On Tuesday, I gave one college lecture and listened to another.
On Tuesday morning I taught an Old Testament course at Carson-Newman College. I guest lectured in CBP’s 10:30 am survey class. The class met in 211 of the Henderson Humanities Building, as it was when I lectured on Acts on February 28th. (The building’s interior feels like a hospital to me.) In her class’s last session (on Thursday), she dismissed the students early in protest of the fact that none of her 26 students had completed the reading for the course. Their reading was only Genesis 3-11!
I covered the patriarchs and matriarchs, Genesis 12-50. The class ended at 11:45 so out of necessity I spoke exceedingly fast, even for me. I am fairly certain I gave one avid note taker carpal tunnel syndrome. The class was very respectful. CBP asked me back as she has two New Testaments sections next semester. Thanks again, Cheryl!
I enjoyed talking to CBP. I also got to catch up with HBT, who shares an office with CBP. HBT and I have so much in common. If you substitute his enjoyment of Nascar for my love of classic pro wrestling, we have all of the same interests.
Most importantly, I used the word “basically” only nine times and caught myself on six of those occasions. You may remember that this was the biggest critique of my last teaching performance.
On Tuesday night, I attended a seminar at the University Center on the University of Tennessee campus. Donald P. Kommers (DPK) delivered the Notre Dame Hesburgh Lecture on “Religion and the Constitution”. Yes, I know I am a nerd.
The lecture was the seventh in a series offered by the Notre Dame Club of Knoxville – East Tennessee. The lecture was free to the public as it was co-sponsored by the University of Tennessee Department of Religious Studies and the John XXIII Catholic Center at UT. Unfortunately, the big lecture hall looked empty as few students attended. Those interested most likely watched the presidential debate. I guess the religion department did not offer extra credit for attending.
DPK is quite the authority on the matter of religion and the law. He is the Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science and Professor of Law at Notre Dame where he has been on staff since 1963. He specializes in the area of public law and has published ten books, 23 major book chapters, and 67 articles. He teaches a class on Religion and the Constitution which features 62 cases on the matter. Suffice it to say, we received an abbreviated version.
The lecture was fascinating, though DPK had forgotten his zip drive at the hotel and was unable to use the PowerPoint presentation he had planned. DPK explained the history of the establishment clause and the free exercise clause in the first amendment. In two seismic shifts in the last twenty years the interpretation of the former has expanded while the latter has narrowed. DPK then analyzed each of the present nine supreme court judges and gaged the future of these clauses based upon their age and leanings.
There was one example I took issue with. Regarding the free exercise clause, he brought up the issue of the Amish not wishing to have their picture on driver’s licenses as it might constitute a graven image. Why would an Amish person need a driver’s license?
After the lecture, I visited with JTH, TK, and ALK at MoFoS. We not only got to see KL and MPW but the incomparable Mark De La Rosa! (I am beginning to think De La Rosa may be his actual last name because regardless of how many times I call him that, he does not correct me. Then again, there is always the possibility that he does not know his last name.)
Afterwards, I joined JTH, TK and his girlfriend EA (aka “Sarah”, pictured mid-laugh), ALK and JBT at Applebees. Our server, AFH, informed us that she would soon be taking a two-week vacation. I think it is a sign that you eat at a restaurant too often when your server feels compelled to let you in on her travel plans.
ALK was a little melancholy. (I do not think I have ever used that word. I can remember laughing at a line from Billy Zane in Titanic which used it and offending theatre goers. But I digress...) Not only was it ALK's last day working at a daycare, but she also got into an argument with her mother. I did my best to uplift the mood. I wrote her a letter or recommendation on the spot. It worked...a little.
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