The Last Day of creation. M. Naimy’s mystical manifesto

The article is devoted to the mystical manifesto The Last Day (1963) of the Lebanese novelist, playwright and journalist Mikhail Naimy (1889–1988). The author suggests that Naimy, under the spell of classical Russian literature, attempted an audacious experiment: by successfully combining the totality of concepts of Dostoevsky’s The Dream of a Ridiculous Man [ Son smeshnogo cheloveka] with the traditional mythologemes of Sufi poetry, this graduate of the Poltava theological seminary overcomes mystical imagery, and in doing so postulates human impotence in the face of the Nietzschean ‘eternal recurrence’ and the ineffable nature of true the ophanies. The article demonstrates the innovative character of The Last Day, a novel that stands apart from the works of other Pen League members: while Gibran’s The Prophet seeks to infantilise a religious myth, Naimy’s objective is to bring mythology back into the 20th-c. Middle Eastern literary discourse and reimagine it using the categories of contemporary existential philosophy. The study opens with a short biography, covering Naimy’s Russian and American periods.

There and Back Again (Almost)

Library renovation caused the staff of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary to plan a move of library services to a temporary location. The staff selected a subset of books to remain available to users; 90,000 volumes were placed in storage. Records for unavailable volumes were suppressed so that users would only see information about books available to them. The staff chose 6,000 books for a temporary library, based on faculty needs and past usage. Books were moved in January 2020. Staff were continuously involved in refining design and furniture decisions during the construction process, scheduled for completion in September 2021. The new Wright Learning and Information Center will feature a large collaborative space and a digital learning center. Lessons learned include the necessity for constant communication among staff members and keeping in mind that users want normal library services, despite the disruptions of a construction project.

Intertwining Concerns of Libraries and Writing Centers

Through 2020, Asbury Theological Seminary largely built an introductory course for those preparing for graduate-level study in seminary disciplines. Through that work and the collaborative efforts between our research librarian, Writing Center, and instructional designer, we have discovered shared concerns, knowledge, and new insights into how to help our students. Great synergy was found in terms of information literacy, citations, using information well, and a desire to see students/patrons succeed. Points of divergence were found in terms of organizational structures (siloes) and a potential conflict between a “do for” rather than “teach how” staff focus. Recommendations also are given at the close regarding having writing resources available for patrons in contexts where there is not a writing center.

The Effect Of Online Learning On Academic Interest Of Evangelical Teological Seminary Of Indonesia - Surabaya

Interest in learning is an interest in a lesson and encourages individuals to learn and pursue the lesson, Interest in learning is an actualized desire or intention to be involved in certain learning activities while online learning is a learning process with the help of information and communication technology which is done online or virtual with not face to face. The online learning process carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on education. This study aims to determine whether there is an effect of online learning on student interest in Evangelical Theological Seminary of Indonesia - Surabaya. The research method used in this research is a quantitative research design with a survey method. Characteristics of respondents from 166 respondents who were the student population of Evangelical Theological Seminary of Indonesia – Surabaya studied consisted of age, education, and domicile. The contribution of the online learning variable in shaping the student's learning interest variable at Evangelical Theological Seminary of Indonesia – Surabaya is 55.6%, the researcher argues that online learning is effective for continuous use and becomes a learning system that complements the traditional learning process.

Guest Editorial: Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, 1851–1921

This Year 2021 Marks The Centenary Of The Death Of The Theologian Benjamin B.Warfield. He Was A Son Of The Southern Presbyterian Church. John Meeter Summarizes Warfield’s Life As Follows: Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield Was Born Into A Godly Presbyterian Home At “Grasmere,” Near Lexington, Kentucky, November 5th, 1851. When Only Nineteen Years Of Age He Was Graduated From What Is Now Princeton University, With The Highest Honor Of His Class. After Two Years Of Further Study And Travel Abroad He Entered Princeton Seminary, Graduating In The Class Of 1876. In 1878 He Was Appointed Instructor, And In 1879 Installed As Professor Of New Testament Exegesis And Literature At Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny. In 1887 He Received And Accepted, The Appointment To The Charles Hodge Chair Of Didactic And Polemic Theology At Princeton Seminary; And For Thirty-three Years, From 1887 To The Time Of His Death In 1921, He Served Princeton Seminary And The Presbyterian Church U. S. A. In The Chair Made Famous By The Alexander-Hodge Succession. KEYWORDS:

Prologue II

The Rev. Henry Sloane Coffin, ’97, who chaired the blue-ribbon committee that in 1952 answered William F. Buckley Jr. with the categorical conclusion that “religious life at Yale is deeper and richer than it has been in many years,” could recall more distant student days when Yale’s religious life was deeper and richer still. Coffin was a renowned preacher, was the president of Union Theological Seminary in New York City (he had once been a leading candidate for the Yale presidency), and had done as much as anyone to shepherd mainline Protestantism from evangelicalism to theological modernism....

Amateur Magazines of Tomsk Seminarians: The History of Magazine “Soyus”

The problem of publications made by students in the early 20th century recently became a matter of interest among scholars. The purpose of the article is to study one of them, “Soyuz” magazine, which was published by students of the theological seminary in Tomsk in 1907. The problem is that not a single issue of the magazine has survived to this day. Therefore, the research relies on the method of historical reconstruction based on the archival documents. The main achievements of this study are as follows. Based on the analyses of previously unknown archival sources, it reconstructs the history of the magazine, its team, printing equipment, and capacities, and the list of authors. It discovers a description of the magazine made by the Tomsk gendarme office. The article contains the contents of two issues of the magazine. It establishes that the magazine stuck to social-democratic ideas and was the structural element of the Tomsk branch of the All-Russian Seminary Union. It indicates the place of the magazine among other Tomsk periodicals. On the one hand, it fully fitted into the practice of the work of social-democratic organizations, on other hand, in terms of the methods of technical and organizational creation, it was a typical students self-published publication.

Preparing to Educate for a Thriving Bivocational Ministry: A Seminary Case Study

How can institutions of higher learning in theological education respond to an increasing need for bivocational ministry preparation, training, and support? This article presents detailed findings from one US, mainline Protestant seminary’s effort to evaluate current and perceived needs in this area. Data from surveys of students, staff, faculty, and trustees at Lancaster Theological Seminary and learnings from a six-session student focus group are presented. Explored are questions of perception and relevance of bivocational ministry, distinct stressors of bivocational ministry, opinions about current educational programs at the seminary, and opinions about institutional changes designed to better support and prepare seminarians for bivocational ministry. These findings are indicative rather than definitive, inviting further research involving more schools and a larger set of respondents. The article concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities facing this seminary in its strategic effort to educate for a thriving bivocational ministry.