Tuesday, January 19, 2010

John Piper on true scholarship

Last year Don Carson and John Piper spoke at a symposium, The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor, in Chicago.
I just read most of Piper's (rather long) talk, The Pastor as Scholar: a Personal Journey, which is worth wrestling with. Here is one extract, concerning his time as a student at Fuller seminary:
  • Nobody pierced to the essence of true scholarship the way Dan Fuller did. In partnership with Mortimer Adler’s How To Read a Book, he taught me that true scholarship, whatever our vocation, was:
    • to observe the subject matter accurately and thoroughly,
    • to understand clearly what was observed,
    • to evaluate fairly what was understood by deciding what is true and valuable,
    • to feel intensely according to the value of what was evaluated,
    • to apply wisely and helpfully in life what is understood and felt, and
    • to express in speech and writing and deeds what was seen, understood, felt, and applied in such a way that its accuracy, clarity, truth, value, and helpfulness can be known and enjoyed by others.

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