Keith: I got the notice that you tried to get through to my PM box, but it was full. It is not full. It just says that to discourage my creditors. I will try to get my email to you by PM or your email listed here...I don't owe you any money, do I?
Ha! Well, I'm glad to know that you can receive PMs. Anyway, here's what's up, Bill. Since I've made the decision to do a BA in Theology via distance learning with OTC in the UK, I went down to Bethel Seminary in the Twin Cities (St. Paul/Minneapolis) and spent some time at the sem library. Real nice place with lost of stuff. I wanted to get a feel of a sem library and begin to learn how to research. (Talking with a Prof there, he said that I won't have to worry about that at the BA level. But still, I want to get a heads-up, you know.) OK, so I learned a lot and picked up some refs on how to research, particularly in the area of theology, but here's the deal. I realized how buried some stuff can be, not just in the sem library but all over the world. Now, it's one thing to learn "how" to research, but it's quite another to learn and develop the technique and ability to "smell" like a detective in order to find stuff that is so buried, you'd never know if was there if you didn't have the skills to find the stuff. Bibliographies and indexes, I've learned, are invaluable, but what about the stuff that's not covered in these tools? What's the technique for finding these hidden gems so as to not miss them? I'll probably never have to do any research this deeply (though I would like to do a Masters one day), so I'm probably concerning myself, to a good degree, with something I'll never have to worry about. But the thing is is that there are certain perspectives and approaches to theology that I enjoy most when I read God's word, and I want to discover those writers and those publications that come from this same perspective (no, it's not Open Theism!). I'd like to eventually do research into finding material that moves along the same philosophical vein of as I do: after doing the best exegesis and using the best hermeneutics to interpret Scripture with which I am able, I then begin to look for the heart and passion behind the scenes, if you will, of the passage; what's the driving force--the passion and heart of God behind the passage--that is moving God to speak accordingly? I know there is layman and scholarly material addressing theology from this perspective, but I wouldn't know how to find it beyond the few basics about which I am learning. So, I thought I'd ask you what you, personally, have discovered in regard to research techniques that have aided you the most. If you have a comment or two, feel feel to post it here or PM me. I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm not asking you how to find the information I want, I'm asking you how to find ANY information I want! Whatta ya know?! Well, thanks much, and...you still owe me a lot of money! Starkman
Not that you asked, but here's my advice. Get a filter mask. Once you get into 19th century-printed books, or almost anything from the neo-Vichy states (France and what passes for Germany nowadays), the foxing and deterioration of bound materials is so bad that everything sends up a little cloud of paper dust and rotten leather powder. A little bottle of hand sanitizer is a good thing, too. As are nectarines.
Nectarines??? (Nectarines)...thanks Unc...nectarines. ALRIGHT, What for? In case I get hungry? Nectarine Man!
That's a big question. It is not just ideas that you want, it is good ones. from an evangelical perspective: I think one measure of the quality of a grad program in Theology is the degree that the student is required by the prof to interact with the best literature and with the most significant ideas in the field on a topic. There is too much in DL Theological instruction of just checking off assignments and not demanding the quality of rigor you now broach. That you are thinking about this is laudable. Some of the best theological and exegetical ideation is found in the research journals such as as those by ETS, DTS, Grace, The Master's Seminary, and TEDS. There are others. Collections of many of these are available for purchase on disk through TREN. The seminary library also should have these. Of course writers even in these journals disagree among themselves. The student, then, must carefully weigh arguments for each view. It is not just finding views, but understanding them and seeing their relationship to the entire system of Theology. Some journals are available on line. Search for 'Theological Journals.' Also on line is much opining on various theological points. Search for the Hypostatic Union, eg, and see how much pops up. But be wary. Treat it like corn on the cob. Any bozo can say whatever he wants on line. It happens here, doesn't it? Quality anthologies or monographs also are available. Check these out in the seminary library or in bookstores. These should interact with the significant research and thought on a particular theological theme. Don't just look at bibliographes, look at the discussions by authors about what others are saying. Research is not listing authors, it is interacting with them to solve a problem. Theses and dissertations also should be examined. Likewise the better systematic theologies and the better exegetical commentaries, lexicons, and grammars will introduce the reader to the more significant issues pertaining to interpretation . Obviously it is a desired quality in a a prof to be aware of the research and be able and willingf to lead the upperdivion, more gently, or the masters student into the research. At the doctoral level it can be assumed that the student can do that for himself. Things need not be pointed out to him. Theological Research is more, of course, than just finding various opinions for the views and the reasons behind them ; it is applying the findings to questions and reaching opinions which are consistent both with the evidence regarding that question and also consistent with the scores of other issues. This consistency is required in a developing a synthesized whole (ie, a belief system). Even Confessional Christians, IMO, should do this. Theological Research, even when narrowed by evangelical assumptions, is so vast and complex that there are yet new issues, insights, and interpretations that grow when rigorous research is applied even to the same old, worked over, but yet fertile, field of the precious doctrines of Christianity. By this , understanding of Theology is expanded and enhanced.
I'm starting to wonder if my Bible College was the exception? I did more research in my undergrad program than in my graduate programs. I can't imagine a professor saying you wouldn't need to do research at the BA level. I know that a number of seminary professors at various schools have complained that my alma mater uses the textbooks in undergrad that they do in seminary (meaning that many of the students going to sem from OCC have already used the texts, and in most cases, had a more thorough study of the subject than was offered in seminary). BLD
Very cool (and good!), Bill. Thanks so very much. I'll take your words to heart. Having never been in a sem library, it was rather overwhelming to become aware of not only how much is out there, but how one is supposed to find it. So thanks again. BLD: This was actually what a prof at Bethel seminary told me. I think what he meant was that I won't have to worry about all of the hows of researching--that comes later with grad work. He was making the point that at the BA level you're just starting out, so they guide you fairly well. I like that to some extent, because it gives you a chance to get your feet wet, but I love to research and I love the value of it, as Bill has pointed out. So, what Bible college did you go to, BLD? Starkman
