Author: Andy Rowell

Personal

New baby boy – Jacob Graham Rowell

Post author By Andy Rowell
Post date September 16, 2007
11 Comments on New baby boy – Jacob Graham Rowell

Today a new baby boy joined our family.

Jacob Graham Rowell

20 1/2 in

7 lbs 0 oz.

6:21 am today Sunday, September 16, 2007.

Mom and baby are well.

Big brother Ryan is happy.

Update at Monday 7pm:

We are home now.

Update on Tuesday 11:00 am:

We are feeding Jacob every 2-3 hours so that reduces normal sleep significantly. But we are doing well.

Update on Thursday at 9:30 pm:

Here is a photo of Ryan and Jacob from this morning. You can click on the photo to see it larger.

Personal Th.D. / Ph.D.

My Courses This Fall and Birthday Update

Post author By Andy Rowell
Post date September 9, 2007
6 Comments on My Courses This Fall and Birthday Update

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first two weeks in the Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) program at Duke Divinity School. I am taking three classes and auditing one. I have described a little about the classes below and then have written a little personal update. At the end of that, I have placed links to the books we are reading this semester.

Exegesis of Matthew Doctoral Seminar with Richard B. Hays. I am going to be doing a presentation later in the semester on Matthew 18 on "The Church in Matthew" and doing an exegesis paper on the "confrontation process" in Matthew 18. There are two Ph.D. Duke University New Testament students, four Th.D. students, and a Th.M. student in that course. Hays is also teaching an English exegesis of Matthew and Greek Exegesis of Matthew course this semester. He has a book review called "Benedict and the Biblical Jesus"in First Things this month (August/September 2007) on Pope Benedict’s new book Jesus of Nazareth. (You can only read the article online if you have a First Things subscription). It is not an entirely flattering review. Hays didn’t mention the review in class but I saw it at the library. If you haven’t heard of Hays, he is a well-known (though not to you), New Testament scholar who has written a lot about: the use of the Old Testament in Paul’s letters, the Pauline phrase "faith in Christ Jesus vs. faith of Christ Jesus," the ethical teachings of the New Testament; and has written commentaries on Galatians and 1 Corinthians. I was definitely drawn to Duke because of Hays. Though an outstanding scholar, he has a heart for the church. (See his books here at Amazon).
Theology of Rowan Williams with L. Gregory Jones. We are reading basically all of Rowan Williams books. Williams is the archbishop of Canterbury which means he is the head of the entire Anglican communion which is in a turmoil right now. (See The Last Stand of Rowan Williams by Duke Divinity School student Jordan Hylden on the First Things blog for a great recent summary (August 30th)). I am taking this course with two other students. I also really wanted to study with Dean Jones (as they call him here at Duke Divinity School as the leader of the school) because of his interest in church ministry, theological education, leadership and theology. (See Jones’s books here and Williams’s books here).
Th.D. Seminar: Explorations in Practical Theology with Mary McClintock Fulkerson and Richard Lischer. This is our one required course for the Th.D. program so the 7 of us first year Th.D. students are all in there together. I am really enjoying this course as well. I have read Open Secrets by Lischer (his memoir about being a young rural pastor) so it is great to get to have him for class. Here are Fulkerson’s books.
German Academic Research I with Derrick Miller. I have blogged about this class below in an update at the bottom of my How to Read Theological German post. In short, I have taken the test for my German proficiency requirement but haven’t heard if I have passed yet so I’m auditing this course. It is good practice.

Personal update:

Today is my birthday . . . that oh, so important 32. We had the other Th.D. students over Friday night to celebrate and hang out.
I’m going to get new headphones for my birthday so I can listen to my MP3 player again.
We are still waiting for baby boy 2 to be born around September 26th.
I am working as a research assistant for professor Randy Maddox ten hours per week tracking down references and preparing digital historical documents.
I am going to the
The Academy of Evangelism for Theological Education Annual Meeting October 4-6 at Ashland Seminary in Ashland, OH. The Evangelism Professors and Fellows (like me) funded by the Foundation For Evangelism will meet after that conference on Saturday afternoon the 6th.
Preview: I have just written something on Will Willimon but I am seeing if I can get it published somewhere else instead of just posting it here on the blog.
In light of my old age, I have changed the blog from white font on black background to black font on white background. Hope you like it.

Here are the books we are reading this semester. They are in order by first name of the author.

Books I’m reading for Doctoral Program

Movies

How to Sort Through Which Movies are Worth Seeing

Post author By Andy Rowell
Post date August 7, 2007

I highly recommend Christianity Today’s Our Top Rated Movies page on their website.

When I am looking for a movie to see, I am in the habit of checking the reviews on Christianity Today’s Movie site. I will hardly ever see a movie that didn’t get at least 3 out of 4 stars from them. I just don’t want to spend two hours filling my head with complete filth and it is hard to judge a DVD by its cover in the video store.

For your convenience, they have placed all of their 3 1/2 and 4 star rated movies on one page called Our Top Rated Movies. I admit that I have sometimes printed that page out and brought it to Blockbuster Video with me. I have also wished that I had internet access on my phone so I could check out this page at the movie theater.

You should know though that their "star ranking" is NOT a group process where all of Christianity Today’s editors watch a movie and then decide what it should be ranked! No, the ranking is one Christian critic’s opinion. I happen to think their 10 critics are pretty trustworthy voices but I also glance at why the movie has gotten the MPAA rating (PG-13, R, etc.) it has gotten. (The review page for the movie gives all of this information in "The Family Corner" section of their review – how much violence, sex, etc.). If it is rated R, I look a bit more closely at why the critic has given it such a high star rating before I see it.

Christianity Today also provides links to reviews by other Christian critics on each of their reviews:

• Plugged In
• Crosswalk
• Catholic News Service
• Past the Popcorn

They also have other lists that you might appreciate:
• Most Redeeming of ’06 – they made this list as a group of critics
• Critics’ Choice 2006 – they made this list as a group of critics
• Readers’ Choice 2006

The reviews are also organized this way:

I will often also check the website Rotten Tomatoes which collates movie reviews and gives you a percentage of how many of the reviews by mainstream critics are positive. Most of the high rated movies by Christianity Today also get a 85-95% positive reviews by all movie critics at Rotten Tomatoes. If a CT review is very high and the mainstream critics give it a low rating, you might want to look more closely at CT’s review to see what they see that the mainstream critics don’t.

Below I have pasted from Christianity Today’s Our Top Rated Movies page, the movies they have given 4 stars or 3
1/2 stars, that I have seen. I have sometimes been disappointed, but not often.

I should say also
though that few of these movies are "veg out and relax" movies. Most
were ranked high by the critics because the themes were dealt with thoughtfully. I have made a comment about each.

4 Stars

The Aviator (2004, PG-13) – lots of academy awards about idiosyncratic character Howard Hughes.
Batman Begins (2005, PG-13) – excellent.
The Gospel of John (2003, PG-13) – the whole Gospel of John. Long but details are quite well done.
The Incredibles (2004, PG) – delightful!
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003, PG-13) – pretty good.
The New World (2006, PG-13) – surprisingly good (about Pocahontas).
The Shawshank Redemption (1994, R) – disturbing but memorable. Stephen King.
Spider-Man 2 (2004, PG-13) – excellent.
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2004, PG) – a bit odd. It is a foreign film.

3½ Stars

Amazing Grace (2007, PG) – about William Wilberforce who championed the anti-slavery movement in Britain. Lots of Christians love this film.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004, PG-13) – they gave the one that just came out this summer 3 stars only so it isn’t on this list.
Children of Men (2006, R) – Surprisingly good. I think reading the review will help you appreciate this one.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005, PG) – C.S. Lewis – lots of Christians like it.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, R) – I was a little disappointed in this one. An artsy film.
Glory Road (2006, PG) – a feel good basketball movie about conquering racial differences.
Just Like Heaven (2005, PG-13) – a little odd . . . not really a romantic comedy. . . it is a thoughtful drama.
Kicking and Screaming (2005, PG) – I thought this one was pretty dumb.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004, R) – a bit disturbing. I didn’t appreciate it.
Million Dollar Baby (2004, PG-13) – lots of academy awards. I liked it.
Millions (2005, PG) – interesting story about boys and money and some other creepy stuff. It was ok.
Miss Potter (2006, PG) – good romantic movie with some sad twists but ultimately happy.
Most ("The Bridge") (2003, Not Rated) – disturbing short Christian foreign film.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006, PG-13) – I liked it but you have to read the Wikipedia articles on Pirates of the Caribbean to appreciate the plot if you like me forgot the plot leading up to it.
The Queen (2006, PG-13) – I liked this glimpse into Tony Blair and the Queen working together responding to Princess Di’s death.
Shrek 2 (2004, PG)- funny and smart.
Spanglish (2004, PG-13) – this is thoughtful romantic drama that focuses on resisting an affair.
Spider-Man 3 (2007, PG-13) – very good.
Super Size Me (2004, Not Rated) – memorable and good for most of us to think through. Critique of fast food.
An Unfinished Life (2005, PG-13) – a hard drama about difficult families directed by Clint Eastwood.
Walk the Line (2005, PG-13) – the music of Johnny Cash pulls you through the pain of his life.

Ben Witherington is a New Testament scholar at Asbury Seminary. This does not automatically make him a good film critic! But I enjoy reading his take on things on his blog.

He has recent reviews of:
The Bourne Ultimatum– The Ultimate Thriller
‘Hairspray’– Another Hare Brained Musical?
Live Free or Die Hard– or Live Hard and Die Free?…
‘Ratatouille’– A Midsummer’s Gourmet Treat

So, if you are like me and don’t have time to read every review of every film that comes out, listen to Christianity Today’s critics as a starting point. Their 3 1/2 and 4 star rated films are at Christianity Today’s Our Top Rated Movies page.