A weekly blog series from inside Yale Divinity School — from orientation to finals, GI Bill tips, and what it's really like as a conservative at Yale.
In August 2019, I left my JAG Corps assignment and enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at Yale Divinity School as a William F. Buckley Fellow. This series — "God and Man at Yale Divinity" — is a week-by-week chronicle of that experience, from orientation through graduation.
You'll get an unfiltered look at what Yale Divinity School is actually like: the classes, the culture, the ideological tensions, and the moments of genuine spiritual growth. I write as a conservative evangelical veteran navigating one of the most progressive academic environments in the country — and finding more common ground than you might expect. Topics range from the GI Bill and Ivy League grading to cancel culture, viewpoint diversity, scriptural inerrancy, and the work of James Cone.
Start here: If you're a veteran considering divinity school, a prospective Yale applicant, or just curious what happens when a JAG officer walks into a seminar on liberation theology, start with my personal statement and follow the series from Week 1. For the veteran-specific logistics, see Using the GI Bill at Yale.
Best Th.M. and S.T.M. programs worldwide: faculty, funding, placement, and honest drawbacks at Yale, Princeton, Duke, Harvard, Oxford, and beyond.
Yale Divinity School's acceptance rate is roughly 23% for the 2025–2027 cycles. A recent M.Div. graduate's complete 2026 guide: degree options, essays, full-tuition aid, and what to expect.
Is Yale Divinity School worth the cost, time, and challenge? An M.Div. graduate evaluates the academics, community, career outcomes, and spiritual formation at YDS.
Top PhD programs in New Testament studies: faculty, funding, placement, and honest drawbacks at Yale, Duke, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, and more.
A complete breakdown of Yale Divinity School's current Master of Divinity degree requirements — the 2025 cohort-based curriculum, prescribed courses, Integrative Seminar, internship, and electives.
A complete breakdown of Yale Divinity School's pre-2025 Master of Divinity degree requirements — the five-area distribution framework, credit hours, content areas, language courses, placement exams, and electives.
What is it like to be a conservative at a liberal seminary? A Yale MDiv graduate shares lessons from three years as one of the few conservatives at Yale Divinity School.
Is Yale Divinity School liberal? A Yale MDiv graduate examines the Buckley Institute data, shares firsthand experience, and answers the most common questions about YDS.
Yale Divinity School has zero Republican faculty. The Buckley Institute's 2026 report confirms what one conservative MDiv graduate saw firsthand. Here's what the data shows.
A firsthand account of the William F. Buckley Jr. Program at Yale—what it does, why it matters, and what it's like to be a conservative Fellow on a campus that would rather you weren't.
A personal reflection on William F. Buckley Jr.'s God and Man at Yale—what it got right and why its core argument is more relevant now than in 1951.
A Buckley Fellow reflects on God and Man at Yale, dinner with Rich Lowry, and why intellectual conservatism matters more than ever.
Why conservatives should engage the strongest progressive arguments—drawn from Buckley, Mill, Aquinas, and three years at Yale Divinity School.
The wedding at Cana and the crucifixion share extraordinary parallels — drink, thirst, the hour, and the mother of Jesus. These connections are the key to understanding John's Gospel.
Jesus addresses Mary as 'woman' at Cana and the cross. The Greek term gynai is respectful but unprecedented when used by a son for his mother. What does John's Gospel accomplish by marking this address?
Jesus bypassed his own brothers to commend his mother to the Beloved Disciple. This was not just filial care -- it was a theological act that reshaped how we read John's Gospel.
From the mother of Jesus to Mary Magdalene, women play a more prominent role in John's Gospel than in any other. Here's a comprehensive analysis of every major female figure in the Fourth Gospel.
A review of Catherine Cornille's Meaning and Method in Comparative Theology — her framework for studying other religions without syncretism.
How Vespasian and Titus used Judaea Capta coins to broadcast Rome's victory over the Jewish Revolt and assert imperial dominance across the empire.
How Joseph Ratzinger's writings on doubt cultivate Christian humility—and why the humble submission of doubt to faith is more honest than relativism.
How Joseph Ratzinger grounds theology in the Church as a living conversation with God, drawing humanity together in Christ's liberating work.
Inclusivism vs. pluralism: how each theology handles salvation, religious diversity, and Christ's role—with Catholic, Hick, and Pannenberg perspectives.
In this post, I discuss COVID-19, murder hornets, the joy that is 2020, and my optimism for the future.
In this post, I write about my journey toward understanding forgiveness.
The Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) resolved a Christological crisis but reshaped the political map of Christendom. How it destroyed Alexandria, elevated the papacy, and set the stage for the Great Schism.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a source behind the Gospel of John: analyzing John 19:26-27 and its parallels to the Cana miracle as evidence of her authority in the text.
What is Hellenistic Christianity? A complete guide to Eastern Orthodox theology, theosis, liturgy, sacraments, and the Church's ancient roots in Christian Hellenism.
During this time of quarantine, I have had the opportunity to dialogue with some old-school anti-Catholic evangelicals, and it has left me wondering how...
A snapshot of my evangelical theology in 2007 — from Open Theism to Arminianism — before seminary reshaped everything. A starting point for tracing my faith journey.
A 2020 quarantine reflection from Yale Divinity School on hermitage, fatherhood, and gratitude during the COVID-19 pause.
This year, Ouachita Baptist University awarded the Garrett Ham Scholarship to Sara Patterson.
How I adapted my paper writing process during a five-month lockdown while managing three major academic papers and a final exam.
How Yale Divinity School and peer institutions adopted pass/fail grading during the pandemic—and what the push for universal pass reveals about student entitlement and institutional confusion.
A 2020 reflection on Zoom classes at Yale Divinity School during COVID—technical issues, Credit/No Credit grading, library closure, and Ph.D.-track pressure.
Campus activists at elite colleges like Yale often appear perpetually angry. But beneath the outrage lies a deeper psychological need: the search for heroic purpose and significance.
How COVID shut down Yale's campus mid-semester, forcing remote learning via Zoom and canceling spring commencement. A personal account of pandemic disruption to campus life and academic work.
The relationship between the military and the elite has evolved significantly over the years and not for the better.
In this post, I discuss the first week of spring break, the Buckley seminar, and the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
As I begin to grow comfortable at Yale, I am becoming more aware of the Ivy League facade that masks much of the mundane and unpolished aspects of elite universities. Explore the reality behind the prestige.
Planning summer academics at Yale Divinity? Learn how I structured German language study, navigated GI Bill regulations, and prepared for Ph.D. applications.
A theological examination of James Cone's liberation theology, his critique of white supremacy, and the challenge to Christian faith in standing with the oppressed.
How I had dinner with National Review editor Rich Lowry at Yale's Buckley Program. Reflections on intellectual humility, the danger of familiarity with greatness, and engaging James Cone's liberation theology.
An insider's look at how Ivy League students use buzzwords like 'oppression,' 'power dynamics,' and 'create a space' to such excess that they dilute the meaning of justified critique and desensitize people to real injustice.
A Yale Divinity School student shares first-hand experiences with study abroad programs, interdepartmental courses, world-famous instructors, and more.
A Catholic response to the 'personally pro-life, politically pro-choice' position. Why this compromise on human life fails philosophically and theologically.
How Yale Divinity School's degree flexibility enabled me to take a Roman Law graduate seminar at the law school, and what I learned about course selection across campus.
How does grading work at Yale Divinity School? A personal reflection on semester grades, the H- conversion to A-, and what academic success means beyond the transcript as I transition toward PhD work in New Testament.
Seminary finals at Yale Divinity School: a firsthand account of blue book exams in New Testament, Greek, and Early Christianity. Reflections on theological education and spiritual formation.
A Yale Divinity student's personal essay on vocational discernment, Catholic conversion, and the intersection of faith, military service, and academic calling.
A Yale Divinity student's firsthand reaction to the 2019 Harvard-Yale football game protest — the climate demands, the virtue signaling, and what it reveals about elite campus culture.
A weekly update from Yale Divinity School — progress on final papers, preparing for exams, visiting the Yale Art Gallery's Dura-Europos exhibit, and thoughts on the curriculum.
A veteran's perspective on celebrating Veterans Day at Yale Divinity School, examining the gap between institutional lip service and actual military acceptance at elite universities.
A conservative student's firsthand account of oppression culture at Yale Divinity School—the fetishization of victimhood, the woke scold minority, and the silent reasonable majority.
How both evangelical and progressive Christianity have absorbed Gnostic tendencies—rejecting the body in different ways while departing from historic Christian teaching.
A Yale Divinity School student reflects on PhD aspirations, academic grading, and the top doctoral programs in New Testament and religious studies worth pursuing.
A conservative Yale Divinity student reflects on campus activism, social justice rhetoric, and the impossibility of civil discourse when ideology replaces dialogue.
A firsthand account of cancel culture at Yale Divinity School: how ideological conformity silences diverse perspectives, the consequences for free speech, and why this matters for conservative students.
What does scriptural inerrancy really mean? A Yale Divinity student explores how to define biblical errors, reconcile contradictions, and understand Scripture as a reliable guide for faith.
How does a theologically conservative student navigate a progressive divinity school? A candid exploration of viewpoint diversity, intellectual challenge, and finding your place at Yale Divinity.
Is Yale Divinity liberal? Yes. But conservative students thrive. A candid account of being a conservative at Yale Divinity School and finding your place there.
How I used the Post-9/11 GI Bill to attend Yale Divinity School — tuition, Yellow Ribbon, housing allowance, and what veterans should know about Ivy League graduate programs.
Spiritual growth at Yale Divinity School — the Annand Program, communal prayer, academic workload, and what seminary life really looks like from inside the M.Div. program.
What the first week of Yale Divinity School is really like — classes, community, and culture shock. A veteran's firsthand account of the M.Div. program.
A first-person guide to BTFO at Yale Divinity School covering Berkeley Divinity, class registration, grades, campus life, and what incoming students should expect.
The complete writing sample from a successful Yale Divinity School M.Div. application, drafted from scratch after seven years out of school.
See a real seminary application essay that worked. Full personal statement from a successful Yale Divinity School M.Div. acceptance with writing tips.
God and Man at Yale Divinity series intro: my path to Yale Divinity School's MDiv, from Southern Baptist roots through law, military service, and how the GI Bill made it possible.
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