Friday, April 10, 2009

A Quick Update

So, I've finally decided the direction that I will be taking for my emphasis here at Multnomah. Having now taken classes from each of the heads of the various fields, I decided that historical theology is the path that I will be taking for the next couple of years. Here's what the means:

-I'll be studying under Dr. Robertson, a missionary in Ecuador for several years before heading off to Oxford to get his doctorate in historical theology.

-I'll be specifically emphasizing in patristics and will spend a bulk of my time dealing with figures from the first 700 years of the church.

-Dr. Robertson informed me that, despite the fact that our school does not offer any of these, I will have to learn 1) Latin, 2) French, and 3) German (all in addition to the standing language requirements of Hebrew and Greek...YIKES!) We took a family outing to Powell's Bookstore on Hawthorne yesterday and I picked up a beefy looking beginning Latin grammar. Yay summer...!

-Much of my remaining elective and guided/independent study credits will be devoted to readings in specific eras and people. This coming Fall, I'll be doing readings in either the Cappadocians or St. Augustine (I haven't yet decided) with special emphasis on the articulation of Trinitarianism. I may be reading Athanasius as well.

-I'm really excited!!

And finally, a picture of my lovely wife!

Rach

3 comments:

Jewels said...

ufda! good luck with that!

Anonymous said...

I'd say she's beautiful! inside AND out! love you, Rach! will keep all 3 of you in prayer. How great for our Lord to give you that sweet Josiah to keep you busy while Patrick is learning 900 languages :):)
Blessings, Wilson's!!!!

Ben said...

Hi Patrick,

I like the sound of your emphasis. I like having friends who emphasize in Patristics because it means that rather than learn the subject myself (which is ridiculously immense), I can just pick their brains. I'm becoming more and more convinced of the importance of Patristic scholarship, not just in terms of theological hermeneutics but also in terms of understanding the nature of Scripture. As a wannabe Septuagint scholar time and again I am struck by the difficulty of the fact that at different times in Church history the LXX was THE Scripture and at some times the MT was. The Fathers appeared to have wrestled with this issue and I think their voice needs to be heard. Well, that's enough from me. However, I do want to take you up on that trip to the Horse Brass sometime. Let's get together at least once this summer. Blessings, Ben.