questions from students

Today, we were finishing up our reading on a couple of chapters from N. T. Wright's The New Testament and the People of God, and so I asked the class to write down one question they had about our reading of Wright that they would like further clarification on. We never got to the questions in class, but I looked at them afterwards and was quite pleased. I thought the questions demonstrate a real attempt to get a handle on what I think are some very valuable concepts and perspectives but which occur in a discussion that was not originally designed for undergraduates, most of whom are pursing a course of study other than religion and philosophy. In addition, the questions are really helpful because they provide me with some much needed input that helps me know where I need to put my energies. The questions are on notecard size pieces of paper, and so I have been carrying them around in my shirt pocket. At various times throughout the day, I will pull them out and look through them. Many of them do not lend themselves to an easy answer; nevertheless, my intention is to respond to all of the questions myself and to invite responses from others in the class. And so, I will begin to offer some reflects here on this blog, hoping that others will comment and so add to the discussion, and I also plan for us to tackle some of these in class. So the blog entries that begin with "question . . . " are those that address questions that students have either written down and handed in or asked aloud in class.