Alex Madlinger

I turned down an offer I really like because the funding was only 50%, and I completely agree with your decision. Some people might have circumstances that make a 50% offer doable. I didn't.

Well I made all my decisions official. Turned down Duke and Wake Forest (MA) for the University of Minnesota, MA Religions in Antiquity. Fully funded + stipend, albeit a little colder than I'm used to.

Not an expert in this field, but does the University of Minnesota's MA in Religions in Antiquity fit your interests?

Is there any group of people that hasn't heard back yet, or is it time to make decisions?

Seriously Notre Dame's rejection letter was more encouraging than Wake Forest's acceptance letter.

I got my official letter from ND. Was anyone else's letter weirdly encouraging? What I got has to be a form letter, but it doesn't read like a normal rejection letter.

Seriously though his dog is stumpy. Kinda like a sausage with legs.

I found out that this is actually something the scholarly community recognizes. Evangelicals can do some really great work in Greek, textual criticism, linguistics because those degrees are largely 'safe,' ie it's not like issues of form criticism, historical Jesus, etc, which conservative evangelicals might be uncomfortable with theologically. A few generations ago, leaving for Europe to get a PhD in text criticism, in order to return to the states to teach New Testament, amounted to an evangelical strategy, if I understand correctly. My seminary is the same way, though not as good as DTS or GC by any means. No MA in New Testament/Religion/Biblical Studies but an MA in Biblical Languages. They have an MA in OT as well, but it's largely a Hebrew language degree. Caveat: I'm speaking about the very conservative types here, not every Christian who identifies as 'evangelical.'

In general, being part of an SBC seminary disqualifies you from participating fully in the discipline. I'd imagine that's doubly true in philosophy. But even in biblical studies, the professors that I'm familiar with are all considered to be boring or fringe.

Major second.

Oh man, here we go!

Haha, two factors at play. (1) I grew up in super fundamentalist craziness, so when I went I signed up for seminary a bazillian years ago the SBC seemed super chill and moderate. (2) It was really during my time in seminary that I chose my life path (ancient religions) and became a 'normal, secular' student of early Christianity. So it's more of a don't-look-back thing than a I'm-surprised-and-didn't-expect-that thing. Oh, and there was the time that an SBC leader told people that academic freedom was invented to protect liberals. Which, I suppose, is true, but seriously?

I'd say, IDK leave us alone or go hang out with your friends or something. But you don't have any friends. You're a loser. And your dog is stumpy.

I PMed you. The short answer is they're really, really conservative.

Because I have a degree from an SBC seminary and don't.