Friday, May 27, 2011

A super-genius!

Ok. So Im taking this class at BCF this summer. I thought it was gonna be a doozy. But was I wrong. The class is Hermeneutics. Which is Biblical Interpretation. If you ever plan on reading the Bible you need this class. This class is for the purpose of observing scripture then finding the meaning- what it meant to the original audience then to us. There is this river of culture, time, values, etc, that separates us from them. Ive only had 3 classes and Ive gained so much insight and understanding. So. About my professor. I know all of you are on the edge of your seat. First impression: Mustache, short, grey, gentle voice, fancy get-up, tiny glasses, etc. All of these are good things. He looked so...professional I was intimidated. Not to mention there are 3 men in my class. Thats enough as it is. Which I dont want to toot my own horn but I have to tell you this. First you should know he has written a novel. Its actually in the process of being published. So he is big on writing. He is going to teach us how to write in a very formal way. Dangit. So we had our first few assignments due this past Tuesday. One was a 3 page paper on our preunderstandings about the Bible. I tried collecting my thoughts which is hard for me when writing a paper for school. I turned it in thinking I did horrible job as far as writing. So yesterday we got it back and he complimented how I wrote. Out of 3 men he was highly impressed with mine. He said he just enjoyed reading it. I nearly cried. I thought what he was about to say was how much it sucked. No. No. I take that back he would never do that. He sees the best in everything. It was a very humbling moment. Not to mention he used my other assignments as an example and passed it around to let everyone see how its done. I contemplated on not putting this in my blog but I really am humbled by the fact he made these few insignificant short comments. Especially when I thought it was going to be a disaster!

So. About him. Sorry for the long paragraph. I bet some of you thought about reading then stopped. Which my professor talked about how paragraphs are crucial bc they let the reader breathe. Oops. Didnt mean to suffocate you. Wait, this is my blog I can do whatever I want. and however I want. Ok. Fine. Take a breath...

He goes by the name Dr. Larry Bruce. Quick synapses. He was in academics for 17 years. Let me tell you about that. He was interested in Philosophy. He thought his professors had all the satisfying answers for him. They didnt. He switched majors. Something w Archeology. He did a lot of cool things and experiments w this. Wish I knew more about that. Switched majors or maybe he minored in that. Then he was involved in the military airforce. Flew planes. Maybe fighter planes. He said he had a lot of close encounters. With death. Got into the pilot life. Like a real pilot. It only took him 1 year to get his pilot license. Then, being the genius he is, he created this program that all American pilots use. I dont know what it is, but I think recently it changed. Got married and lived in Texas. He had everything he wanted, he thought. He had a nice home, wife, convertible, the whole dream. He was even building some plane at the time. Then off to seminary. Found Christ. In a really tangible powerful way. His testimony brings him to tears. Its a beautiful story. With all of these experiences he thought the destination was at the end of each. He would reach it then be completely unsatisfied. Until he found Christ.

He reminds me of a character in one of my favourite books, The 13 and Half Lives of Captain Bluebear. A section of the book Bluebear goes to this school where this unique intellectual professor, Professor Nightingale, teaches the important aspects of existing. Professor Nightingale has seven brains. One was in his head, four grew outside his head, the sixth was located where the spleen normally is and the seventh was an object of eternal speculation among the students.

Here: "To the superficial eye he looked rather small and frail. His spindly little arms dangled- superfluously, it seemed- at the sides of his bent body, which was precariously supported by two wobbly legs resembling lengths of garden hose encased in trousers. He was slightly humpbacked, and his head, with its four external brains, was tremulously balanced on a long, scraggy neck. His big bright eyes protruded so far from their sockets, we were always afraid they'd pop out of his head, especially when he became agitated. Yes, Nightingale made an extremely frail impression, but appearances were deceptive. He simply preferred to solve problems by dint of mental exertion. I was actually present one day when the professor opened a can of sardines merely by applying his mind to the task."

Here is a picture of the character: ...yyyeah thats a mustache on his frail face. Along with a graduation cap on each brain.


There is so much more to say about this character and also about my real professor, Dr. Bruce, but I simply dont have the words that would do him justice. He is an explorer, and adventurist, and a world class...inventor. He is a man of God and seeks to live as He did. The way he observes the Scriptures is beautiful, not only that but he is so open to what we have to say. He pays attention to what we say and he isnt too proud to learn from us.

The other day at the end of a passage he told us to summarize the way David wrote by using one word. I said he makes it sound Desirable. and Dr. Bruce and I understood each other. He said 'Youre right......Its Winsome. I wouldve never thought that.' One of the men said thats an old school word! That man doesnt appreciate words like Dr. Bruce and I do. I wanted to punch him.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish he was around when I was there! I would have loved his classes!

Misfit. said...

I LOVE DR BRUCE! He was my Old Testament professor last semester.