House Bought

I previously reported that we finally sold our house. We are downscaling, using the proceeds from our house to pay for our sons' college and to finance a career change for me. This has not been without its challenges (see my previous entry, God's Presence Better than a Beautiful Home.) We've finally made it to the next step in our move. Last weekend, we spent one day house hunting and bought one. We move in June.

I am finishing up my first semester as a seminary student. Right now, it's just a grind. Hebrew is impossible! No one over the age of 40 has the capacity to learn this language! I do well enough on the quizzes, but only because I cram immediately before. I retain this stuff for less than 24 hours. One course is almost the equivalent of a full-time job.

The course in Hermeneutics has been good. The topic is inherently interesting; it is also relevant. I have amassed a substantial library on the topic, including E.D. Hirsch's books, Gadamer's Truth and Method, Fish's Is There a Text in This Class?, and many others. I would also put my leisure-time reading on Constitutional jurisprudence in this category.

The course on Philosophy has been a mixed bag. My undergraduate degree was in Philosophy. I took many graduate-level courses, as well. Much of the course has been boring review. However, some of our reading has been very refreshing. I have never, for example, considered Aquinas's proofs for the existence of God to have much value, but we studied the version originally developed by Arabic scholars in the late middle ages, embraced by Saint Bonaventure, and updated by William Lane Craig and J. P. Moreland. Their arguments against actual infinities -- Aquinas's inifinite regress -- are very compelling.

This time next week I will have my first semester behind me.