It's Thursday and that means I'm learning...

Eric called me out for not live blogging today. I didn't get started this morning. Usually if I don't start early, I lose track and forget to do it altogether.

I'm sitting in Intro to Pastoral Care right now. We're looking at 'Major themes in Pastoral Care in the 20th Century.' Fun.

I had a bit of a surprise this morning. I forgot my deodorant. So, I had to jump in the car and drive down the street to Walgreens. Only, they don't open until 8:00. That meant I had to stop at the Citgo. So I got myself some gas station deodorant. Yum.

In my first class we are in the midst of our Oral Presentations. I do mine next week. At this point I have no idea what I'm going to talk about. Our reading next week deals with Romans in Judea. Yikes! This week we had a guy who teaches college courses at UT Martin and a guy who is an Anthropologist do presentations. Now I have to follow them next week. I'm more than a little nervous.

With the two presentations we didn't really talk about our reading for the week at all. I thought I would share my 'reading summary' just for kicks.

March 3, 2011

An Introduction to Early Judaism, James VanderKam – pp. 186-193

Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Schiffman – pp. 72-81; 245-255; 395-409

Second Temple period Judea saw the rise of three main sects. Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. These sects each sought adherents among the people. They were distinguished by their differing approaches to interpreting the law. They also differed in opinion on the Temple.

Pharisees – Josephus called them the “most accurate interpreters of the laws.” (Josephus identified himself as a Pharisee.) Pharisees held tightly to oral traditions – interpretations handed down from previous generations (“traditions of the fathers.”). They treated these interpretations as law. Pharisees were preoccupied with purity. Pharisees represented the middle & lower classes of society. They resisted Hellenization and remained Near Eastern in culture. Pharisees believed in an after-life. They believed that both fate (God) and human choice determined Earthly events. Many believe the Pharisees are the forerunners of modern Rabbinic Jews.

Sadducees – The Sadducees came from and represented the upper class of society. They did not consider the oral traditions to be law. They were moderate Hellenizers. They did not believe in an after-life. They did not believe that God exercised control over human affairs; only humans’ free will. They did not believe in super natural beings (angels, demons, etc.)

Essenes – Essenes lived a communal life. They shared food, money, etc. Essenes had a very strict initiation process. It took years to become a full member. They emphasized ritual purity. They were more strict than all of the other sects in their observance of the Sabbath. They were also reported to be experts in medicinal roots. They believed in an immortal soul (after-life).

OK, time to talk about CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education). I'll update later.

*update* - Time for a break. I thought I might have something to add at this point. as it turns out, I do not.

Usually during my break between classes (from 4:00-5:30) I have to eat quickly and then do my reading for my night class. Today I'm done. Maybe I'll take a nap. Woo hoo! OK, it's almost time for Intro to PC to start back up. More later.

*update* - It's unfortunate that I completely tune out when some people start talking. Eventually they will say something worthwhile and I'll miss it. EVENTUALLY.

*update* - Did you know that there is an order of worship for a service for Divorce in the UMC book of worship? Hmm...

*update* - I mean really, if you talk this much eventually something meaningful has to come out, right? Kind of like the lock 100 monkey in a laboratory thing. Right?

*update* - To paraphrase my professor for my last class of the day: We are behind, so cool it and let's hurry through this. AMEN!!!! (I mean that to apply to the "cool it" part.)

*update* - We cooled it for a while, but they are starting to heat up now.... yep, here we go. Let the bog begin.

*update* - Did I mention that every restroom at Memphis Theological Seminary (at least the ones I've utilized) has foamy soap!?!? If I didn't say it yet, EVERY RESTROOM AT MTS HAS FOAMY SOAP!!!

While I was downstairs washing my hands during our break, I made up a little Foamy Soap Song. For some reason it involves an Italian accent. Not sure why...

*update* - That's a wrap! Class is done for this week. Now for the 3 hour drive home. At least there is no bad weather this week. Between sow and rain and tornadoes, it's been a harrowing semester.

Oh wait, we're not done...gotta do a quick review for our test next week.

*update* - Apparently I cannot tell time. I wrote that last update around 8:00. We get out at 8:30. I'm dumb. 25 more minutes to do some reviewing.

*update* - I'm pretty sure he's just messing with people now.