Back in the 1970’s one of my very best students, if not the very best, at Eckerd College was David Jenkins. Since that time David and I have remained close friends. He went on to do a M.Div. degree at Duke and a Ph.D. degree at Loyola University in Chicago. David initially enrolled at the University of Miami’s Ph.D. program but found the hot weather too much to bear. So, he submitted his undergraduate Honors thesis as a Master’s thesis and it was accepted! Somewhere between Florida and Chicago he did some graduate work at Vanderbilt University as well. He ended up with a PH.D. from Loyola University in Chicago.
We kept in close touch through those years, with him taking care of my VW van while I spent a summer in Greece. As the years went bye I often visited David in Durham, Chicago, and eventually in Sweden. After completing his studies David volunteered for some mission work in Africa and that’s where he met his wonderful Finnish wife, Leena. She was – and is – a medical doctor and has practiced in Sweden as well as Finland. David has had various serious bouts with heart issues and fortunately Leena has been there to help him through the hard parts. He has been near death several times. Fortunately, as well he had the excellent National Finnish Health Services to cover these expenses.
One year he spent a Sabbatical year teaching at The College of St. Rose in Albany, NY where I was teaching at the time. It was good to be temporarily reunited with David and Leena for that year. It was a pure co-incidence that David and I both chose Finnish women for our wives, but it has proven to be a warm and valued arrangement for both of us. Mari and I have visited David and Leena several times while we were visiting in Finland off and on over the years and have come to love their daughter Cheri as well. They, too, have visited with us here in the states on several occasions.
While he was “just sitting around” in Finland David explored the possibility of obtaining another Ph.D. degree, this time at not-so-near-bye Swedish University of Upsala. Because of his outstanding academic record, the Philosophy department there only required that he write yet another Doctoral dissertation. This was right up David’s alley, and he finished the dissertation up in fine fashion, writing a first-class volume on the thought of the British theologian Professor John McQuarrie of Oxford University, famous for his book Honest to God. Now David’s friends took to addressing him as “Doctor Doctor Jenkins.”
All along this journey David was also interested in pursuing his calling as a Christian theologian Finland. This led down the labyrinthian pathways of obtaining Ordination himself in Finland. The journey led to several conflicts with different Lutheran clergy of various stripes, as well as with several specific church leaders who were threatened by his scholarly approach to philosophical/ theological issues. Eventually these issues resolved themselves and David is now comfortable remaining something of both an insider and an outsider.
Also, along the way David saw to it that one year I was able to teach a course in the winter Short Term curriculum at the University of Helsinki because he continues to serve as a regular philosophy professor there. It was a real honor to be able to teach a philosophy course in such a prestigious institution. It was clear that David is highly respected there.
Finally, let me say that readers may well recognize David’s name and thoughts on these pages because he has become a frequent and welcome responder to my ramblings on these blogs, as his entries to my previous posts clearly testify. My friendship with David Jenkins has been as “profitable” as it has been enjoyable all down through these years. Thanks David!!