Possible blogging break

I am flying to Rome later today to take part in a documentary being filmed for Channel 4 with the working title, "Who wrote the Bible?" Since this is a business trip, I am going to take my blogging machine with me, but don't know yet whether I will have time or opportunity to use it, so it's a possible blog break.

Francis Watson articles on-line

Thanks to Andy Goodliff for drawing to my attention the fact that Francis Watson's homepage now features a good number of full-text articles and excerpts from work, both that published elsewhere and that not. It's yet a further sign of that steady revolution that is taking place on the Open Access front of scholars providing copies of their research freely available to all on their homepages. And it's very welcome. The main link is here:

Professor Francis Watson

Included are excerpts from his new book (Word document):

Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith

And a recent journal article (PDF):

'The Authority of the Voice: A Theological Reading of 1 Cor. 11.2-16', New Testament Studies 46 (2000): 520-36

And the materials not currently published elsewere (Word documents):

• The resurrection and the identity of Jesus
  
• The crucifixion in Mark
  
• Christ and Reality in Ephesians
  
• Theological exegesis of Genesis 18-19
  
• The Spirit and Biblical Hermeneutics
  
• Theological Interpretation
  
• Theses on Theological Interpretation

The Theology Generation

There's an encouraging article, for those of us teaching Theology in the UK at least, in this week's Tablet:

The theology generation
Christopher Lamb
What lies behind the increasing popularity of theology among university students? We asked one of them to investigate

. . . . It is hardly a "dossers' degree". Research by Manchester University of 18 theology and religious studies departments shows that six have raised their grades in the past year, with record numbers of students being interviewed for places. To get a place at St Andrews University in Scotland requires A-level grades of ABB (up from BBC), while at Durham, students need grades - or predicted grades - of ABC to even be called for an interview.

Even for someone who knows nothing about the subject, theology sounds interesting and looks good on a CV - provided the degree is from a good university. In that sense it is much like any other arts or humanities degree.

"Almost all of our students read theology for general interest, as they would English or history," says Rosalind Paul, admissions tutor for divinity at Cambridge. "A degree is about training the mind."

To learn about history, the Bible, Christianity and the influence of the Churches are good places to start. Theology is extremely flexible: not only does it bring together the disciplines of philosophy, literature, linguistics and history, but the choice of what to study within a theology degree is extraordinarily wide. "I've looked at everything from Buddhism to the Catholic Church's reaction to the Holocaust," says Patrick Scott, who is studying theology at Bristol University . . .

You may need to register (free) first. The article finishes with a quotation from a graduate of Exeter College, Oxford -- nice to see my college represented in the article (and I recognise the name of the student too, Richard Price). It's good to hear of the rising popularity of Theology. Much of the article chimes in with my own experience. I've spoken at two sixth form days this year, which we run in Birmingham for prospective students of Theology and Religion, and both have been well attended and full of really enthusiastic people. On each occasion I have encouraged them not to lose their enthusiasm before they come to university.

Oral Performance and Its Context

Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2004.09.44 has added a detailed review of what looks like a fascinating and helpful book, especially given the current interest in this topic in NT studies. It is a Brill book so probably one for the library rather than personal possession:

C.J. Mackie (ed.), Oral Performance and Its Context (Mnemosyne Suppl. 248. Leiden: Brill, 2004)
Review by Jose M. Gonzalez

Relaunch of The Expository Times

Alison Jack, the executive editor of the Expository Times, has sent me this information about the relaunch of the journal. I asked if I might also make it available on the blog and she was happy to agree:

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Relaunch of The Expository Times

For over a century The Expository Times has enjoyed a reputation for its thought-provoking articles, helpful sermons and stimulating book reviews.

The Journal has large and dedicated following all over the world and many of our readers subscribe to The Expository Times throughout their working life.

With its roots in biblical scholarship, The Expository Times provides a valuable service in the continuing education of the ministry and over the years has evolved to reflect this.

In the Spring of 2005 The Expository Times will be re-launched to meet the demands of a 21st century readership. The re-launch will be accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign to thousands of ministers, colleges and seminaries worldwide.

We are therefore now inviting friends and colleagues to contribute articles to the new look Expository Times.

The ingredients which have made The Expository Times popular and successful over the years will still be very much in evidence in the new journal and The Expository Times’ principal focus will remain biblical. However, we are looking to expand the remit of the journal to cover other areas of interest to our readership. Our readers have indicated to us that they are interested in a wide range of scholarly issues covering aspects of current debate in academic circles but written in a clear and accessible way.

Expository Times’ readers are highly educated and informed and we want at all costs to maintain the academic credibility of the journal but we also need to adapt to appeal to the demands of a minister working in a busy environment. Therefore we are looking for stimulating and informative articles of 3-4000 words in length, on the bible and theology, in particular, relating to the ministry and avoiding any unnecessary academic jargon.

The format of the journal, which will be familiar to many of you, will remain relatively unchanged. Roughly divided into three sections the journal will feature articles, a worship resources section (including commentaries and sermons) and book reviews.

The journal appeals to an international, interdenominational audience, with a wide range of theological viewpoints, and articles should reflect this. The following offers a rough guide to the themes we are looking for but is by no means exhaustive:

· The bible and contemporary society
· Apocryphal writings
· New and Old Testament history and background
· Social issues including gender and race
· Ethical dilemmas
· Liturgy and worship including history and liturgical change
· Pastoral matters
· Practical Theology
· Contemporary issues affecting the Church
· Surveys of literature in the field
· Hymns and hymn writers
· Using multimedia in sermons
· Practical preaching tips
· Preaching on themes
· Preparing sermons for various audiences, eg children, teenagers, racially mixed audience etc
· Using the internet
· Interfaith issues
· Biography
· Autobiographical articles, charting the evolution of the thinking of a theologian or biblical scholar

We very much hope that you will want to contribute an article and would like to invite you to contact us to let us know what you would be willing to offer.

In particular, we are looking for contributions to be published in April, May and June 2005 for which copy will be needed by the beginning of November, December 2004 and January 2005.
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You can contact the editor on a.jack@ed.ac.uk.

Questioning Q

My copy of Questioning Q arrived in today's post. This book is a collection of essays edited by Nick Perrin and me and featuring a Foreword by N. T. Wright. It is published by SPCK in the UK and InterVarsity Press in the USA (who are giving a publication date of February 2005 for their version). The essays are contributed by Nick Perrin, me, Mark Matson, Jeff Peterson, John Poirier, Eric Eve, Richard Vinson and Ken Olson. It was a pleasant surprise to see the volume this early; the date given in SPCK's publicity is October 22. However, there is next to nothing on the internet available to advertise the volume and it's not really available to buy yet. I'll post some more news when I have it. But it was a great pleasure to see the book more than three weeks earlier than I had expected. In the mean time, here are the bibliographical details:

Mark Goodacre and Nick Perrin (eds.), Questioning Q (London: SPCK, 2004); Foreword by N. T. Wright. Paper. ISBN: 0281056137.

The only thing that I was a little disappointed about was that SPCK have dropped the individual contributors' names from the cover of the book. I'll perhaps dig out a picture of the earlier draft of the book cover and post it here when I have a moment.

The Miners' Bishop: Brooke Foss Westcott

Last week's Church Times (I was away at the weekend) features a review of an interesting looking biography of the New Testament scholar and Bishop of Durham Brooke Foss Westcott:

THE MINERS’ BISHOP: Brooke Foss Westcott
By Graham A. Patrick

Reviewed by John Whale

Problems with Semeia on Ebind

Monica Vila Echague points out to me that the Semeia volumes on Ebind now ask for a username and password so it seemed that these were no longer free to all users (See the list on my Journals page; this is the second list; the first one is hosted by SBL). However, it seems that if one types in Username: "any" and Password: "any", then one can still obtain access to these files. If I were you, though, I'd save any you want on your hard drive now lest they really have gone before long. It has happened before.

Short Review on Perspectives on the Passion of the Christ

I have commented before on the Miramax book called Perspectives on the Passion of the Christ and I am still planning to post my comments on this essay collection here in due course. (Note: this is not the same book as Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ). Here's a short review on IndyStar.com:

Perspectives on "The Passion of the Christ" (scroll down a bit)

. . . . The book suffers from weak editing. By the third time a writer explained that "synoptic" means "seen together" (as in the synoptic Gospels), I was wishing they'd just put a glossary in the front.

The writers' attitudes toward Mel Gibson's movie range from discomfort to contempt. Surely, they could have found someone thoughtful who flat-out liked the film? Having said that, the essays are generally well-written and cover in detail the reasoning of those who did not love the movie . . . .

I quite agree with these comments -- the weak editing, or lack of editing, is something that I'd like to come back to in my review; it is an element that contrasts with the more recent Webb and Corley edited volume. I also thought that it was pretty depressing reading a book that on the whole was so thoroughly negative about the film, and which was sometimes misinformed and often descended to caricature and polemic.

Mahlon Smith revisits The Passion

In Mahlon Smith's Virtual Religion Weblog, he revisits The Passion of the Christ with some comments on some comments by Catherine Baril:

Gisbon's Passion Revisited

Catherine Baril's comments, extensively quoted by Mahlon, are essentially an explanation of why she has no intention of watching the film. I have a genuine and sympathetic understanding of this position since I experienced this myself earlier this year. I often used to write in this blog of my dread of going to see this film, not least because of my extreme aversion to violence and violent films. Indeed it was only my fascination with Jesus movies that effectively made it compulsory that I should see it. I was ready to hate it. And I would say that while I still very much understand those who feel that they cannot face viewing it (including my Mum and my wife!), in my own experience the viewing of the film has proved an emotional, a spiritual, a profoundly uplifting and moving experience, an experience I am pleased that I have been able to share with many others who feel the same way.

A side comment -- Mahlon comments "at the risk of appearing obsessed". Well, if anyone can share with him on that one, it's me! But I am not concerned about the amount of the attention this film has generated from Biblical scholars. If we are not able to comment in an informed way in the public arena on such an important cultural event directly related to our primary interests, then the more fool us.

Tom Wright answers emailers

Over on the N. T. Wright Page, Tom Wright provides answers to questions asked by various emailers on the "WrightSaid" email list. This is an occasional feature organised by the group's maintainer Kevin Bush:

Bishop Tom Wright answers Wrightsaid Questions (September 2004)

Unfortunately, most of the answers are short and some simply refer the reader to already published work. The answers do feel a little rushed, but of course it's better than nothing. I would like to see the authors of the questions identified on this page too; at present we have simply anonymous questions and I like a bit more personal information, at least a name. At the conclusion, Wright offers some information on forthcoming publications:

Paul for Everyone: Romans is coming out next month (SPCK in UK, WJKP in USA); that a small book provisionally entitled Scripture and the Authority of God is due out in a few months; and that I am working on the book-version of the Hulsean Lectures I gave on Paul in Cambridge last spring -- provisional title, Fresh Perspectives on Paul...

More Gems on Katapi

And it's not just Streeter's Four Gospels (see previous post) but several other full on-line books made available on Katapi including:

Introduction to the New Testament by A H McNeile.
First published Oxford University Press 1927.

A Historical Introduction to the New Testament by Robert M Grant.
First published by Collin's 1963.

The Riddle of the New Testament by Sir Edwyn Hoskyns & Noel Davey.
First published Faber & Faber 1931.

On-line Streeter, The Four Gospels

On Hypotyposeis, Stephen Carlson notes this remarkable development:

B. H. Streeter, The Four Gospels: A Study of the Origins (London: Macmillan, 1924)

It's not just a straight transcription but a very nicely produced on-line edition by someone called Paul Ingram. The internet continually has the ability to surprise one on a daily basis. Just one comment at this stage: though the edition is beautifully hyperlinked, what would help enormously would be the original page numbers too for referencing purposes.

Update (30 September): I've now added to the New Testament Gateway: Synoptic Problem: Books and Articles page.

AKMA on the SBLSP clause

It's good to see AKMA coming on board with the concerns expressed in various blogs over the "hands off" clause ("Because these papers represent works in progress, they should not be quoted or otherwise cited without permission from the author") in the new on-line version of the SBL Seminar Papers:

Matter of Principle

But more important, the whole issue points to the extent to which this constituency of academia has yet to come to terms with the changes — and especially the opportunities — that online publication entails. Trevor and I have been knocking ourselves out, trying to find people who were willing to publish their work online at all. We’ve encountered all varieties of resistance, to what will be a matter of uninteresting fact in a few years. Rather than seeing the positive implications for disseminating scholarly debate over biblical topics, the guild responded with fear and with futile clutching after an illusory control.

Caviezel mistaken for Jesus

OnlyPunjab.com has this remarkable story about James Caviezel (who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ):

Jesus actor mistaken for the real deal

James Caviezel . . . was on a one-week tour of the east Mexican state of Veracruz.

According to Mexican newspaper Reforma, dozens of residents from villages throughout the state, one of the poorest in the country, asked Caviezel to heal the sick and perform other miracles as he passed through.

The actor, who is himself a strict Catholic, said: "The belief of these people really moved me.

"It was a shock for me to see how they came up to me to ask for my help. I had to explain to them that I was only an actor, and wasn't really the son of God."

This reminds me of the famous story about Robert Powell finding a great tapestry of his face in a church once when he was on holiday; it's a slightly scary reminder of just how powerful a medium film can be.

Herodian Palace excavation

RogueClassicism references this interesting article on Haaretz:

The Jewish millionaire who surrendered to the Romans
By Ran Shapira

David Meadows describes this as "a nice report on the excavation of a Herodian-era palace at Ramat Hanadiv, which appears to have been abandoned during the Jewish Revolt that began in the 60s A.D.". Well worth a read.

Review of Biblical Literature Latest

Latest reviews from the Review of Biblical Literature

Dart, John
Decoding Mark
Reviewed by Lincoln Blumell

Dart, John
Decoding Mark
Reviewed by Mark Schuler

Herranz Marco, Mariano
La Virginidad Perpetua de María
Reviewed by Bernie Cueto

Milavec, Aaron
The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis, and Commentary
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus

Milavec, Aaron
The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis, and Commentary
Reviewed by Eric Noffke

Milavec, Aaron
The Didache: Text, Translation, Analysis, and Commentary
Reviewed by Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte

Murray, Michele
Playing a Jewish Game: Gentile Christian Judaizing in the First and Second Century CE
Reviewed by Joshua Burns

Paul Books and Articles page update

I am teaching Paul this term, so have been updating some links on the NT Gateway page on Paul, specifically Books and Articles. There are new URLs for the articles by John Gager and Francis Watson, and two new Tom Wright links from the N. T. Wright page, all marked with the red "New" and "New URL".

January 2005 Conference on the Rhetorics of Identity

This was posted yesterday on Rhetoric-L by L. G. Bloomquist on behalf of J. David Hester:

Dear Friends and Colleagues -

Due to interest concerning the conference, we have extended the deadline for submissions.

Please post this information anywhere you wish - the wider the variety of fields represented at the conference, the more exciting it will be.

Previous conference participants are encouraged to return; those who have not yet participated are most heartily welcome to join us.

-J. David Hester

**************

The Centre for Rhetorics & Hermeneutics is [excited] pleased to announce Rhetorical Constructions of Identities: Place, Race, Sex and the Person, the next in series of successful international conferences exploring rhetorical theory in the context of pressing public issues. The conference will take place Thursday through Saturday, January 20-23, 2005 at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.

All proposals pertinent to the topic will be considered. Explorations can include: biblical constructs of sacred identity and persona, issues of race and ethnic constructions, religious reconstitutions of the subject, sexed identities and desire, political and legal definitions of the subject and their implications, philosophies of individualism, honor-shame cultures and dyadic personalities, the conflict of allegiances, the role of the person in rhetoric and ad hominem argumentation, medical discourse and research and their impact upon ideas of the self, among other subjects. Participants from the fields of anthropology, philosophy, literature, rhetoric, religion, social and political sciences, medicine and ethics, to name a few areas of possible interest, are welcome.

Our conferences are unique in their conception and dialogic approach. They have remained interdisicplinary and transdisciplinary in inspiration and practice. Our commitment is to provide a context of safety where respect and dialog can take place, where experts come together to share from a variety of fields offer insights not usually available in larger and more disciplinary settings, and where international connections are fostered.

Proposals must be submitted by October 31, 2004 with notification of acceptance made by November 8, 2004. As we have done in the past, all proposals must be sent in by mid-January for distribution to all conference participants prior to arrival. Presentations are limited to 10 minutes, with 30-45 minutes roundtable dialogue to follow.

Participants who have joined us in the past will be given priority, but we welcome any and all to come join in the exchange. Registration is free, but transportation, lodging and food must be covered by the participants themselves.

The presentations will be published electronically in the journal Queen, but possibility of pulp publication will be discussed at the conference.

Please send proposals by October 31, 2004 to david@ars-rhetorica.net and /or jdhester@adelphia.net.

New N. T. Wright articles

The N. T. Wright Page has published three more articles by N. T. Wright. These are clearly lectures of some kind and appear to be three lectures in a series (see the opening lines of the third) on "Christian Origins and the Resurrection of Jesus":

The Resurrection as a Historical Problem

Early Traditions and the Origin of Christianity

The Resurrection and the Postmodern Dilemma

One request to Kevin Bush, alongside thanks for his fine site, would be that he gives date / place / origin of these papers.