Atoning Symposia

Well my first day here at the Exegetical Theology part of the symposia was a really good one. In fact, I would say this was the single best day since my first symposia back in 2000. Drs. Walter A. Maier III, Peter J. Scaer, Simon J. Gathercole, Jeffrey A. Gibbs, and Charles A. Gieschen all presented great papers that were both challenging and informative. I said previously that I thought that the topics and papers over the past few years seemed to be theology “lite”. This year there has definitely been some atonement.

I’m especially looking forward to tomorrow’s ecumenical prospective. That should be a hoot!

I came to the conclusion this afternoon that the reason I enjoy a good symposia so much is that I miss being taught. I’ve been teaching a challenging Sunday school class to high school students for so long, I don’t think I was aware of how much I missed learning myself. I still learn as I prepare my lessons mind you because I usually spend about 15 hours preparing for a one hour class. But there is a difference between learning while preparing and learning while listening. I miss the later.