Monday, March 17, 2008

Reflections on WTS

Well, got back from WTS. Good to be there; good to be back. Here are a few reflections of my time:

1. The paper was received as I might have expected: Not that well! Was really pressed on the notion that God acts violently. I should have been more prepped on my Girard studies, but I wasn't anticipating them coming up as much as they did.

2. I should have pressed my respondent to provide me what his response would be so I could have been better prepared to respond. I think my response to his reflections and questions was fuzzy and not nearly as sharp as it could/should have been.

3. I liked hanging with friends and former profs. Actually, my responder is a friend and we were able to room together. Nate Crawford was there, too. It's becoming a bit routine to room with him.

4. Every year I spend away from focused study, I lose ground. That became apparent to me at this conference. I think that I research well, but miss out on conversation and 'iron sharpening iron.'

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

If all they do is read Girard (or at least the early Girard), and then re-read the Bible through Girard (w/o regard to the many biblical studies exposing Girard's exegetical weakness), you are not losing ground in any important sense. You are merely standing still while your colleagues are moving away from orthodoxy.

Crusty

3/17/2008 04:49:00 PM  
Blogger Aaron Perry said...

Yes, I mostly agree. It became clear to me that as soon as one takes the sacrificial system to be a gift of God--not simply in a revelatory sense--then the door is opened to giving theological examination of God's use of violence.

On another note, my note regarding Nate makes it seem like it's boring to room with him. I actually really like it... It's becoming routine in the sense that I look forward to it!

3/18/2008 12:01:00 PM  

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