times, be less a formal review and more my own musings on what the author(s) say in a particular section of the book.

Fair warning: These kinds of things normally follow a predefined pattern for me. I start reading the book, review the first chapter, and then get so interested in the book that I don’t stop to blog until I’ve finished, at which point it seems somewhat tedious to go back through each chapter and write a review.

—

Adele Berlin’s first chapter essentially explains what poetics is (the science that aims to find the building blocks of literature, “poetics is to literature as linguistics is to language” pg 15) and is not (interpretation). For someone who doesn’t have a great deal of background in poetics as a discipline this chapter is quite helpful. In fact, Berlin’s advocacy for a robust poetics in relationship with biblical studies resonates with me. This may be because I already see a great need for taking a step back and studying the Bible before jumping to interpretation. Perhaps this is because of my seminary background, where students (and sadly sometimes professors) wish to jump to interpretation (i.e., what does the text means) before doing the necessary ground work to answer that question. She is also quick to point out that, as the title of the book suggests, she is not writing a book on poetics, but rather a book on the poetics of the Hebrew Bible.

Near the beginning of the chapter, Berlin points out something that I wish I could get every first year seminarian or freshman at Bible colleges to understand. In fact, if I could get everyone who reads the Bible to understand her point, I would die a happy man. Berlin explains, “Above all, we must keep in mind that narrative is a form of representation. Abraham in Genesis is not a real person any more than a painting of an apple is a real fruit. This is not a judgment on the existence of a historical Abraham any more than it is a statement about the existence of apples,” (pg. 13, emphasis original). She goes on to explain this at more length. But these couple sentences truly do the job nicely by themselves. Narrative is representation. To borrow from cultural anthropology, the Bible does not have a 1:1 correlation to reality. Berlin would say that no literature does, because literature is–at its heart–representation, art. She is absolutely correct. Just as a painted portrait of an individual is *not* the person, but merely an artist’s representation of the person, so also with narrative works, including the Bible.

 

Posted in Book Reviews, Hebrew Bible, Posts by Calvin | 5 Responses »

Why Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary?

Written by Mandy on August 22nd, 2010

As we have previously noted, Calvin and I are recent graduates from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. We each have two Master’s degrees – one in Old Testament and one in Biblical Languages. We both had a great experience at Gordon-Conwell (henceforth known as GCTS), but we know that choosing a grad school can be intimidating. You can review the website, catalogs, and talk to admissions personnel, but how do you really know what you’re getting yourself into before you get there? Of course, the best way is to talk to alum, so here is our list of what to expect based on our experience at GCTS – and why GCTS may or may not be for you.

Do note that we can’t speak very well to the non-Bible based degrees at GCTS, but we’re assuming that if you’re reading our blog, you’re interested in studying the Bible (as opposed to Church History, Counseling, Education, Missions, etc.). Calvin started off in the M.Div program, so we can lump that in with the Bible-based MA programs to some extent.

GCTS has a heavy emphasis on languages. GCTS requires Hebrew and Greek for their M.Div students, and you’ll also have to take one or both in the Biblical Languages, Old Testament, or New Testament degrees. The MABL is language intensive; the MAOT and MANT only require the basic Hebrew or Greek courses. However, don’t be fooled. Any Bible degree and the M.Div also require exegesis courses. And, when they say you need Hebrew and Greek for their exegesis courses, they aren’t kidding around with you. Don’t come to GCTS if you don’t really want to learn and work with the languages (though we personally can’t imagine why you wouldn’t if you’re seriously considering going on for further study in the Bible!). This isn’t the school for you. If, on the other hand, this sounds great to you – then absolutely consider GCTS. Not only do they have the basic courses as most seminaries do, but they offer advanced level courses both in-class and through independent study that I daresay you won’t find at any other seminary in the U.S. Also, the BTI opens up even more unique language opportunities. (We took a year of Middle Egyptian at Boston University while at GCTS!)

This is a conservative, evangelical, inter-denominational school. We don’t know if that is a good or bad thing to you, but accept the statement for what it is. GCTS is an inter-denominational school, and so you’ll have interaction with both students and professors from all areas of the evangelical sphere. This also means that GCTS is of necessity more relaxed and accepting of the variety of opinions found in all of these denominations. We think this is a good thing; if you don’t, you probably don’t want to go to GCTS. On the other hand, GCTS is a conservative evangelical school. Don’t go to GCTS expecting to learn about JEPD – except in the negative – or a lot about the higher criticisms (they do teach basic text crit). Inerrancy, especially, is a big sticking point for most of the Bible profs (we suspect that there are a few profs in the closet on this issue, however, though we won’t name names publicly), so if you’re on that edge or over it, be prepared to step carefully or be ready to have your views challenged frequently. Note that this isn’t necessarily a reason not to consider GCTS. If you’re prepared to do some independent study on the issues, you can make up for the lack in that area (and there’s always the BTI).

GCTS is part of the Boston Theological Institute. Speaking of the BTI, this is one major reason to seriously consider GCTS. If you want to go to a religious school as opposed to a state school for your master’s work, or are considering it, GCTS has the distinct advantage of being a part of the Boston Theological Institute. You can look up which schools are part of this online, but basically you can cross-register (at GCTS’s prices) at any of the schools in the institute (you’ll be limited to classes which are offered through the respective school’s divinity departments, i.e. Harvard Divinity School, Boston University School of Theology). What this all means is that you’ll have the opportunity to expand your horizons, even if for you it’s only personal enrichment, beyond the evangelical theological sphere. You’ll also be able to pick up some classroom instruction in some areas (see above) that GCTS neglects.

GCTS teaches a strong exegetical method. We went to a Bible college for our undergrad, and so we already had a strong background in Bible. However, if there’s one thing that stands out above all others as to what we learned at GCTS, it’s Bible exegesis. GCTS takes their emphasis on languages and runs with it. You’ll learn how to take what you think is the tiniest, most insignificant passage and pick it apart, examining it from every possible angle, and then bring it back together to be able to solidly interpret it. This is a failing in many non-religious or non-evangelical schools. You just won’t get the education in how to really dig in deep to the text at many other schools. If you’re even considering GCTS, we’re assuming you’re interested in actually examining the text itself, and you’ll learn to do that here. One cautionary note: if you don’t have a strong background in Bible going in to GCTS, you will go deeper rather than broader. For us, that was a good thing. It could be a failing for others who need the broad content before going deeper.

GCTS has high academic standards. GCTS is a good school. I’ll say it again. GCTS is a good school. If you have a weak academic background, be prepared to have to improve significantly if GCTS sounds like a school you want to go to. You will do hard work if you go to this school for Bible. You will read thousands of pages every semester. You will write lengthy, involved papers. You will translate, translate, translate. If you have a family, have to work to pay bills, want to be involved in church, and you’re determined to get mostly or all A’s, you will find yourself pressed, stretched, and probably often stressed. If you aren’t already very disciplined with your time, you’ll have to learn to be. This is, however, a good thing, because if you do well at GCTS, you can feel fairly confident that you didn’t cheat yourself: yes, you most likely can hack it at a “real school.”

GCTS is a large seminary. This means some great interaction with a lot of different type of people, and it means that they have the resources to offer all the great language classes and beyond. However, it also brings with it some negatives: for one, professors are very busy, for a variety of reasons. If you want to have face time with profs, you will have to take the initiative. Most are more than amiable toward meeting and chatting, but it’s going to be on you to make sure you get that time. Another drawback is that class sizes are larger than we would have liked. While there will be some smaller classes, especially electives, the required courses will more often than not have upwards of 30 or 40 people. Compared to the classes we took at the BTI, which were all less than 20 people, GCTS classes are very large. We know that at undergrad institutions it’s common to take classes where there are hundreds of people in a large lecture hall, but we feel that small class sizes are almost always better, especially when you get to the level of grad work.

We had a great experience at GCTS, and don’t regret choosing the school at all. Especially since we came with an undergraduate degree in Bible and some languages already under our belt, with waivers and working with profs, we were able to mold the degree programs to fit our personal goals. If you are looking to do master’s work at an evangelical institution and want to do the work, we would highly recommend considering GCTS.

 

Posted in Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Posts by Mandy | 6 Responses »

A long summer

Written by Calvin on August 22nd, 2010

I find it hard to believe that the summer is nearly over. As you’ve no doubt noticed, Mandy and I have taken a bit of an extended hiatus from blogging. As Mandy already explained, we were not accepted into any of the PhD programs we applied to this year. Even so, our summer has been more than busy enough.

Things began with commencement ceremonies at GCTS in May. Both Mandy and I graduated with honors on both our MA degrees. The two weeks after commencement saw us teaching a summer module at Davis College, our alma mater. It was a great opportunity, and we’re very thankful to Dr. George Snyder and Davis College for giving us this great opportunity. Nothing like starting your summer with a fast paced jaunt through the Latter Prophets.

Within two weeks of the class finishing we were moving to Maryland, where we’ll be living as we improve our applications in order to achieve the desired result when we apply again to PhD programs. Of course, the rest of the summer has been packed with unpacking (no pun intended), finding jobs, and otherwise doing all the things that are required when one relocates.

With that said, I hope to return to blogging with more regularity soon. I have a dozen very interesting thoughts swirling in my mind, and since I’ve no papers to write, presentations to prepare or other ways to allow these thoughts out of my mind, I expect to make use of our blog for that purpose. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out Ancient Hebrew Grammar, a new blog that has now officially opened.

 

Posted in Posts by Calvin, The Floppy Hat | No Responses »

New England Regional SBL Meeting

Written by Calvin on April 5th, 2010

Blogging has been somewhat slow recently. Mandy and I are in the midst of finishing our final semester at GCTS, and this leaves painfully little time for blogging. But, before we know it the semester will be over, and you can count on seeing more posts from us. I’ve a few more posts on the grammar of Habakkuk 3 percolating in my head, so look for those in the not too distant future.

In the mean time, I wanted to remind any New England readers that the regional SBL meeting is fast approaching. I’m especially excited about this year’s meeting because it will be the first time I’ve presented a paper at an SBL meeting. I received word a while back that my paper proposal had been accepted, and I have been busily working on finishing the paper (another reason for the lack of posts). I, like Jay, am interested in biblical Hebrew word order. The title of my paper, which follows, should make that obvious. I hope to see some of you at the regional meeting, even if Hebrew grammar isn’t exactly your cup o’ tea.

Does the Subject Come First?: Applying Robert Holmstedt’s Theory of Word Order to Judges 19-21.

 

Posted in Hebrew, Posts by Calvin, Semitics | 3 Responses »
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A New Blog

Written by Calvin on April 4th, 2010

I recently stumbled upon a new blog, Ancient Hebrew Grammar. The bloggers, John Cook and Robert Holmstedt, are exceptional scholars. Although there is only a welcome post at present, there is also the promise of more regular blogging to commence sometime later this year. I’ve already added the blog to my feed reader and I look forward to reading it later in the year. I’d encourage anyone interested in the blog’s subject matter to similarly subscribe.

 

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On Scholarship, Evangelicalism and Book Reviews

Written by Calvin on March 21st, 2010

Alan Lenzi has gone out on a limb and articulated a series of complaints over recent reviews written by Evangelical Christians in the Review of Biblical Literature. I’ve been following Lenzi’s posts on this and I have to say that I am in general agreement with him–to an extent. I do think that in some cases RBL really ought to require a more nuanced review from their reviewers. At the same time I want to be careful that requiring a more nuanced review does not lead to requiring the consensus position among critical scholars. I realize that this isn’t what Lenzi is suggesting, but it is a danger. Let me try to flesh this out a little by giving a concrete example.

The most recent review that Lenzi complains about may be found here. When I read this review I was taken aback by the following statement (also quoted by Lenzi):

Those who believe that the Bible is the literary product of divine revelation will agree that Oswalt has shown that the Bible is different from the other religious writings from the ancient Near East. Those who reject the notion that God has revealed himself in the history of Israel will remain unpersuaded that the Bible is a unique book containing divine revelation and that the religion of Israel is different from the other religions in the ancient Near East.

Why was I taken aback? Simple–I believe the Bible is a literary product of divine revelation, but based on the review I seriously doubt that I would agree that Oswalt had shown that the Bible is different from other documents in the ANE and thus divine revelation. I imagine I would come to the conclusion that Oswalt merely wanted to believe that to be the case, and so strung together a rather lengthy list of assertions to that end and called it a book. This is the kind of either-or thinking among Evangelicals that frustrates me. The thinking is that either the Bible must be entirely unique and unlike any human document or it is not divine revelation. I don’t understand why the Bible can not be quite similar to other ANE documents and still be divine revelation. Apart from this, the idea that one can prove that something is divine revelation is silly at best.

So, on the one hand I think that RBL needs to demand that reviews not simply summarize what is in a book, but rather offer thoughtful critiques of the good and bad within a book. On the other hand, I have no problem with RBL publishing a review of a book such as The Bible Among the Myths. I don’t even have a problem with the author of the review saying that in his or her opinion the book would be a good fit for some confessional schools (no matter how much I might disagree). However, there needs to be some critical engagement with the material. There needs to be a reason for why the reviewer concludes that the book might be a good fit for confessional schools. There needs to be some acknowledgment that the book steps outside the bounds of history, literary criticism, source criticism or anything else and enters into the realm of theology. My primary concern is that if one goes too far to the other extreme, any book written by a confessional scholar would simply be deemed “theology” and disregarded (e.g., Exploring the Old Testament: A Guide to the Prophets by J. Gordon McConville is published by IVP, and certainly comes at things from a confessional perspective. However, it interacts with critical scholarship and would be, in my opinion, an excellent introductory text for use at confessional schools). In other words, I think there is a place for scholarship that has a confessional audience in mind, but having a confessional audience in mind does not absolve it from the requirement that it be scholarly.

Balance is needed in this, as in all things.

 

Posted in Book Reviews, Posts by Calvin, Responses | 8 Responses »
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Eisenbrauns Deal of the Day – On the Way!

Written by Mandy on March 19th, 2010

My lame attempt at doing a little rhyme in the title of this post aside, I just wanted to express my excitement for today’s Eisenbrauns Deal of the Day. Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon as Bureaucracy sounds like it will be a great addition to my growing library on ANE mythology, one of my personal interests. Of course, I won’t have the time to actually read it until the semester lets out, but I have added it to my “To Read” list for this coming year, and will be sure to post a review once I’m finished.

 

Posted in Ancient Near East, Posts by Mandy | 2 Responses »

A Shout out for the New Testament

Written by Mandy on March 18th, 2010

Some of you may know that Greek and I have a love-hate relationship. This semester, I have had the opportunity to take Exegesis of Revelation with Dr. Sean McDonough. As part of the course requirements, we are asked to read the entire book of Revelation in Greek (which makes sense, of course). At present, I have finished through chapter 14. I am pleasantly surprised to find that it actually hasn’t been that bad. What do you know.

Now, I know that the Greek of Revelation is not the hardest to be found in the NT, but generally speaking I find myself able to read with some proficiency (if not very rapidly) and have even enjoyed reading the book in Greek.

Of course, some of this may have to do with the fact that the class itself is one of the best I have taken at GCTS. Dr. McDonough is not only knowledgeable, but is also very engaging (and hilarious) as a teacher. His passion for the book of Revelation clearly comes through when he teaches, causing me to in turn feel excited about the subject. Of course, anyone who regularly uses examples from fantasy literature and media such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter is okay in my book.

My previous knowledge of Revelation has up until now been limited to what I know from reading the book in English and what I learned in my dispensationalist upbringing and my dispensationalist Bible college. I have since fairly thoroughly rejected dispensationalism, but at least as far as the book of Revelation goes, I’ve never heard a good teacher teach on the subject from another perspective, nor have I really bothered to study it out on my own in any depth. In fact, I’ve rather avoided Revelation like the plague (second only to Paul).

That being said, I am amazed to find that Revelation is an absolutely beautiful, amazing literary masterpiece, with a powerful message that seems to have been completely lost in the midst of pop theology of the Tim LaHaye variety. Since my knowledge is so stunted, my mind has been a sponge in this class.

It makes me wonder what would have happened if I had had a New Testament teacher like Dr. McDonough in college in addition to an absolutely amazing Old Testament teacher. No, no, don’t worry, I’m not thinking about changing to New Testament studies. However, it just goes to show you what excitement a good teacher who is passionate about his or her subject can generate. It has been refreshing to feel again like I did in Bible College when first discovering the joys of the Old Testament. Sometimes it is so easy to get bogged down in the papers and exams and pressures of trying to “perform” well, and forget the initial pure joy of learning about something I love that set me down this path.

That being said, I have a Revelation test tomorrow morning for which I need to go study!

 

Posted in Christian Scriptures, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Greek, Posts by Mandy | 3 Responses »

The Floppy Hat Lives On

Written by Mandy on March 16th, 2010

As Calvin mentioned previously, we have in fact not fallen off the face of the planet. If the fall semester was especially busy for us, the spring has only been that much more so. Nevertheless, I am told by a certain person that I must find the time to start blogging again, if, in fact, The Floppy Hat is really not to fall off the face of the planet after all. Therefore, I will again seek to mortify the flesh (to use a phrase which I have learned from my Martin Luther class) by practicing semi-regular blogging.

Introductory notes aside, I have more to say today than to make excuses for our lengthy absence from the biblioblogosphere. After taking the necessary time for a bit of moping, we are now ready to announce to the blogging world at large that we unfortunately were not accepted into any of the Ph.D programs to which we applied this year.

Thankfully, we have received encouragement from not a few sources that (while there is always room for improvement) this is not because our applications were necessarily deficient. From what we have been able to gather, it seems that much of the issue this year was with economics. In other words, very limited funding and many well-qualified applicants. This is, of course, to some extent the case every year, but that much more so in the current economic climate.

What now? We will try again next year, and meanwhile, we will seek to improve our applications in any way we feasibly can during this intervening year. This includes learning German, attempting to get an article or a book review published, and of course, continuing in self-study by reading more in the text and in secondary sources. If anyone has specific suggestions, we would love to hear them.

As for The Floppy Hat, we can assure all that it is still open for business. You can expect that we will continue to blog on all things Biblical studies and beyond. In fact, it might even be the case that we blog more than we ever have before, once the semester is over. Though our immediate plans have been foiled, our long-term plans are still the same, which means that the march toward the Floppy Hat continues on!

 

Posted in Posts by Mandy, The Floppy Hat | 3 Responses »

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