St Thomas Basilica

Following on from my recent posts about St Thomas Mount and Little Mount, this one explores another key Thomas location, St Thomas Basilica in Mylapore, Chennai, India. This is the place where Thomas's tomb is allegedly located and an impressive neo-Gothic cathedral is on the site.

Once again, I recorded my thoughts and edited them in the latest episode of the NT Pod:

NT Pod 79: Santhome Basilica

The magnificent white church building was built by the British in the late nineteenth century but the basilica was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century (cf. the church at Little Mount). I decided to make the journey by bus, which is something of a challenge, not least because the buses in Chennai are so unbelievably crowded. But they are also unbelievably cheap. A one-way journey lasting an hour (over about 17 km) cost me just 12 rupees (about 12p or 18c).

There is one huge advantage that this site has over the previous two that I visited -- it has a museum dedicated to the Apostle Thomas. And the museum features several items of interest. Unlike St Thomas Mount, it is not just about John 20 and "My Lord and My God". There is much more by way of the apocryphal Thomas traditions, perhaps most interestingly this relic of the lancehead that supposedly killed Thomas.

There is also a double-sided pedestal that references King Gondophores and the legend of the log on the one side (a legend also illustrated in a relief that is on the wall of the museum), and Thomas in teaching mode on the other side.

Somewhat frustratingly, a lot of the other material in the museum is labelled only in the most vague way imaginable. So there is an entire display of ancient pottery apparently discovered at the site, with dating only to "the olden days"! So too another display of bones is said to be from that same period.

The museum itself is situated above Thomas's tomb. The tomb is at the front of a chapel with pews where people pray and reflect. There is not a lot to see -- it's a colourful, relatively modern representation of Thomas in glass casing.

Although in the podcast I say that I could not take a photograph in there, I later managed to return to the site when it was empty and I took a quick pic while no one was looking.

I should also mention the large golden "pole of St Thomas" which stands tall to the side of the cathedral. It is reminiscent of the similar poll at St Thomas' Mount, although this one is taller and has a much smaller cross at the top.

Inside the cathedral itself, I should mention a nice statue of Thomas that sits to the left of the altar. Thomas is holding the legend "Deus Meus" (My God), so here, for once, we do not get the whole Johannine confession. Again, we were not supposed to be taking photographs, but my visit happened to coincide with a coachload of pilgrims from Nagaland, all of whom were snapping away with gay abandon (and rather bizarrely, they also all wanted to get pictures with me! I sat with various members of the group outside the cathedral for a good ten or fifteen photos!).

I was a touch disappointed that the promised twenty minute film about Thomas, which is very proudly advertised just outside the museum, was nowhere in evidence. At least I found it impossible to find anyone who could tell me any more about it.

Another curiosity of my visit, and this is partly reflected in the podcast, is the pursuit (one might say harassment) by several auto rickshaw drivers. One of them followed me around the entire site, usually on foot, but sometimes in his auto. At first, he made out that he was connected with the site and I foolishly engaged him in conversation. But soon it became clear that he wanted my business.

Once I'd shaken him, I got another, who even sat next to me in the cathedral. Once rid of him, and after the photographing session with the people from Nagaland, a third one began to pursue me. This one was the worst, and pursued me down the road after I left the site, even driving ahead of me, hiding behind a tree and jumping out in front of me.

Gandhi, on the beach at Mylapore, Chennai

A fourth auto driver was honest enough to tell me why they were so keen for business -- a group of four local shops selling hand-crafted goods were offering a 5kg bag of rice to any auto driver who brought them a new customer. Much later in the day, after my Veg Maharaja Mac at McDonald's, I happened to meet this guy again at the beach, where I was heading in the direction of the bus-stop for my journey back, and I rewarded his honesty by going on the little shop-tour so that he could pick up his bag of rice. But of course no good deed goes unpunished. We parted on bad terms because I would not also pay his rent for the next month.

Little Mount

Following on from my recent post about St Thomas Mount, this one explores another key Thomas location, Little Mount (Chinnamalai), also in Chennai.

It's the place where Thomas allegedly faced his death, and the church is built over the cave where he hid from persecution.

As before, I recorded my impressions of the site as I visited it, and I have released it as an episode of the NT Pod:

NT Pod 78: Little Mount

The site itself is tucked away down a side street (the "L.D.G. Road") with no sign-posts in sight. It caused my driver some degree of stress, to the point where I eventually got out of the car and walked. I could see where it was on my Sat Nav on my phone, but he was not inclined to trust it.

"Little Mount" really is only a few steps up from the road, and is nothing like the climb up to St Thomas Mount. Although it is the large round twentieth century church that makes the big impression, it's the old chapel built by the Portuguese in 1551 that houses Thomas's cave.

The chapel is small, but pleasantly cool if you are visiting on a hot day. A few pews look up towards a shrine of the Virgin Mary, but down to the left is St Thomas's cave.

I did not try recording in the chapel or the cave, not least because a gentleman hovered around me looking anxious when I had my phone out. But I did manage to grab a couple of quick pics.

There's a nice old explanatory placard before you go down to the cave. It's just the kind of thing one wants to see on these occasions.

The old marble placard reads, as best I can decipher it, as follows:

The cave where lay hid persecuted just before being martyred by Rajah Mahadevan, king of Mylapore, A.D. 68, Thomas, one of the twelve, the great Apostle of India, the very one who put his finger into the wounds of his Lord and God. Drop your penny for this great historical and archaeological monument.

While I was there, a woman went down into the cave to do some sweeping (I have seen a lot of women sweeping in India) and to collect up the pennies that had been dropped.

The cave itself is not for the claustrophobic. It has a proper bend-down-low entrance. There is a small shrine inside the cave, and a red circle marks the spot where Thomas was allegedly martyred.

The cave is without doubt the major attraction. I wondered whether it gets horribly crowded at busy times. I was happy to have it to all to myself. There were several praying in the chapel while I was there but none went down to the cave. I think I may have been the only tourist type there. 

While I was sitting outside the chapel, by this sign pointing to "St. Thomas Cave", a gentleman approached me and pointed to "water". I thought he was worried that I was overheating, but in retrospect, I think he may have been directing my attention to the miraculous spring. 

On the way there, one sees a rocky feature that draws attention to Thomas's footprint.

Up a few steps, one enters a separate chamber that has two key features. This is one -- a fountain with water that "cures diseases". The water is now behind bars and presumably inaccessible to present-day pilgrims.

The other is also a rocky crag, and it features a cross that is cut out of the rock.

This cross is behind glass and has the header "cross made by St. Thomas". Above it is a sign that says that the cross bled for many years in the 16th and 17th centuries.

There was a lady hovering around me the whole time that I was looking at these things, and I realized after a while that she was waiting for a contribution. It was rather a formal process -- she wrote it all down in her book and handed me a receipt. But once given, she allowed me to take my pics and do my recordings without hassle.

Little Mount also has a park it labels "Holy Land", accessible through some large pink gates. The idea of the park is that it imitates Jerusalem, and features colourfully represented elements from the Passion Narrative.

The most striking of these is a trial scene featuring Jesus (with a red robe and a green crown of thorns),  a centurion and two black elephants!

St Thomas Mount

The NT Pod and the NT Blog go on the road! It's long been an ambition of mine to visit the sites connected with the Apostle Thomas out in Chennai (formerly Madras) in India. I decided to photograph my visit and also to record my reflections.

You can listen to my first ever "on the road" episode of the NT Pod here:

NT Pod 77: St Thomas Mount

It is about 14 minutes long. The audio quality is of course much worse than usual. I was recording on my iPhone and I am a bit breathless as I climb the steps early the episode. And the wind at the top of the mount also interferes with the recording, as do the sounds of the planes above. But I hope that you enjoy a bit of the Chennai ambience, especially all those honking cars.

I arrived at the mount by taxi after a getting stuck in a very long traffic jam. Chennai traffic can be choc-a-bloc. I must admit that there is no way that I would want to drive here. It can be pretty terrifying to see how India drivers drive, and it's amazing that there are not more accidents. It's a question of experience, I suppose.

St Thomas Mount is in Chennai and is pretty close to the airport. There's a enjoyably battered old sign that greets you on entry (right), with a "tiffin" stall just underneath.

Beyond the battered old sign, to the left as we look, is the facade at the bottom of the mount that marks the beginning of the journey to the top. This nicely white-washed appearance is characteristic of the whole, including the walls either side of the steps on the way to the top, and the chapel building on top of the mount.

As one walks up the steps, the stations of the cross appear at regular intervals.

I visited the site on a Monday afternoon in February and there were only a few people around. And few of those were real tourists. The small shop selling religious artefacts was hardly doing any business at all.

Most of the visitors appeared to be there to pray. I think I saw more people inside the chapel than anywhere else.

It is striking to see how strongly the Thomas tradition has taken hold in the region. The tradition is at least as old as the Acts of Thomas which tells the story of the apostle's pilgrimage to India, at first with great reluctance.

St Thomas Mount itself offers very little by way of explanatory history. I didn't see a single placard giving anything of the apostle's story. His connection with the location is simply taken for granted.

A colourful statue of Thomas, with a gold, red and pink garment greets the pilgrim towards the top of the steps. He holds in his hand a book open to the words "My Lord, My God" (John 20.28). This is the first time we see these words, but then they appear again and again all over the shrine.

Once at the top of the mount, one of the more striking features is a tall, golden crucifix, on the far side of the mount, overlooking the city.

Just below it, as one looks down towards the city, the words "My Lord, My God" are spelled out in white stones.

The central piece is the church itself, which stands with a bronze relief of the Last Supper above its door. Once again, "My Lord, My God" are repeated here.








The chapel has an entrance called "the door of mercy", again with "My Lord and My God" over it, and a recent (2011) statue of Jesus and Thomas several feet in front of it.

Inside the chapel, there are individual pictures of the twelve apostles, right down to Thaddaeus, surely the more overlooked of the twelve!

I was perhaps a touch disappointed that the mount was so thoroughly focused on the one passage in John 20 and that there was so little influence from texts like the Acts of Thomas, and remarkably little on the apostle's connection with India.

One of the only depictions of Thomas not taken from John 20 is this scene of the apostle praying. It appears after the door of mercy on the entry into the chapel, opposite a depiction of Thomas and Jesus drawn from John 20. of the only depictions of Thomas not taken from John 20 is this scene of the apostle praying. It appears after the door of mercy on the entry into the chapel, opposite a depiction of Thomas and Jesus drawn from John 20.

There is also a convent on top of the mount. It speaks rather invitingly of "cool drinks" but nothing was on offer when I entered, and although there were several people in there, they appeared to be deep in their own conversations.

Elsewhere on the mount there is a stall that sells souvenirs but they were not really to my taste -- the kinds of garish mini-statues of Thomas and of Jesus that one would only buy to prove that one has visited the site.

There are loos just around the corner from the convent but it has to be said that they are a touch on the primitive side, perhaps dating back in time to when Thomas first visited India.

Overall, though, St Thomas Mount is well worth a visit. If you're anywhere near Chennai airport, it's a pretty short journey. Unless I missed it, disability access is poor to non-existent, so it is sadly only for those who can tackle the walk.

Although there are not that many steps, you may find yourself puffing and panting a bit (as you hear on my podcast), especially if you go along, as I did, during the heat of the day.

Rome Travel Diary I

I have been in Rome since Sunday, after several days spent in England with family in Derbyshire last week. Here in Rome I am sharing an apartment in the Trastevere district with my family and other friends. I have found Rome wonderful so far and the visit to the Coliseum yesterday the highlight -- quite breathtaking. I found time when I was last here in 2004 for a beer at a cafe next door to the coliseum, but this was my first proper visit. You can watch any number of documentaries, read any number of books and articles, but being inside the real thing is exhilarating.

Today we walked to Vatican city and spent time in St Peter's Square before going to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. With feet aching by early evening, we walked back with thunderstorms behind us and found a nice little pizzeria off the beaten track near our apartment. Likewise last night -- a super little streetside restaurant, very reasonably priced. On both occasions I have eaten proper Italian pizza and it's been excellent.

Tomorrow morning I will be properly reminded why I am here, to participate in the SBL International Meeting which got underway tonight. It is my first SBL International and I look forward to sharing my first thoughts tomorrow. I'm on at 9am, I think, in the Pauline Epistles section, so I will need to be up bright and early.

Travel Diary: Minneapolis, Sunday

I had another job to do before heading back home. I talked for an hour to the Adult Education group at Westminster Presbyterian Church on what we can really know about the Historical Jesus, and how we can know it. Again, it was a good, large audience, with lots of excellent questions and comments, and I made a really conscious effort to speak more slowly so that those present could understand my foreign accent, apparently with some success. I walked them through some of the key issues in Jesus research, looking at the question of sources, explaining the Synoptic Problem and introducing them to non-canonical sources like the Gospel of Thomas, explaining historical context and introducing them to people like Josephus. And I talked about the value if beginning one's historical journey with the crucifixion and working backwards from there.

I flew back to Raleigh-Durham at lunch time and arrived at 5, catching up on a couple of articles, a couple of Russell Brand podcasts, and some sleep, on the way.

Travel Diary: Minneapolis, Saturday

This is my first ever visit to Minneapolis. At first sight, the city reminds me a bit of Seattle, which we visited last year (Travel diary). I am staying close to Westminster Presbyterian Church where I am speaking this weekend at an event co-sponsored by Luther Seminary and United Theological Seminary. There were 120 or so attending, and I am always impressed by those willing to give up a Saturday to listen to someone talking about the New Testament. I know that I am pretty loathe to give up my Saturday morning lie-in unless I really have to. The topic was "Who do you say that I am? The History of Jesus as Messiah", a title worked out in consultation with Kathy Michael, associate pastor at the church and the main organizer of the event. It arose from a series of lectures I gave earlier this year at the BAS event in Fort Lauderdale, "Monarch or Messiah? The King of Jewish Expectation and the Christ of the New Testament", itself developed from the Logos Lecture I gave in June 2007, "Did Jews in Jesus' day expect the Messiah?" The focus is my ongoing research on messianism in Second Temple Judaism and how an understanding of that material helps us to revise the way we look at Christian origins and the New Testament.

They worked me hard but made me welcome. Instead of the four lectures over two days I gave in Fort Lauderdale, here I gave three lectures in a 9-3 event, but with plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion, and breaks for coffee and lunch. I found those who came knowledgeable, interested and full of good questions and comments (as well as the odd, expected idiosyncratic contributions from two or three). Perhaps the greatest surprise, though, was the extent to which some present struggled to understand my British accent. Several people commented that they could not catch everything I was saying. It is true that when animated I do speak a little quickly, and I suppose I am going to have to work harder in future, especially with this kind of audience, to slow down a little. I have been lecturing at Duke for three years now and I often ask if they are able to catch everything I am saying, but they are just a bit too polite to tell me otherwise. It may also be an age-related issue since those who struggled to understand me were a little elderly.

The 3pm finish gave me a chance to get a nap in before we headed out for a fantastic dinner at a superb restaurant called Nicollet Island Inn. They are looking after me very well.

Travel Diary: Minneapolis, Friday

I am lecturing in Minneapolis this weekend (Minneapolis event) and regular readers will be familiar with the fact that I write travel diaries on occasions like this.

As I write, I am sitting in a familiar spot, the Varsity Grill and Sports Bar at Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU), enjoying a nice Sam Adams. The place is bustling tonight. I think to myself, "Ah, it's because it's Friday night -- people are out enjoying themselves" but then remember that no one actually comes to a bar at an airport on a Friday night unless they are travelling. I am so used to travelling with my family recently, having taken six flights this summer, from DC to Philadelphia to London to Nantes to London to Philadelphia to DC again, that it is odd being in my own company, with just the blogging machine and Sam Adams to keep me company. I like to sit facing outwards, at one of the tall stools set up to allow you to do people watching on all the people going by, at the same time doing a little everyday eavesdropping on several conversations happening behind me.

Tonight is only about the travel. Minneapolis is a two and a half hour flight from Raleigh Durham, and I am going in tonight so that I am able to be up bright and early in the morning and to begin the study day at 9.

Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference IV

Thursday, Heathrow Airport, 15.34: Checked out of Lincoln College this morning, after a nice breakfast which featured two slices of British back bacon. Last time I will get any of that until August. I was disappointed to have to miss the last couple of sessions, the first of which featured Christoph Heil on Reconstructing Q, Stephen Patterson on Thomas and Eric Eve on the Synoptic Problem without Q. Heil's paper was not online before the conference, so it was a particular shame to miss his. Eve's was so full of good sense that I doubt I would have had any comments of my own to throw in. Patterson's was one of the papers I would have particularly liked to have discussed -- the subject is one of great interest to me in my current research. There was also a plenary scheduled for people to reflect on future directions. But I was already on the coach to Heathrow, listening to the Russell Brand podcast and reading the latest Doctor Who Magazine. I met up with the family, who had come down from Peterborough, and we are about to fly. There is no wireless here, so I will upload this post when I get back to Raleigh. It will be pretty late because we are flying into DC and driving down from there.

This conference has been excellent. It was very well organized and ran very smoothly; congratulations to Andrew Gregory, Paul Foster, John Kloppenborg and Joseph Verheyden for a job very well done. The catering at Lincoln College was excellent, and the location ideal -- bang in the centre of Oxford (and right next to my old college). In spite of the number of papers, the programme did not feel crammed, and I appreciated the free time on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, and the free time again after 9pm or so. The number present, forty or so, was about right to ensure good discussion after each paper and set of papers. Any more, and it would have become unwieldy. By the end of the conference, one had the feeling of having got to know almost everyone.

Each session worked very well, with a general theme and three or so presentations followed by discussion. The only one that did not quite work, in my opinion, was the session that paired David Peabody with Kathleen Corley -- these were such very different papers that the discussion was less focused than it was for the other sessions where things were more naturally related.

The academic quality of the papers and the discussion was very high. I have to admit that I was initially a bit sceptical about the decision not to invite "position papers", or to have individuals arguing in favour of given theories, but it turned out that this was a brilliant decision. The encouragement to all presenters to be as balanced and fair as possible, and the invitations to read papers on specific themes, led to pretty helpful discussions with a marked lack of polemic; there was more light than heat, to use the cliché.

All in all, an excellent conference and a very enjoyable few days away. Congratulations to all involved!

[Actual time of upload, Friday, 15.25, back in Raleigh, North Carolina.]

Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference III

Oxford, Thursday, 00:47; last full day of the Synoptic Problem conference. First session, 9a.m.: Andrew Gregory chaired what was perhaps the meatiest section yet, four papers on issues relating to compositional issues and the Synoptic Problem. Three of the presenters were present and Gregory summarised the fourth paper, Kirk's, on "Memory, scribal media and the synoptic problem". Alex Damm spoke first on "Ancient Rhetoric and the Synoptic Problem"; then Robert Derrenbacker talked about "Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem"; then Gerald Downing on "Writers' use or abuse of written sources". Discussion was wide ranging and enthusiastic. There was perhaps most discussion on Gerald Downing's paper, and some comment on his claim that the minor agreements are in fact problematic for all synoptic theories. Several of us have picked up the feeling that this session provided a good indication of where the debate is likely to develop in the coming years -- compositional issues are clearly going to be key in future discussion of the Synoptic Problem.

After morning coffee, the next section was chaired by John Kloppenborg and featured two main papers, Eugene Boring on "The 'Minor Agreements' and Their Bearing on the Synoptic Problem" and Peter Head on "Textual Criticism and the Synoptic Problem". John Kloppenborg also read out a summary of Robert Stein's paper, "Duplicate Expressions in Mark". The discussion focused mainly on Gene Boring and Peter Head's papers. I attempted to make my point, with respect to Eugene Boring's paper, that the postulation of a "Revised Mark" may not actually aid the Two Source Theory with respect to the Minor Agreements since a Revised Mark might, in fact, have been less like our Matthew and Luke than our Mark is. On such a scenario, there might in fact have been more minor agreements in the earliest texts, and not less. I had only limited success articulating this point, however, and it may be that I need to think carefully about how to articulate it more clearly on future occasions -- or to drop it.

Before lunch, there was a group photograph. Just as we were gathering, I had a phone call from Q; we had planned to get together today, as we usually do when I am in the UK. Someone suggested that Q take the group photograph, which he was delighted to do. I hope that some kind person will email me one of the photographs taken so that I can upload it to the blog. After the photograph, Q and I wandered to the covered market, as we used to do when we were students together, and enjoyed a splendid lunch in Mortons.

The next event on the schedule, after tea, was my paper, the third of the main papers, on "The Evangelists' Use of the Old Testament and the Synoptic Problem". I enjoyed speaking on the topic, and was honoured to have it chaired by my Doctorvater John Muddiman. I began my talk by sending Michael Goulder's greetings to the conference. (I had spent Sunday afternoon with him). The discussion after my paper was perhaps a little more subdued than some of the other discussions, and I hope that that was not a reflection on its quality or interest. Nevertheless, there were lots of useful and interesting questions, including from the chair.

Drinks were at 6.30; dinner was at 7. The main course was duck and it was excellent. Once again, the relatively early end to proceedings allowed a little time for additional socializing for those so inclined.

Alas, I have to miss the last morning of the conference. I need to get the coach to Heathrow to meet the family and get the plane back to DC, and I don't think I will be able to make it to any of the morning activities. Nevertheless, I hope to add concluding comments tomorrow. Needless to say, an excellent conference, intellectually stimulating and conducted in a generous, positive spirit. Congratulations and thanks to the convenors, John Kloppenborg, Andrew Gregory, Paul Foster and Joseph Verheyden, who have done a superb job.

Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference II

Oxford, 01:02: second day of the Oxford conference on the Synoptic Problem at Lincoln College. One of the participants here teased me about whether or not I might blog what I had for breakfast today. So in his honour: breakfast today was sausage, egg and tinned tomatoes; it was perfectly fine but to have been perfect it would have needed (at least) good British back bacon and black pudding. But of course the catering people here don't know how much the British ex-pats present hanker for such things, and the breakfast was very nice.

Today was the first full day of the conference. The sessions all take place in the same room, a very Oxford kind of conference room, in which we all sit around the table rather than in rows. There were two separate sessions this morning, separated by coffee, and each with a series of three papers summarized. In session 1, Paul Foster chaired. William Loader talked about Synoptic Perspectives on Jesus and the Law, and his summary was in fact an interesting supplement to the paper he had uploaded, with reflections on how the evidence appeared from the perspectives of the Two-Source Theory, the Griesbach Theory and the Farrer Theory. This has become something of a pattern here -- these are the three theories mainly on the table and which receive the attention from most presenters. Duncan Reid then talked about the miracles from the perspective of differing Synoptic theories. Duncan is one of John Kloppenborg's students in Toronto. Charles Hedrick was not able to be present, so Paul Foster read a 15 minute summary of his paper. There was a broad discussion afterwards.

The second session was chaired by Joseph Verheyden. Kathleen Corley spoke about White Male dominance of Synoptic research, and David Peabody talked about Reading the Synoptic Gospels from the perspective of different source hypotheses, though he focused, inevitably, on the Two-Gospel Theory. I found Kathleen Corley's paper a bit disappointing, not least because it did not engage with the Synoptic Problem at all, so we did not get any closer to an answer to the question posed. I also doubt her thesis, that men are inclined towards Synoptic research because they identify with the historical Jesus. The third paper in the session was from Udo Schnelle, who was not present, and a summary was read, in German, by the chair.

After lunch, it was free time, and then tea. The second main paper was John Kloppenborg on Synopses and the Synoptic Problem. This was perhaps the paper that I found the most engaging in the conference so far, and it generated lengthy and helpful discussion afterwards. Dinner is finished in good time each evening, allowing plenty of time for a bit of socializing afterwards.

The way in which the discussion is being conducted at this conference is excellent. There are a few agenda-heavy questions, with repetitions of the protagonist's particular theories or perspectives, but on the whole, the discussions are tending to air issues of interest to all present, and across a range of areas.

Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference I

Oxford, England, 00:22: caught the train down from Birmingham to Oxford this morning, a journey that I did many times as a student; tried to finish reading one of the conference papers that I hadn't yet read and fell into a deep sleep. Walked up to Lincoln College, the location for a conference on the Synoptic Problem to celebrate the centenary (forthcoming) of the Oxford Studies in the Synoptic Problem of 1911. The idea is that the essays written for this conference will be revised for the volume to be published in time for that centenary.

I am enjoying being back in Oxford. I spent ten years here, nine of them as a student. I met my wife here and we had our first daughter here. The conference location, Lincoln College, is next door to my old college, Exeter, and I have already enjoyed walking around favourite old locations. Oxford does not change much, and the only major difference about the kind of student accommodation we are in is the addition of en-suite facilities to make the place more conducive to conferences like this. Back in my day, I had to walk down four flights of stairs to the basement to the shared, stone showers. Students today have it easy.

The conference began with lunch in the hall and then the first session of summarized papers. There are forty-three people in attendance, and most of these are presenting papers, most in summarized format. The essential idea is that the papers are written in advance and uploaded to the web (Papers), allowing plenty of time for discussion in each of the sessions, though not all have actually written their papers in advance, so some of the summaries are first-time presentations.

Eugene Boring chaired the first session and there were three papers, all from conference conveners, Andrew Gregory on Literary Dependence and the Synoptic Problem, Paul Foster on the History and Demise of M and Joseph Verheyden on Proto-Luke. Each one spoke for 15-20 minutes and the discussion was then another 45 minutes or so. Perhaps the majority of questions went to Paul Foster on his M paper, including my own on the question of "legendary" elements in M narrative material and John Kloppenborg's on the modelling of the theory. There were also comments from F. Gerald Downing, William Loader, Stephen Patterson and David Peabody.

One of the nice things about a British conference is that one breaks for tea at the proper time; I have been in America long enough to have forgotten what a pleasure it is to have a tea break at a conference. There were large, metal pots of tea of the old-fashioned catering variety.

We went from tea to the first main paper, Christopher Tuckett on "The Current State of the Synoptic Problem". The paper was ideal for the context. It was generally regarded as fair, rigorous, thorough and balanced, even if some would disagree with particular arguments, or particular selections of material covered. I was honoured that Prof. Tuckett referred to my work several times when discussing the Farrer Theory, and afterwards David Catchpole, who was chairing the session, offered "the oppressed minorities" a right to reply, me first on Farrer and then David Dungan on Griesbach. The discussion ranged to a variety of other topics, with comments and questions from, among others, Bob Derrenbacker, F. Gerald Downing, Dennis Macdonald, Maurice Casey (about the absence of Aramaic Q the survey), Paul Foster (why is Luke's use of Matthew more popular than Matthew's use of Luke?), Joseph Verheyden (are the 2ST crowd more introspective and prone to questioning their hypothesis than advocates of other theories?), William Loader (concerning the regular usage of the Synoptics in sabbath-by-sabbath worship, asking whether this distinguished them from other Graeco-Roman texts with which they are regularly compared) and others.

One general question that has already begun to raise its head is the one relating to oral tradition, literary dependency and modes of contact between documents and traditions. My guess, at this stage, is that that the issues here will recur over the coming days.

After Prof. Tuckett's paper, there were drinks. At this drinks reception, David Catchpole announced that the purpose of the volume for which we are writing is the celebration of the work of Christopher Tuckett. Prof. Catchpole spoke and Prof. Tuckett responded, thanking those assembled, but offering special thanks to David Catchpole, Bob Morgan and Christopher Rowland, all of whom were present.

From the drinks reception, we went to the hall for dinner. It was an excellent dinner -- fish course with a nice white wine; chicken for the main course with an acceptable red, and some kind of cakey pudding that I forget because of the arrival of the port.

Travel Diary: Oxford Synoptic Problem Pre-Conference II

Birmingham, 00.19. After an excellent weekend with my folks in South Derbyshire, we have spent the day in Birmingham, seeing old friends. Early start tomorrow to travel down to Oxford for the conference.

Travel Diary: Oxford Synoptic Problem Conference Pre-Conference Post

The new series (the fourth) of the new Doctor Who starts on BBC1 tonight (6.20pm) and we have flown over to England specially to see it. While here, I am planning to attend the Synoptic Problem Conference in Oxford (my paper). It gets underway on Monday at Lincoln College, Oxford and I must admit that I am looking forward to it very much. I have read most of the papers that are already online (see link above) and there is clearly going to be a lot of interest to talk about. I have brought the blogging machine with me and I am hoping to blog the conference as we go through, but it will depend a bit on whether there is wireless at Lincoln College. If there isn't, I will still write notes as I go through, but won't be able to upload until the end of the week. For now, I am enjoying some time at my parents' place in Derbyshire.

Travel Diary, Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale airport, Sunday, 9.56am.: I've spent a couple of days on my first Biblical Archaeology Society study weekend. The location was the Hampton Inn in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a pleasant place to stay, though not close to the sea, and a little bit out on its own with only a handful of eating places in walking distance. But the service was excellent, and pretty friendly. The hotel had a pool, but sadly it was not quite warm enough to use it; and when it was warm enough, it was very windy. I did manage to get down to the sea at the end of the study weekend, though, when one of the participants kindly drove us down to the sea front for a walk and dinner at a German pub where I enjoyed a Wurstplatter (but does all American Sauerkraut taste so strongly of vinegar?).

The study side of the weekend was very enjoyable. Anne Killebrew was talking about various archaeological topics, always with interesting pictures, great anecdotes and a sense of what makes archaeology so fascinating. I learnt a great deal from her four lectures and they appeared to be very popular with the audience, who asked many interesting questions.

My own contribution was a series that I entitled "Monarch or Messiah? The King of Jewish Expectation and the Christ of the New Testament". I dealt with the Old Testament evidence in the first lecture, looking at the development of hope for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy in the post-exilic period. In the second I looked at other Second Temple Jewish literature, focusing specially on Psalms of Solomon, but looking also at the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Similitudes of Enoch and 4 Ezra. For Saturday's lectures, I took Paul in the morning and the Gospels in the afternoon, looking at the way in which the New Testament texts develop the concepts of King and Messiah found in the Second Temple Jewish texts. I had interested, intelligent and engaging responses throughout, and found it an enjoyable forum to share ideas in.

At the halfway point, on the Friday evening, there is a dinner followed by a Q&A session for the two lecturers, and again there were many intelligent and interesting questions. Steve Feldman organized and chaired the whole affair and did a fine job. This was a rewarding experience. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to develop a line of thought across four lectures in a tight time frame, something that one rarely gets the opportunity to do.

On the road again

I set off for Fort Lauderdale later today where I am giving four lectures on the topic "Monarch or Messiah: the King of Jewish Expectation and the Christ of the New Testament". Anne Kilbrew is the other speaker and is talking about "Insights Into the Bible from Archaeology". (Fort Lauderdale Study Program). Since it's a work related trip, I hope to do a travel diary over the next few days. I had thought that this would prove impossible because my blogging machine conked out yesterday and has gone off to Atlanta to be fixed. But Duke found me a loan machine so I am back to trying to catch up again. If you are waiting for an email, my apologies. I have about ten thousand to get through.

Passion Première: Travel Diary VI

Charlotte, NC, 5.13pm: Back in the USA. It's the first time I have arrived since our Green Cards arrived and it was a lot of fun joining the US Citizens / Permanent Resident Aliens line and, for the first time, not having my retina scanned and fingerprints taken.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I overslept this morning. I didn't go to bed until late because I was buzzing so much from the evening's events. Nevertheless, I still made it easily to Gatwick, but not with enough time to spare to put another entry in the travel diary. The flight was a whopping 9 hours, which gave plenty of time for sleeping, reading The Guardian and Doctor Who magazine, and watching the kind of crappy films that one only ever watches on flights, this time the second half of Licence to Wed, which I had begun on the way over, Nanny Diaries and Mr Woodcock, all three pretty terrible.

Now I'm back in the same spot in Charlotte, again drinking Sam Adams, where I was 48 hours ago. I think it was a bit barmy to fly over specially for this event, but I am delighted that I did it. I am unlikely ever to have another opportunity like this, and I am really thrilled to have been able to enjoy it while it lasted. I am actually very proud of my involvement with The Passion. It is a superb drama and I hope that it will be talked about for years to come. And it is a rare thing in an academic's life to have the kind of luck I have had in being invited onto this production, and I am pretty sure I will look back on it in years to come as a fantastic opportunity.

Passion Première: Travel Diary V

A hotel in London, 2:18am: I am back from the Passion Première and had a wonderful evening. Before I say anything else, let's just get one thing out of the way: I met Robert Powell! In fact I didn't just meet Robert Powell, but I had a reasonably lengthy and enjoyable conversation with him. I had seen him arrive early in the evening, and saw him having his photograph taken with Joseph Mawle, who plays Jesus in The Passion, and I resisted the temptation to run up to him and say Hi. Happily, later in the evening opportunity presented itself for me to say hello, as I slided steadily towards him alongside Matt Page of the Bible Films blog, who was as keen as I was to meet him.

But with that excitement out of the way, let me rewind a little. I arrived early at the Apollo West End, where the première was to take place, and Matt Page and I filled the time with a pint and some chat. On arrival, I was ushered into a side room where Frank Deasy, the writer of The Passion, was being interviewed. We had often talked on the phone and by email, but this was the first time we had met in person. I did two short interviews in the same room, the first with Christian Premier Radio and the second with Christian Today. I just had time to grab a glass of wine before the screening began, and a chance to meet Nigel Stafford-Clark, the producer, and Michael Offer, the director, also for the first time. And on my way down the stairs, I recognised Joseph Mawle (Jesus) and introduced myself to him and gushed about how good he was in the role. (I did a lot of gushing tonight). I sat with Michael Wakelin, the head of religion and ethics at the BBC, and a fellow advisor on the programme. Jane Tranter, head of drama at the BBC, introduced the screening and read a long list of thank-yous.

Watching the first episode in its final form on the big screen was a wonderful experience. I have seen it many times in earlier edits, but seeing the final version, and on the big screen, was very powerful. The most striking thing to me was the "Coming Soon . . ." trailer at the end, which gathered together some of the most remarkable moments from the forthcoming episodes. And I would be dishonest if I did not confess to some pleasure in seeing my name on the credits after it.

After the screening of the first episode, there was a Q&A session with, left to right, Joseph Mawle (Jesus), Frank Deasy (writer), Jane Tranter (head of drama, chairing), Nigel Stafford-Clark (producer), me, and Michael Offer (director). There were several interesting questions from the audience. Did the spectre of Mel Gibson's film loom large? (No, not really). Had Joseph Mawle had any reservations about playing Jesus (No, not really; yes, there was a huge responsibility, but also he is a "working actor", delighted to get the role). Another question agreed with the others that it was a stunning, compelling piece but added that she was unhappy with one of the lines spoken by Mary; a later questioner echoed the concerns, but I reassured both that I did not think there was any reason to be worried about the theology of the piece, either here or elsewhere.

At the reception afterwards, I met several old friends and lots of new ones, enjoyed a glass of wine (or two) and lots of canopes. The buzz was pretty positive. Almost everyone I talked to had found the first episode compelling drama and they were keen for more.

Oh, and did I mention that I met Robert Powell?

Passion Première: Travel Diary IV

A hotel in London, 5.29pm: I had an excellent lunch on Millbank with two old friends, one of them Q; a little bit of walking and several phone calls. Checked into my hotel; heading out again shortly to the Apollo West End for the première. I hope to get a chance later to report on how things go.

Passion Première: Travel Diary III

Starbucks, Victoria Street, 9.55am. Great flight. Read a couple of articles, watched a moderately funny episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and a terrible film (Heartbreak Kid) and slept very deeply. The plane landed early and it is lovely to be back in England, even if for only 24 hours. I smile all the way through Gatwick airport; hearing so many English accents makes me realize how accustomed I am to living in America. Occasionally I get looks from people who wonder why I seem so happy. The first advertisement I see is for Mother's Day and I have a double take when I see "Mum" instead of "Mom". I pick up a Guardian from the first WH Smith's I pass and the latest Doctor Who Magazine, with Freema Agyeman on the cover, from the larger one at Victoria Station. That will be my treat for the flight home.

While on the train to Victoria, I had a surprise phone call from Q. It turns out that he is in London today and we are going to meet up, along with another old friend I had already planned to meet at the House of Commons. This is already shaping up into an excellent day.

Passion Première: Travel Diary III

Starbucks, Victoria Street, 9.55am. Great flight. Read a couple of articles, watched a moderately funny episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and a terrible film (Heartbreak Kid) and slept very deeply. The plane landed early and it is lovely to be back in England, even if for only 24 hours. I smile all the way through Gatwick airport; hearing so many English accents makes me realize how accustomed I am to living in America. Occasionally I get looks from people who wonder why I seem so happy. The first advertisement I see is for Mother's Day and I have a double take when I see "Mum" instead of "Mom". I pick up a Guardian from the first WH Smith's I pass and the latest Doctor Who Magazine, with Freema Agyeman on the cover, from the larger one at Victoria Station. That will be my treat for the flight home.

While on the train to Victoria, I had a surprise phone call from Q. It turns out that he is in London today and we are going to meet up, along with another old friend I had already planned to meet at the House of Commons. This is already shaping up into an excellent day.

I will be in the same clothes for a little longer, but look forward to checking into my hotel later so that I can shower and clean my teeth.