Occasional Holy Man and Luthier Who Offers Stray, Provocative, and Insouciant Thoughts About Religion, Archaeology, Human Foible, Surfing, and Interesting People. Thalassophile. Nemesis of all Celebrities [except for Chuck Norris]. He Lives Vicariously Through Himself. He has a Piece of Paper That Proves He's Laird of Glencoe.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
This Is Why I Didn't Go To YDS
When I was searching for a seminary/divinity school many years ago, I had a simple test to see if the institution was one of true Christian scholarship or just another barn that taught smugness and condescension as the keys of the kingdom. In conversation with those who were "interviewing" me [really just testing to see if I would fit in with their world view] I would listen for the clue. See, mainline Protestants believe that God agrees with them about everything. Ergo, vox [certain] populi, vox deo. Somewhere along the line, the interviewer would speak on the intimate behalf of God, usually to criticize either Christian evangelicals or the Reagan administration.
Yale Divinity School tended towards the latter type of institution. No surprise, really. However, I was delighted to see that the ignoble practice of speaking for God [or letting God speaking for the Prot] continues, now extended even to the post-chapel donut break.
[With thanks to passiveaggressivenotes.com.]