Northwoods Seelsorger

Although I noted it on Facebook, I neglected to post something here.  Given that I chronicled the entire journey of my graduate work from 2010 on, it seems only fitting that the final post (a little after the fact) be given to the day the bound copy of my thesis arrived in the mail.  As the picture shows it is a red hardbound book with the simple title on the spine that reads: "D. Engebretson - STM - 2016.  Inside the cover is the official certification of examination signed by the Rev. Thomas N. Buchan, Ph.D, my thesis director, and Garwood P. Anderson, Ph.D, the second reader. Buchan is noted as an Associate Professor of Church History and Director of Assessment.  Anderson, the only person who was consistent in my journey, is listed as Professor of New Testament and Greek.  The date of the certification is 4/29/2016.  The thesis was given a grade of "pass."  I didn't realize it until I saw this copy that there is a second possible grade, "Pass with d...

In this very readable history David Howard chronicles the fateful and pivotal year 1066 from New Year's Day to the end of the year.  The book begins with a very descriptive picture of life in a typical town of England at the beginning of the 11th century, and proceeds to describe the various events and personalities that formed the drama of that year.  As an historian Howard is to be commended for balancing his interpretation of events as he examines the available sources of the time.  The history of 1066 is a history with two viewpoints - one Norman and one English.  It is often said that history is written by the conquerors, and to some extent this is true of English history at this juncture.  Howard, however, sifts through the records taking into consideration biases and excesses, looking for the truth between the lines.  This book is a very readable history and helpful for getting a good picture of what happened that year along with the implications fo...

In the Wake of the Plague is a quick and easy read for a historical book.  After finishing The Great Mortality by Kelly I was interested in reading more on this fascinating event in history, so I decided to keep reading in this thematic area since I had another book covering the period.  By comparison, however, Kelly's book is far more informative.  Although Cantor was a credentialed historian with a Ph.D in history compared to Kelly's master's, I felt that Kelly spent more time researching and assembling his work.  Although Cantor includes sections of interesting historical information on the medieval era, it has a tendency to seem almost like 'filler' after a while.  In fact, he seems to spend more time on telling the stories of historical figures than he does telling the story of the Plague.  Toward the end of the book he does provide more specific treatment, yet even this has the sense of a light treatment, and I was surprised that he would give any c...

I enjoyed this book.  However, I have to admit that it took me months to finish. Perhaps it was the time, with other distractions getting in the way such as the defense of my thesis, graduation, etc.  Being a student of the Medieval Era I found the wealth of information about this time period to be fascinating.  Kelly not only explains the technical aspects of the Black Death from the 14th Century, he also weaves into the narrative stories and accounts of events impacted by this great plague.  Some might argue that he spends an inordinate amount of space on some of these issues, such as the antisemitism of the time.  However, historical events should always be considered in the overall context of the period, recognizing that disease impacts many areas of a society, including family, economics, politics, and faith, to name but a few.  Kelly walked away from his extensive study with a mixture of sadness and encouragement.  Sadness over the horrific imme...

In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir...

It took six years in total for me to finally make it across the finish line, and twenty years from the time I took my first graduate course.  However, as of April 29 the thesis was successfully defended, and as of this past Thursday, May 26, I was officially awarded the Master of Sacred Theology degree.  I have chronicled my journey over the years through this blog, and it's nice to finally write about the completion of this process.  My first post in 2010 describes the beginning, and subsequent posts along the way fill out the journey (If anyone reading this is truly interested in the remaining posts, simply type "Nashotah" in the search box in the upper left corner). It's hard to believe that I initially registered for the thesis hours in the summer of 2012, nearly four years ago!! At my defense I had actually not been on campus since January 2014 when I spent an entire weekend researching the thesis in the library. It's been a long, interesting journey, to sa...

Although a very readable book, finishing the nearly 300 pages took me longer than desired.  Part of this was due, in part, to the final revisions on my thesis and the ongoing labor of pastoral tasks.  Normally I don't have the opportunity to read and review such a new book (Yale University Press, 2015), but my wife, who works at the local library, saw it as a new acquisition and brought it home, aware of my interest.  Hendrix produces a fresh and somewhat original biography, choosing to see Luther not as a larger-than-life saint, but as a man given to a very human combination of strengths and weaknesses.  Although it might seem as if such a biography could turn into an attempt to downgrade the great reformer from the usual accolades of those who admire him, Hendrix instead reveals his flaws while clarifying misunderstandings of Luther, placing everything into the historical context of the times.  Seeing this human side of Luther is actually refreshing since our ...

It has been about three years since I read the last book by Dr. Robert Bennett, entitled I am Not Afraid: Demon Possession and Spiritual Warfare . I posted about this book , but looking back I notice that I did not review it after reading it.  In short, it was a very enlightening and eye-opening work about demons, exorcism, and spirituality from the perspective of the Lutheran church in Madagascar.  The book is the fruit of his Ph.D work at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, and much of it reflects his research conducted in Madagascar.  Nevertheless, it was very applicable to the situation here in the US. The description of the book from the Concordia Publishing House site offers a nice summary: While Africa and Madagascar seem like strange and faraway places, the world in which we now live has become much smaller than many of us could ever have imagined. Moreover, even our neighbors visit the local fortuneteller, read the horoscope page in the newspaper, ...

It has long been fashionable to set "resolutions" for the new year.  It has also been a running joke how these resolutions are quickly and easily broken. What follows, then, is not so much a list of resolutions as goals; items I hope to accomplish or at least attempt - some directions to set me on the road for the months to come. They are also reflections on past goals and new year completions. By year's end I'll review and reassess. 1.  Finish the revisions on my thesis, defend, graduate and try to determine what I should do with the degree.  This may seem almost self-evident by now, but it is a goal in the making since 2010 when I first began the degree.  I don't think that I ever doubted my ability to finish it, but I did envision its completion a bit sooner.  My original reason for pursuing the degree is being reevaluated.  I had hoped to one day teach at a post-high school level (college, university, seminary) and knew that I needed more than just ...