Biblische Ausbildung

Historic Snowstorm!

Well, the historic snowfall continues to be quite an experience here. The seminary is under about 2 feet of snow. We spent the day yesterday without electric power and heat. We were prepared to keep ourselves warm through the night by firewood, but fortunately the power came back on just as we were turning in. We are still without e-mail, and the school is completely closed tomorrow, Monday.

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New Bible Briefs: Proverbs and Jonah

As editor of the series, I am pleased to announce the online publication of two new Bible Briefs, Proverbs by Dr. Randall Heskett and Jonah by Dr. Karen A. H. Wacome. To read the VTS press release on the new publications, click here. Both booklets are rich and enlightening; please download them (they are free!) and spread the word about them.

Visit the homepage for accessing all the Bible Briefs by clicking here.
To download Proverbs directly as a PDF file, click here.
To download Jonah directly as a PDF file, click here.

Cook and Robert Wilson, Isaiah Videos Now Online

Now online: My Yale Bible Study Multimedia Project with Robert R. Wilson: “The Yale Bible Study: Second Isaiah.” There are eight 15-30 minute online video conversations with Bob Wilson, supplemented with a series notebook containing an introduction, interpretation essays, and supplemental materials (also free online).

For the Yale Bible Study Homepage, click here.
For the Video Resources by Cook and Wilson, click here.
For the Print Materials by Cook and Wilson, click here.

This material is intended for use in small-group Bible study sessions to promote discussion and reflection. The Series aims to engage educated lay audiences by offering the insights of biblical scholarship in a relaxed, informal, yet rigorous manner.

To see the videos on Yale University's YouTube Channel, click here.

"Nothing is more dangerous than to become tired of the Word"

On our faculty retreat my colleague Mitzi Budde gave a wonderful homily, which included a fine quote from Martin Luther's 1535 Commentary on Galatians. Luther cautions those who are mature in the faith that "Nothing is more dangerous than to become tired of the Word."

"Just as [God] initially gives us faith through the Word, so later on He exercises, increases, strengthens, and perfects it in us by that Word…Therefore, let every faithful person…employ humble prayer to God with continual study and meditation on the Word" (Martin Luther, “Lectures on Galatians 1535,” in Luther’s Works, vol. 26, edited by Jaroslav Pelikan [Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1963], 64-65).

Winter 2010 VTS Faculty Retreat

Well, we are on our annual seminary faculty retreat at the Roslyn retreat center near Richmond, Virginia. To access the site's webspace, click here.
It's really generous to call it a retreat; it is really an "off site," that is, a three-day working faculty development and planning meeting.

There are some neat new changes here at the center. The new chapel here is just a few months old; here is a shot of me not too far from it:

And here is my good faculty colleague John Yieh inside the chapel, just after presiding over our morning Eucharist.

And one more pic for good luck:

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Location:Parham Rd,Richmond,United States

Update 3 from Renk, Sudan

I've just heard again from Sudan. Patrick and David, our Visiting Teachers, report that they have settled into teaching at the theological college and have discovered extraordinarily bright students who are eager to learn. As of Friday, they have introduced the entire paradigm for first and second declension nouns in Greek, and the vast majority of the students seem to understand it very well. They are planning to introduce adjectives this coming week, given their grammatical similarity to nouns, and if all goes well, they may give people a taste of verbs by the end of the week, to whet people's appetite for the teachers who are arriving in July! They are also observing how important the study of English will be in South Sudan in the coming years. Bishop Joseph and several teachers from the college have stressed the need for people to come specifically to teach English, as well as the biblical languages. Food for thought as we continue to advertise and expand the Visiting Teachers Program.

This weekend has been relatively quiet. Kou, one of the intrepid drivers, took them to the market, where they enjoyed coffees and Coca Colas, both of which were incredibly delicious after an entire week of drinking just water!