A Little Skittish

One of the courses I teach is TH 1000, Christianity I: Foundations. In one section we study the various models of Jesus Christ that appeared in the early centuries. Because the ideas are fairly abstract (Was Jesus the human being really God, and if so, to what extent and how?) I put on a little one man skit, so that it makes these views at least partially visible and understandable.

Mainline Christianity held that Jesus is both human and divine, a paradox. A paradox is when two seemingly contradictory things are joined into one. A paradox is a both/and; quite different from an either/or perspective. Anything that deviates from this balanced paradoxical view was deemed heretical. The word heresy means to veer off course, wander away. Every heresy contains within it something which is true, but runs wild with that forgetting something else that the mainline church thought was equally true. Heretics weren't trying to be "pains in the butt;" they were wrestling with a mystery and trying to understand it. But they did end up being myopic. In other words, something can be true, but not be the whole truth.

So without further ado, here's a link to the skit I put on. It won't be a YouTube sensation, but this gives you some idea of how I teach on occasion. I'm usually willing to do whatever it takes to try to be an effective facilitator of learning.

mms://webcast.rockhurst.edu/Faculty/StramaraD/Christology.wmv

Back into the Cold

Well I just got back last evening from sunny Fort Myers, FL where the temps were in the high 70s. Here in KC the highs are in the teens to low 20s. What a rude awakening from a vacation! My daughter enjoyed visiting with her grandparents.

Today was the first day of classes and it was great seeing lots of people in the hallways and greeting former students. My first class went well: Introduction to New Testament Greek.

Over the break I found out that my article I had submitted last month, "Collegiality and the Formation of the Apostles' Creed," was accepted by the journal Ecumencial Trends and appears this month in print.

Faculty are already deciding what pre-registration activities they're going to get involved with regarding prospective students. While it's the dead of winter, thoughts are on Spring. Maybe I'll see you on campus as you check us out.