Cathy Stone and I started seminary on September 2nd. It’s exhilarating to be back in the world of academia! It’s also nice to have my buddy Cathy with me for this journey.
It is completely different from my undergraduate experience. Seriously, the difference between 17 and 37 isn’t just 20 years. I am currently euphoric that my first paper in 15 years (for my worship class) received a B+. I was worried.
But what I’m really, super-duper loving, is my Christian History Class. I am without reservation turning into a serious history nerd. I’ve always heard about saints, but never really paid attention to them. I'm Methodist for heavens sake. I knew that Martin Luther King Jr. was named after Martin Luther, some Lutheran dude from way back, but I had no idea… the passion, the drama, the torture. Christian history is reshaping my understanding of all of our beliefs.
So here are a few tidbits from my class. I have to share them with someone. My 11 year old doesn’t want to hear about them anymore. Imagine that.
• Gnostics had some funky ideas. Creation is evil. Your body is bad. Not hard to see why this faction didn’t last.
• The Nicene Creed was written in 325 A.D. Emperor Constantine called a council to decide whether Jesus was God. They decided he was.
• In the 12th century there were wonderful communities of women called Beguines in France. Their neighbors loved them, the church did not. They wanted to worship God and live in community. Many were burned at the stake for that crazy idea.
• The Peasants Revolt (1524-1525) was spurred by Luther’s letter Appeal to the German Nobility (read it). 6000 peasants were killed and Luther was horrified. The serfs had the notion that serfdom was contrary to Christian freedom. The German elite thought otherwise.
• Menno Simons saved the Anabaptist movement from its revolutionary elements. He was spurred to leadership after his brother and many others were slaughtered at Munster for some admittedly bizarre beliefs. His followers are now the pacifist Mennonites.
• As far as I can tell, no Christian groups tolerated any other Christian groups. Really. I mean they tortured and killed other Christians (not to mention non-Christians) if they had any doctrinal differences. It’s really depressing.
So here is to being a Christian in the 21st century. We argue about all kinds of things, but generally speaking, in this country (I know there are exceptions), we don’t kill each other over them. Can I get an AMEN!
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