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...