This year marks the 200th anniversary of one of my favorite books – Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Actually, its full title is Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus. And that is a good reminder that this novel is really about Frankenstein the man, not about his creation. Frankenstein is the one who steals from the gods (God?) the ability to create life from that which is lifeless. And, as long as we are clearing up misconceptions, the novel is not about re-animating the dead, as is often popularly shown in the movies, but about the formation of a new being from parts that were not necessarily even human. Early in the narration of his creation, Frankenstein says, “A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent nations would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs†(61,62). This last sentence in particular is full of dark foreboding because gratitude is an emotion which his creation never feels. [Read more…] about Book Review: Frankenstein
creature
Owning education
 The Marks of a Christian Teacher: A Vocational Description (Part Two)[1]
Mark Eckel, ThM PhD, Professor of Leadership, Education & Discipleship
Capital Seminary & Graduate School, Washington, D.C.
The true function of the teacher is to create the most favorable conditions for self-learning.
True teaching is not that which gives knowledge, but that which stimulates pupils to gain it.
One might say that he teaches best who teaches least.[2]
“I do not want you to believe anything I tell you.â€Â My mantra was repeated daily.
“I want you to be Bereans. The Bereans did not take at face value what Paul said but searched Scripture for themselves to see if he was correct.â€[3]
“This is not Eckelology.â€Â The comment always brought smiles. More serious expressions were given when I said, “We study God’s Word for the sake of God’s world.â€
“My responsibility as a teacher is to make sure you become lifelong learners. If you only learn to follow an authority’s words without thought, you will allow anyone with the loudest voice or the most letters behind her name to sway your thinking.â€
“You need to own what you believe. The one word definition of education is ownership.†[Read more…] about Owning education
Getting a “Big Head”?
The Marks of a Christian Scholar: A Vocational Description (Part One)
Mark Eckel, ThM PhD, Professor of Leadership, Education & Discipleship[1]
Capital Seminary & Graduate School, Washington, D.C.
“The Christian scholar-teacher must be a person who believes in Christian higher education, who is committed to the mission of his or her institution. It is not enough to hire faculty who happen to be Christians, even if they are fine scholars. We must find and keep faculty who are committed to the project.â€Â [2]
“RBB,†he said. My response registered a facial question mark. “Really Big Brains,†he smiled. “That’s what you professors have: really big brains.â€
“RBH,†I said. He returned the questioning look. “Really Big Heads,†I smiled. “That’s what can happen to professors: we can get really big heads.â€
Humility is the essence of knowledge. I have lost count of how many times I have intoned such a statement in classes. The first mark of Christian scholars is that we should know we do not know how much we don’t know (Luke 14:7-11; Rom 12:3; Phil 2:3-4). We should begin every thought where the gospel begins: we are dependent upon God. Knowing how much we do not know measures the creature by The Creator (Isa 55:8-9). Aseity[3] identifies our dependency (Acts 17:24-28). [Read more…] about Getting a “Big Head”?