Syllabus Shock!!

Today was the first day of classes, and I was certainly hit with a good ole case of “syllabus shock.” I had never heard this phrase before I came to Southern Seminary. But then again, there would have never been any reason to use the phrase “syllabus shock” in reference to any of the academic non-demands at Ole Miss. But I digress…

Here is how my semester is looking:

Greek Syntax and Exegesis with Dr. John Polhill
- This will be my last required course in Greek. We will be translating and “exegeting” the book of Philippians.
- We will be using the following books:
The Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament
The Epistle to the Philippians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, Peter T. O’Brian
It’s Still Greek to Me, David Alan Black
Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek, Bruce M. Metzger

Christianity, Truth and Culture with Dr. Jim Parker
- This is the class I am most excited about this semester. However, it will be a lot of work with a lot of required reading, a class presentation on a book from the “recommended reading” list, a 20-page paper on any approved worldview/culture topic (Dr. Parker has already approved my topic – why the arts are important to the church/why the church should be supportive of the arts and art community), listening to 10 Mars Hill tapes and keeping a listening journal, and a final essay test.
- Here’s the required reading:
Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity, Nancy Pearcey
Spirit Wars: Pagan Revival in Christian America, Peter Jones
The Death of Character: Moral education in an Age Without Good or Evil, James Davison
Hunter
Reason in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law & Education, Phillip E.
Johnson
Domestic Tranquility: A Brief Against Feminism, by E. Carolyn Graglia
Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church’s Moral Debate, by Stanton
Jones and Mark Yarhouse
All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture, Ken Meyers

Church History II with Dr. Tom Nettles
- This class covers the history of the church from the Reformation period through the Modern period. Dr. Nettles is a wonderful professor, and he’s from Mississippi! This class will be very difficult, but definitely worth the work.
- Required books include:
The Story of Christianity, Vol. 2, Justo Gonzalez
Document of the Christian Church, Henry Bettenson
The Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin
The Anabaptist Story, William R. Estep
Christianity and Liberalism, J. Gresham Machen

Personal Counseling with Dr. Eric Johnson
- I am required to take a counseling elective, and this is it. I really like Dr. Johnson. He goes to my church and is very cool, very into the arts and music. However, I am not so super excited about this class, in general. So I’m not even going to do a book list, just because I personally don’t find it that interesting.


So, that’s my semester. My blogging may be less frequent, and now you’ll know why.