As the beginning of term begins to come into view, there are plenty of posts on numerous websites on how to survive your three years of pre-employment bliss (hollow laugh).
One caught my eye recently: The Art of Stealth Studying from Study Hacks. Also worth trying is the Cornell Notetaking Method or, if you think in a less linear way, a mindmap.
Whilst you may not have end of year exams, it is still immensely important to take notes and keep on top of all the information being fired at you during lectures. Many modules in the second and third years assume you have mastered the basics and if you didn’t pay attention in year one, you’ll get lost in year two.
The problem with distance learning is that you are often miles away from any library and the books on the Bibliography are, in any case, on restricted loan. Before shrugging in despair, it is worth looking to see in the books you want are available online. I have found two sources particularly useful. The first is Google books who often have portions of books online. If you are doing the Isaiah module, have a look at The Church’s Bible: Isaiah.
The other source is Amazon who often have a “search inside” feature available. I think you will need an account to look at the books and it is worth trying both .co.uk or .com. To get an idea, try looking at Biblical Exegesis and the Formation of Christian Culture.
The Patrologia Graeca is an enormous 161 volume collection of the those Early Church fathers who wrote in Greek. Whilst it is sometimes criticized it remains, 140 years on, still a crucial resource.
Patrologiæ Græcæ
“The medieval theory of levels of meaning in the biblical text, with all its undoubted defects, flourished because it is true, while the modern theory of a single meaning, with all its demonstrable virtues is false. Until the historical-critical method becomes critical of its own theoretical foundations and develops a hermeneutical theory adequate to the nature of the text which it is interpreting, it will remain restricted-as it deserves to be-to the guild and the academy, where the question of truth can endlessly be deferred. “
It is most commonly thought that the medieval method of exegesis was one which was hopelessly re-interpretive. Now, the story goes, we know better and can get back to the one true meaning of the text. This article makes a refreshing argument to the contrary.
The Superiority of Pre-Critical Exegesis from Theology Today
One of the great gems dug up amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls was the Great Isaiah Scroll. It dates to about 100 BC and is the only complete scroll to have been recovered from Qumran. It is 7.34 metres long.
You can view the scroll here, but be aware it’ll take a while to load over broadband. Take some time to look at the rest of the site too. As well as the excellent Shrine of the Book, there is a good section on the Second temple.
It is better to be silent and be real, than to talk and not be real. It is good to teach, if one does what one says. Now there is one such teacher, who “spoke and it happened;” indeed, even the things which he has done in silence are worthy of the Father. The one who truly possesses the word of Jesus is also able to hear his silence, that he may be perfect, that he may act through what he says and be known through his silence.
Ignatius of Antioch (c35-110), Epistle to the Ephesians 15:1-2.
The Codex Sinaiticus is the oldest complete text of the Old and New Testaments, having survived for over 1600 years. For centuries is was at St Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai and since 1933 has been in the British Library.
The Codex Sinaiticus Project is seeking to put the entire manuscript online and is well worth a look.
(image from Wiki Commons)
No barrel can hold two different drinks. If it is to contain wine, then the water must be poured out so that the barrel is quite empty. Therefore, if you wish to be filled with God and divine joy, then you must pour the creatures out of yourself. St Augustine says: ‘Pour out, so that you may be filled. Learn not to love in order that you may learn to love. turn away, so that you may be turned towards.’ In short, if anything is to be receptive and to receive, it must be empty.
Meister Eckhart, The Book of Divine Consolation, 2
Too late I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient and ever new! Too late I loved you! And, behold, you were within me, and I out of myself, and there I searched for you.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Confessions X, 27
