First Day:
I arrive for my first class, Interpretation of the New Testament. The classroom is packed. And really, really noisy. Master of Divinity students, I have discovered, are usually quite joyous. And gregarious. Most academics, on the other hand, are quite introverted. And quiet. It is bedlam; people are milling about, discussing their contextual education experiences (missionary, charity, church assignments, etc) praying, singing, laughing...

I find a seat, silence my cell phone, open my notebook, click my pen, and get ready for a stimulating lecture on the historical context for the formation of the New Testament, i.e. Imperial Rome. I can do this in my sleep. It was the primary focus of my undergrad major. The professor begins his PowerPoint: it is a slick intro like one you'd see at the top of the hour on History International, or Discovery Times. Indeed, he has "borrowed" images from several of those documentaries, films such as "Gladiator" and "Alexander", along with text and artifact images from museums around the world. In the background is a hymn being sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. At this time, perhaps it bears mentioning this is not a LDS seminary.

It is quite liberal, with many different "flavors" of Christianity as well as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism represented in its student body. And atheists, but more on that later. It is specific to a Protestant denomination, but that would be another huge clue, so I won't spill the beans!

Anyway, back to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I imagine the professor chose this recording for no other reason than it is a high-quality recording of a popular and awe-inspiring hymn being sung by one of the finest choirs in the world. To be a member of this choir would ALMOST make it worth converting to the LDS Church. Apparently, several students didn't feel it necessary to wait for an invitation to audition, and joined in singing. With enthusiasm. And three-part harmony. The intro to his PowerPoint ended, and before I had a chance to recover from my first "where the Hell am I?" experience, he opened his mouth to speak. I raised my pen...he said, "let us pray."

Uh...wha-I'm sorry, what? Oh, o.k. I set down my pen, dutifully bowed my head, and took the opportunity to recover from my second "where the Hell am I?" experience. Two in less than five minutes. I'm on a roll. Throughout the remaining hour and twenty minutes there were sporadic mm hmms, amen brothers, and hallelujahs. I wondered if he was lecturing or testifying, preaching or teaching. At seminary, the line is often blurred.

In the subsequent weeks since that first experience, the sermonizing has continued. When he reads Scripture passages, I get the feeling he sometimes forgets he is in front of the classroom, but believes he is behind the pulpit. An enthusiasm overtakes him. It is quite something to watch, but in my mind (and humble opinion) it has no place in the classroom. Aaaahhhh, but this is no ordinary classroom...Welcome to Seminary.



Footnotes

"Excuse me, where is the restroom?":
All women at this school experience a phenomenon I like to call the "sociology of architecture." This being a seminary founded (and its buildings erected) at the beginning of the last century, women's bathrooms were an after-thought.

"Stranger in a Strange Land":
I am the only member of the choir who is not a divinity student. NO, I am not a mole.