BILL DYRNESS is another GUY with whom I did NOT CLICK. There was either a culture or generational GAP that kept me from resonating with some of these guys. I think Bill is a 60's guy and had that sort of "vibe" in him... some of the 60's generation have a notion that their experience was more radical and rebellious than any other generation. He emphasizes the arts in his teaching. The class I audited was about central american theology. The shame of it all is that prior to coming to Fuller Seminary i had ALREADY lived and taught in Costa Rica and traveled thru Central America, but the entire class was a monologue by Bill without room for much if any conversation. In fact there must have been a lot of "inner office" communication to maintain a status quo at Fuller. It really felt quite stifling. I sat in this class for an entire quarter and just listened. They should have known from my application biography of my varied experiences as an adult prior to coming to seminary but they can't handle the mature adult with a variety of experience already under his or her belt (their model for teaching is that the student has just come out of college like they did back in the day and that the student therefore is still "stupid" and should just sit and listen)... they wanted to treat me as if I was just a "white kid" from the "midwest" with a "Calvinist" background, but in fact by that time I had already taught & lived in Costa Rica, done mission work in the Philippines, studied Spanish in Spain, traveled through other parts of Central & South America as well as the French Polynesians, also had studied in Hawaii for a semester, among many other things. But they can't integrate the person with experience into their system. That sort of person is a THREAT to them. They need to control. IT's a shame because it doesn't do justice to the learning process nor to helping others. It's just personal indoctrination of whatever they want to teach. Nonetheless, God bless Bill Dyrness. I am sure he will be around Fuller for many years to come.
The theme will be addressed by a range of speakers including Professor William Dyrness, Professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, California.
Professor Dyrness has over 30 years of teaching experience in the U.S., the Philippines, Kenya, and South Korea. He has published work in a variety of fields, including theology and culture, apologetics, theology and art, and global missions. His recent works include Poetic Theology (2010), A Primer in Christian Worship (2009), Senses of the Soul: Art and the Visual in Christian Worship (2008), Reformed Theology and Visual Culture: The Protestant Imagination from Calvin to Edwards (2004), Visual Faith (2001). He has also served on the national boards of Christians in the Visual Arts (Wenham, MA), 1999 to 2005. He is currently at work on a major research project on the use of visual images in worship in Christian, Buddhist and Muslim communities.
