Call for Papers: Gospel Interpretation and the Q Hypothesis

I'm happy to post the following call for papers for a conference next June in Roskilde, Denmark:

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Call for papers

“Gospel Interpretation and the Q‐Hypothesis”

International Conference, 21 to 24 June 2015, Roskilde (Denmark)

Organizers: Mogens Müller, Stefan Nordgaard, Heike Omerzu

This year, in June, a group of colleagues from Copenhagen held a conference on the topic of ‘Luke’s Literary Creativity’. The conference, which was headed by Prof. Mogens Müller, gave rise to a lively discussion about the Q‐hypothesis and other possible ways of explaining the similarities between Luke and Matthew, including, above all, the Farrer, a.k.a. the L/M, hypothesis. The debate was so energetic and inspiring that we, the team of organizers, decided that we quite simply had to follow up on it with another conference exclusively devoted to the topic of Luke and the synoptic problem and with the participation of both Q‐believers, Q‐sceptics and scholars who as yet remain undecided on the issue.

We have now started organizing the conference and a number of the world’s leading scholars on the topic — Stefan Alkier, Eve‐Marie Becker, Mark Goodacre, Christoph Heil, Werner Kahl, John Kloppenborg, Shelly Matthews, Clare Rothschild, Hildegard Scherer, Christopher Tuckett, and Francis Watson — have agreed to participate. We feel confident that the conference will be able to significantly further the debate between Q‐believers and Q‐sceptics, and we wish to invite anyone with an interest in the issue of the synoptic problem to submit a paper proposal for the conference. In order to allow enough time for discussion we will select up to six papers.

Paper Proposals (not exceeding one page) are to be submitted to Prof. Mogens Müller (mm@teol.ku.dk) or Prof. Heike Omerzu (ho@teol.ku.dk) no later than 1 February 2015.  

Applicants will be informed by 20 February 2015 whether or not their papers have been accepted. Papers accepted for the conference will be distributed in advance among all participants and will be discussed rather than read at the conference. We intend to select respondents for each paper who will introduce the discussion by a critical examination of its argument. In order for us to be able to distribute the papers in advance, accepted papers (not exceeding 20 pages) should be submitted by 23 May 2015. After the conference, contributors may be invited to submit their papers for publication in a collected volume edited by the organizers.

The conference is free of charge. It will be held at Comwell Hotel in Roskilde (Denmark) (www.comwellroskilde.dk). All expenses for food and accommodation (though not travel) will be paid for by the organizers.

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The conference call (PDF) is also available here.

Paul's Letter to the Galatians and Christian Theology

Thanks to Tom Wright for this reminder about the conference this summer on Galatians and Christian Theology at the University of St Andrews. There are still places available:

Paul's Letter to the Galatians & Christian Theology
10-13 July 2012

We are pleased to announce the fourth St Andrews conference on Scripture and
 Christian Theology. Since the first conference on the Gospel of John in
 2003, the St Andrews conferences have been recognized as amongst the most
 important occasions when biblical scholars and systematic theologians are
 brought together in conversation about a biblical text. With the book of Galatians as our key text, biblical scholars and theologians of the Christian tradition will gather to work out how exegesis and theology meet, critique and inform each other.

Full details here.

Codex Sinaiticus Conference

I am working through the email mountain at the moment and see that I forgot to post this notice from Juan Garcés some time ago:
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Codex Sinaiticus Conference
British Library, London, 6-7 July 2009

The Codex Sinaiticus Project, an international initiative to reunite the entire manuscript in digital form and make it accessible to a global audience for the first time (see http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/), will host a conference devoted to this seminal fourth-century Bible.

Leading experts have been invited to present papers on the history, codicology, and text of Codex Sinaiticus, among other topics. A call for papers, registration information, and programme will be made available soon.
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Oxford Synoptic Problem Conference Photograph

Thanks to John Kloppenborg for this picture of participants at the recent Oxford Conference on the Synoptic Problem (my travel diary here). It was taken by my friend Q who happened to be in Oxford that day (travel diary III). Getting all the names here is not going to be easy but I will try. Let's do the front row first because that is easiest: Paul Buckley, Stephen Patterson, J. Samuel Subramanian, Peter Head, Robert Derrenbacker, Richard Ounsworth, John Kloppenborg. Back two rows: Alex Damm, Eugene Boring, Steph Fisher (below him), ???, William Loader, Eric Eve, me, Paul Foster, ??? (three people behind him), F. Gerald Downing, Dennis Macdonald, Andrew Gregory, Seamus O'Connor, David Dungan, Thomas Brodie (behind him, I think, obscured), David Lincicum, Joseph Verheyden, Christopher Hays, David Peabody, Dieter Roth, ???, Mary Marshall, ???, Duncan Reid, ???, Maurice Casey. Sorry for the ???s, especially those who are in clear view but whose names I have forgotten. Can anyone fill in the gaps for me?

Updated: Wednesday, 8.35, with help from Christopher Hays, Dieter Roth and Steph Fisher.

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.

Synoptic Problem Conference Paper

There is a conference in Oxford next week to celebrate the forthcoming centenary of Oxford Studies in the Synoptic Problem. The conference has a website and many of the papers have been uploaded already:

Oxford Conference on the Synoptic Problem

Although not yet on the site, my paper is available, and I have uploaded it here:

The Evangelists' Use of the Old Testament and the Synoptic Problem (MS Word)

The Evangelists' Use of the Old Testament and the Synoptic Problem (PDF)

Oxford Synoptic Conference, April 2008

I have previously posted on the forthcoming Oxford Synoptic Problem conference and I have received this message today from Andrew Gregory:

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Some places are still available at the Oxford Conference on the Synoptic Problem, which will take place at Lincoln College, Oxford, 7-10 April 2008. Since participants are required to pay at the time of booking, anyone who wishes to attend should contact Dr Andrew Gregory (andrew.gregory@theology.ox.ac.uk) before submitting a booking form and payment.

More information about the conference is available here:

Oxford Conference in the Synoptic Problem (MS Word)
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Groningen Qumran Institute Symposium 2008

This is in from Mladen Popović:
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Honoring Professor Florentino García Martínez’s great achievements for the Groningen Qumran Institute and Dead Sea Scrolls studies and initiating a new series of biennial conferences, the Qumran Institute announces

The Authoritativeness of Scriptures in Ancient Judaism:
The Contribution of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature

A Symposium at the Groningen Qumran Institute, 28–29 April 2008
Organization: Mladen Popović (m.popovic@rug.nl)

Program

Monday, 28 April 2008

9.15-9.30 Opening

9.30-10.15 Ed Noort (University of Groningen): The Need of Authority: From Joshua the Successor to the Joshua Apocryphon

10.15-11.00 Julio Trebolle Barrera (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain): Authoritative Scripture as Reflected in the Textual Transmission of the Biblical Books

11.00-11.30 Break

11.30-12.15 Arie van der Kooij (University of Leiden): Authoritative Scriptures and Scribal Culture

12.15-13.00 Émile Puech (École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, Israel): Quelques observations sur le canon des Écrits

13.15-14.15 Lunch

14.30-15.15 George van Kooten (University of Groningen): The Authority of David and Christ’s Davidic Lineage in Paul (Romans 1.3, 4.6, 11.9)

15.15-16.00 Tobias Nicklas (Universität Regensburg, Germany): “The words of the book of this prophecy” (Rev 22.19): Playing with Authority in the Book of Revelation

16.00-16.30 Break

16.30-17.15 Michael Knibb (King’s College, London, UK): “The Mosaic Torah is Conspicuously Absent in the Early Enochic Literature”: Reflections on the Status of 1 Enoch

17.15-18.00 Hindy Najman (University of Toronto, Canada): Exile, Exemplarity and Revelation in 4 Ezra

18.00-19.00 George Brooke (University of Manchester, UK): The Apocalyptic Community and Rewriting Scripture

19.30 Dinner

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

9.15-10.00 Jacques van Ruiten (University of Groningen): Rewritten Bible and the Authoritativeness of Scriptures

10.00-10.45 Emanuel Tov (Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel): From 4QReworked Pentateuch to 4QPentateuch

10.45-11.15 Break

11.15-12.00 Mladen Popović (Qumran Institute, University of Groningen): Ezekiel and Pseudo-Ezekiel in the Dead Sea Scrolls

12.00-12.45 Eibert Tigchelaar (Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA): Aramaic Texts from Qumran and the Authoritativeness of Hebrew Scripture

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.15-15.00 Charlotte Hempel (University of Birmingham, UK): Pluralism and Authoritativeness: The Case of the S Tradition

15.00-15.45 John Collins (Yale University, New Haven, USA): Prophecy and the Authority of History in the Pesharim

15.45-16.30 Jan Bremmer (University of Groningen): How Holy are Holy Books? A Comparison of Greece, Rome, Early Judaism and Early Christianity

16.30-17.00 Break

17.00-18.15 Keynote address: Florentino García Martínez (University of Groningen/Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium): Rethinking the Bible: Sixty Years of Dead Sea Scrolls Research and Beyond

18.15 Reception

19.30 Dinner
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Alexandrian Personae Conference

Thanks to Ben White for sending this over:

Alexandrian Personae:
Scholarly Culture and Religious Traditions in Ancient Alexandria (1st ct. BCE - 3rd ct. CE)
February 23-24, 2008

The conference is hosted by the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the Department of Theology at the University of Göttingen, and details are at the link above.

Bible and Justice Conference

From the British New Testament Society list:
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The 2008 Conference on Bible and Justice will bring together scholars from around the world to explore how the ancient texts of the Bible can play an active role in addressing twenty-first century social concerns. The purpose of the conference is to foster discussion about the relevance of the Bible to modern social issues, and promote bridges between the academic field of biblical studies and the various endeavours for a just world.

The Conference Will Focus On Three Main Areas:
- Human Rights
- Economic Justice
- Environmental Justice

Our Keynote Speakers Are:
- Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University
- Timothy Gorringe, University of Exeter
- John Rogerson, University of Sheffield (Emeritus)

A variety of other speakers, including James Crossley, Philip Davies, David Horrell, Louise Lawrence, Mary Mills, Hugh Pyper, Christoper Rowland, Gerald West, and Keith Whitelam will address how the Bible is able to relate to a wide variety of social issues.

We would like to invite members of the BNTS to submit abstracts, which will be accepted until 24 January 2008.

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/bibs/bibleandjustice/

Please visit the above website or contact our conference organizer, Matthew Coomber, for more information: bibleandjustice@sheffield.ac.uk .

Conference Announcement: Second Comings and Strange Goings (On)

This is posted on behalf of Jay Twomey:
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Second Comings and Strange Goings (On): Versions of the Messianic

* Seminar Organizer: Jay Twomey, U of Cincinnati, W. David Hall, Centre College

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples, on the eve of his crucifixion, “if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you” (16:7). This nexus of arrival and departure, of a future coming at the expense of the departing present and its specific pasts, is characteristic of the messianic in a variety of its manifestations — in religious texts, in writers like Nicanor Parra, Gore Vidal, Pier Paolo Pasolini, in theorists like Walter Benjamin and his interlocutors, in theologians like Catherine Keller, in films or television shows like the new Battlestar Galactica, and so on. Taking up the theme of the 2008 American Comparative Literature Association meeting in Long Beach, CA, “Arrivals and Departures,” this panel seeks to engage scholars from across the humanities in a series of discussions on the messianic. What is it? What is it not? How does it work? Where can we find it? And most importantly: is it good for us? Prospective panelists whose work draws upon relevant scholarship in religious studies and/or recent work by theorists such as Giorgio Agamben will be given highest priority. Most ACLA panels function as two- and three-day seminars. We are proposing a three-day panel, for which we will only consider participants who can commit to staying for the duration of the conference (April 24-27, 2008).

Please go to the ACLA conference Web site for information on submitting paper proposals.

Oxford Conference in the Synoptic Problem

I received this announcement from Andrew Gregory this morning:

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Oxford Conference in the Synoptic Problem
Lincoln College, Oxford
7 - 10 April 2008

Convenors: PAUL FOSTER (Edinburgh), ANDREW GREGORY (Oxford), JOHN S. KLOPPENBORG (Toronto), JOSEPH VERHEYDEN (Leuven)

This conference is designed to mark the centenary of the landmark conversations that occurred in Oxford and led to Oxford Studies in the Synoptic Problem (ed. William Sanday; Oxford: Clarendon, 1911). The purpose of the 2008 Conference is both to give a comprehensive assessment of the state of research into the synoptic problem over the last hundred years and to indicate potential ways in which discussion may be advanced. It will also highlight and critically examine key methodological issues that shape the way in which the discussion is conducted. The conference papers, together with other commissioned essays, will be published by Peeters of Leuven. Participants in the conference and/or contributors to the book are as follows:

RICHARD BAUCKHAM (St. Andrew’s) John and the Synoptic Problem; EUGENE BORING (Brite Divinity School) The minor agreements and the synoptic problem; SCOTT G. BROWN (Toronto) The Longer Gospel of Mark and other evidence for the Deutero-Markus hypothesis; DAVID CATCHPOLE(Salisbury) The infancy narratives and the synoptic problem; KATHLEEN CORLEY (University of Wisconsin) Why is the synoptic problem the preserve of white European and North American men?; ALEX DAMM (Toronto) Ancient rhetoric and the Synoptic Problem; HENK DE JONGE (Leiden) The synoptic problem and the fourfold gospel; ROBERT DERRENBACKER (Regent College) Compositional habits and the synoptic problem; F. GERALD DOWNING (Manchester), Ancient analogies to the synoptic problem; ERIC EVE (Oxford), The synoptic problem without Q?; PAUL FOSTER (Edinburgh) What happened to the M source?; TIMOTHY FRIEDRICHSEN (Catholic University of America) Deutero-Marcus; MARK GOODACRE (Duke), The evangelists' use of the Old Testament; ANDREW GREGORY (Oxford) What is literary dependence?; PETER HEAD (Cambridge), Textual criticism and the synoptic problem; CHARLES W. HEDRICK (Southwest Missouri State University) The Parables and the synoptic problem; CHRISTOPH HEIL (Gräz) Reconstructing Q; RUDOLF HOPPE (Bonn), Roman Catholic biblical scholarship on the synoptic problem; ALAN KIRK (James Madison University), Orality, Scribality and Memory; JOHN S. KLOPPENBORG (Toronto) The creation of a synopsis; ANDREAS LINDEMANN (Bethel), The Apostolic Fathers and the synoptic problem; WILLIAM LOADER (Perth), Attitudes to Judaism and the Law; DIETER LÜHRMANN (Marburg) Other non-canonical gospels and the synoptic problem; ULRICH LUZ (Bern) Matthew and Q; DANIEL MARGUERAT (Lausanne), Reading Acts and the synoptic problem; ROBERT MORGAN (Oxford), Oxford Studies in the Synoptic Problem: an assessment of its contribution to the study of the synoptic problem; JOHN MUDDIMAN, The date of Luke-Acts and the synoptic problem; STEPHEN PATTERSON (Eden Theological Seminary) Thomas and the synoptic problem; DAVID PEABODY (Nebraska Wesleyan University), Reading the Gospels on different synoptic theories; RON PIPER (St. Andrew’s) Q: From hypothesis to entity?; DUNCAN REID (Toronto) Miracles and the synoptic problem; CHRISTOPHER ROWLAND (Oxford), The reception history of the gospels and the synoptic problem; UDO SCHNELLE (Halle-Wittenberg), Protestant biblical scholarship on the synoptic problem; JENS SCHRÖTER (Leipzig) The historical Jesus and the synoptic problem; ROBERT STEIN (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), Duplicate expressions in Mark; CHRISTOPHER TUCKETT (Oxford) The Current State of the Synoptic Problem; JOSEPH VERHEYDEN (Leuven) Proto-Luke

Booking information
The conference begins with lunch on Monday 7 April at 1pm (registration from 11.30am) and finishes after lunch (served at 1pm) on Thursday 10 April. Places are strictly limited to a maximum of 80 delegates, and ensuite accommodation in Lincoln College is available for 60 delegates. Full board will cost £435.00. A non-resident rate, including lunch and dinner, is available for £255.00. Some bed and breakfast accommodation may also be available in college before and after the conference. All payments must be made at the time of booking.

If you wish to attend the conference, please contact Andrew Gregory (andrew.gregory@theology.ox.ac.uk, or Dr Andrew Gregory, University College, Oxford, OX1 4BH, UK) by 1 October 2007. You will then be notified by 1 November 2007 if a place is available and (if applicable) sent a booking form. Please note that we will require booking and payment before 1 December 2007 to secure your place at the conference.

Further information about Lincoln College is available here: www.lincoln.ox.ac.uk

Information about other accommodation in Oxford is available here:
www.oxford.gov.uk/tourism/where-to-stay.cfm
www.oxfordcity.co.uk/oxford/home_accommodation.html
www.oxfordshortlets.co.uk/
www.dailyinfo.co.uk/venues.php?cat=hotel

Information about travelling to Oxford is available here:
www.oxford.gov.uk/tourism/how-to-get-to-oxford.cfm

Call for Papers: St Andrews

The following is posted on behalf of Bruce Longenecker:

The Biblical Studies Seminar of the School of Divinity at the University of St Andrews invites paper proposals on economic features of early Christianity, as reflected in extant data from the first three centuries ce. Of particular interest are proposals with a theological component that consider the topic in relation to:

a) New Testament texts; or

b) the use of the New Testament or the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible in Christian writings of the first three centuries ce.

The accepted papers are expected to be included in the Biblical Studies Seminar programme from February through May 2008. The Seminar will incur the presenters¹ costs for B&B and for travel within Britain. Some of the papers may be published in a volume of collected essays.

Please send proposals of 500 words, by 15 September, to Dr Bruce Longenecker (BWL2@st-andrews.ac.uk), indicating full contact details and availability between February and May 2008. Proposals are invited from scholars at PhD level through to senior professors. Proposals from PhD students need to be accompanied by a letter of approval and recommendation from their PhD supervisor.

Birmingham Dead Sea Scrolls Conference

Over on Evangelical Textual Criticism, Peter Williams has the details of a major Dead Sea Scrolls Conference with some really big names. I have searched around the University of Birmingham Theology and Religion (for nostalgia as much as anything) to see if there is anything on it yet, but not so far.

Travel Diary 3: Return from Baltimore

I arrived back from the Mid-Atlantic Region SBL Meeting in the early hours of this morning with jumpy flights which were running on time, and teaming rain when I got back, but happily no tornadoes. (The tornado warning for our area ended at 8 am).

I enjoyed getting the chance to go to an SBL regional meeting for the first time. This one was remarkably low key compared to the SBL Annual Meeting. I would guess that there were only 150 or so people there, and not many of what Michael Goulder always used to call the "top brass". The seminars were fairly laid back affairs with only ten or so people in each one that I went to. It reminded me much more of the British New Testament Conference than of the SBL Annual Meeting, though it was considerably smaller than the BNTC, with a much smaller book display, and without the communal, scheduled meals.

My paper, "The Devil is in the Detail: Dispelling Doubts about Dispensing with Q" was the plenary paper in the late afternoon. (Handout available here). There were fifty or sixty present and it was a friendly audience and there were some useful an interesting questions. I enjoyed getting the chance to revisit Q again, having been invited to do so by Kathy Grieb who is the president of the MAR-SBL but not having had much in the way of fresh thoughts about Q in the last five years. After my talk, which I gave as a presentation rather than as a read paper, as is my habit on these occasions, there was a smaller, informal gathering with fewer people (ten or so) for further discussion. All in all, I was grateful for the invitation.

Travel Diary 2: Arrival in Baltimore

I had a most enjoyable flight, that ideal combination of reading, thinking and sleeping. I sketched out the plan for my next book and had that great (if unrealistic) feeling of, "Well, that's half the work done". I feel a little bad about flying now that the Bishop of London has declared it a sin. But I couldn't face driving 300 miles alone, especially since it's a big battle to stay awake, and I'm not sure that it's so much better for global warming to have a single person in a car driving 600 miles. You can't get the train or the bus between cities here in the US, at least not where I live. While waiting at Charlotte airport, I decided that since I was sinning by flying, I may as well compound the sin by having one of those delicious brownies they do at Starbucks, and the pint of coffee washed it down splendidly.

I arrived at the hotel after midnight and after a particularly enjoyable thirty minute chat with my cab driver who, it turned out, was an immigrant from Eritrea. He'd come here twenty-six years ago, after eighteen months in Rome, and now one of his kids is a doctor and another is a successful businessman.

This is my first regional SBL meeting and it is interesting that these too, like the enormous Annual Meeting, seem to take place in hotels and conference centres. It will be interesting to see how it differs from the big meeting.

Travel Diary 1: On the way to Baltimore

It's a while since I have had a travel diary on the blog, but I have a brief one over the next day or so because I am on the way to the SBL Mid-Atlantic Region Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland where I have been invited to speak on the topic, "The Devil is in the Detail: Dispelling Doubts about Dispensing with Q". I know, it's horribly alliterative but I just couldn't resist it once I started with "the Devil is in the detail". The occasion for that was Christopher Tuckett's review of my Case Against Q in Novum Testamentum a couple of years ago, which ended with the point that "the devil is in the detail", i.e. there are lots of natty little details among the Synoptic data that my case does not deal with. I am not going to use the occasion tomorrow, except briefly, to respond to critics, however, but will instead focus on why the details matter for my case too, and how a careful look at them can encourage us to dispense with Q.

The conference gets underway tomorrow morning, but I am flying in tonight and am currently enjoying a Sam Adams and a "Seattle Chicken Club" sandwich at the sports bar in Raleigh Durham International Airport. I am one of those people who generally fills one's day so full that I love travelling to give me a chance to take it a little easier, to catch some time to read, think, relax, sleep, oh, and blog. It is particularly welcome that I have this time now since I have been recently been deep in another paper, on Thomas's use of the Synoptics, which I gave at our New Testament Colloquium last night.