SBL Monday afternoon

In some respects today was the most enjoyable day; I didn't feel as rough as I did yesterday, I didn't have anything to do in public, I was able to find time to buy some more books, I got to spend a decent amount of time with people whose company I really enjoy, and I went to some sessions. I went in to the first paper of the Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics section where my former PhD student Catherine Smith was presenting first and she did a great job -- there's real pride for the supervisor who sees his former students performing so well in public! Her paper was on her reconfiguring of the Synoptic data in the light of systemic functional linguistics, with focus on the parable of the Sower.

We went next to the Historical Jesus section, where we caught the fag end of an interesting discussion about Jesus' illegitimacy. There was then a paper by about Jesus and repudiaction of family ties, very well presented with a clear handout, but the method was not to my taste -- all Q / Thomas and multiple attestation. I don't have the programme with me but I think her name was Susan Griffith, but that might be wrong. I asked a question at the end about the combination between multiple attestation and the criterion of embarrassment -- I can't help thinking that one cancels out the other. If everyone, Q, an independent Thomas, Mark, Matthew, Luke all have this same material, who is embarrassed about it? The multiple attestation is itself an argument against embarrassment.

She was followed by someone whose name I don't recall (sorry!) on the Parable of the Pounds / Talents and the Archelaus background. Last up was was a brilliant presentation by Ted Weeden on Bailey's theory of informal controlled oral tradition, in which he demonstrated clearly to my satisfaction that the evidenciary basis for Bailey's thesis is flawed. A very useful, multi-page handout too. Michael Bird was there too, but I am less convinced than he that Jimmy Dunn's response at the end was adequate. I think Ted Weeden has dealt a fatal blow to Bailey's theory, at least on the evidence that Bailey himself provides.

More anon.

SBL Monday morning

Another early morning breakfast appointment, Synoptic Gospels Steering Committee. Next year I am going to give myself at least one early morning off; I am not getting my money's worth out of the hotel bed. My roommates hardly see me.

I then had the SBL Forum Advisory Board and a useful meeting, with lots of good suggestions. It finished in time for me to get to the last two papers in the Paul and Politics section, Jeff Peterson on "Paul, Passover and Politics", focusing on 1 Cor. 5.7 and featuring some stuff I want to follow up for my own research on the Passion Narratives. Then James McLaren gave an interesting paper on the identity of the man of lawlessness in 2 Thess., though unfortunately I missed quite a lot of the paper through sleep.

At lunchtime I got my first taste of a Philly cheese steak sandwich and it was pretty nice, though the place we went to was apparently not the best and there was not enough cheese in it.

Also blogging SBL today are . . . .

Joe Cathey has lots of interesting posts on the SBL, including one today on the CARG session which he describes as "one of the best that I have attended here at SBL". I must admit to enjoying it too. Stephen Carlson was up later than me blogging on SBL Saturday. Jim Davila decided to abandon the television-blogging and to go for a 15 minute (maximum allowed) stint on the computers in the Book Exhibit. Jim West has several posts, including one on the Biblioblogging session. Torrey Seland likewise comments:

The discussion had its merits; it could perhaps, at least according to my opinion, have been a little more organised as people just 'took the word' and spoke without waiting in line, or giving a sign.
I had also hoped that someone (in addition to me.......:-) had focused a little more on the future; What do we expect blogosphere will look like in two years, and/or what do we want it to look like? I presume the wild flowers will continue to grow; but if we do not get more blogs who focus more strictly on specific fields, or groups of biblical writings, we will lose some interest in the scholarly world....

I am probably to blame on both points, but I must admit to having enjoyed the easy-flowing ad-hoc nature of the discussion. People did give a sign -- they generally put up a hand or similar, and I don't think anyone hogged the floor; nor did anyone not get the opportunity to speak if they wanted it. The question about the future is a good one -- we should have raised those questions more.

Michael Bird is blogging on Euangelion. Pete Williams has an interesting take on the Wright / Ehrman / Crossan / Martin session. Rick Brannan comments on the biblioblogging session. Joe Weaks comments briefly. James Crossley is still blogging, but alas, no more interesting pics of other parts of his hotel yet. For pics, you'll have to go to Yasmin Finch (and here).


Sorry still no pics here. I couldn't really take pictures while chairing one session and speaking at another. But I'll definitely try to get a couple of pics done tomorrow.

SBL Sunday afternoon

I went to the Matthew Section at 1 today and was the first up. I presented a paper on The Rock on Rocky Ground: Matthew, Mark and Peter as Skandalon. It wasn't the best presentation I've given; I was feeling quite ill by this point (my own fault, I know), but I did get some great questions afterwards which will help to improve the paper. Steve Black spoked next, also on Peter, on whether or not he was rehabilitated in Matthew. Rodrigo J. Morales spoke on Wisdom in Matthew, the yoke saying and the Sermon on the Mount. Catherine Sider Hamilton spoke on blood in Matthew, and Daniel Gurtner talked about the temple in Matthew. There was a nice symmetry to the session, with two from Duke and two from Toronto School of Theology, two papers on Peter, two papers on the Temple. It was a really well attended session as well, and I was pleased that I had made 100 handouts.

I had a series of other meetings; ate some good Chinese; and at 9 was the Duke Reception -- full to the brim -- and my first ever. Eric Meyers stood up and introduced faculty old and new, including me, and I had lots of nice personal welcomes afterwards.

Agonies over for me. I am looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the SBL properly tomorrow. And before going to bed, I must sneak a peak at what others have been blogging of the conference to compare notes.

SBL Sunday morning

Alas, I only managed three and a half hours' sleep; I have a terrible habit of filling my schedule so full that in the end it's the sleep has has to be sacrificed, and I regretted it today. As I got up for my breakfast meeting, I felt pretty rough and felt that way all day, but managed to perk up tonight. Managed to summon up enough energy to chair a session this morning and to present a paper this afternoon, but I found neither easy. I am making a resolution that next year I will have at least one morning when I don't have to get up at 6. OK, personal whinge over; time to give my reflections on the day.

After my breakfast meeting (in a pretty posh restaurant called Soles, normally a seafood place), I went to the Computer Assisted Research Section for our much blogged-about session on The Pains, the Pleasures and the Prospects for Biblioblogging. I was asked to put the panel together for this last spring, and the personnel will be familiar to many of my readers. I gave a short introduction, and then Jim Davila presented his paper. I am delighted to say that although Jim did not jump, or wave, or produce Victor Borge style sounds when he read hyperlinks, he did do a little jump when he told us that he would not be doing any of those things. You can still read his paper on-line. As usual on these occasions, it was presented beautifully. Rick Brannan then presented his paper with a very clear Powerpoint, which made it easy to follow -- and interesting. We then took a couple of minutes while we tried to find enough chairs for all the panel. In addition to Jim and Rick, this was Stephen Carlson, Torrey Seland, Ed Cook, Tim Bulkeley, AKMA, Jim West. Each took five minutes to introduce themselves and teir blog and add some reflections. We then had a discussion amongst ourselves, and I opened up the last 40 minutes to the floor to add their own comments and questions. Rarely have I been to an SBL session with so lively but at the same time so genial a discussion. As it turned out, many of the audience were themselves bloggers, and there were useful contributions from Jo Weaks, Brandon Wason, Paul Nikkel, Chris Heard and many others.

I don't think we broke any new ground and I don't think we discovered anything about blogging that we didn't already know, but it was one of those sessions that transcended that because of the positive vibe. Am I being too upbeat about it all? Perhaps, because Paul Nikkel's question was the one that did give me pause for thought, and several of us discussed it further afterwards, including Yasmin Finch. The gist of the question was the act of defining ourselves as bibliobloggers, discussing what one is, discussing who is in and who is out; all such things are raising some walls around us, creating a community with its own way of behaving. There is some institutionalization of the charismatic routes of our blogging here. The question tapped into some of my concerns about our having an SBL session on this, though in the end the session really served its purpose well, to raise the profile of blogging in the academic context, and to provide a positive and productive forum in which lots of like-minded people were able to come together for the first time in the same place and celebrate the strengths of an activity that we enjoy, and apparently many others benefit from.

Also blogging SBL is

Peter Williams on Evangelical Textual Criticism.

Biblioblogging issues

Ahead of tomorrow's session (in fact, later today, because I'm up in the small hours), Torrey Seland has posted his own reflections which are worth reading:

Biblioblogging Issues

SBL: Saturday afternoon

I attended the first session of the Synoptics Section which was, unfortunately, pretty badly attended. Next door, afterwards, there was the best attended session of the New Testament Textual Criticism section I have been to, and it was the highlight of the meeting so far. It was something of an eclectic mix, with a panel made up of John Dominic Crossan, Tom Wright, Bart Ehrman and Dale Martin; Kim Haines-Eitzen was in the chair. The ostensible reason for the session was a review of two books, Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus and a book by Wright on Scripture, called something like The Last Word. All four speakers are fine orators and there was an extent to which the session was a battle between the four to produce the best performance and get the most laughs. Crossan was first and posed the question of Ehrman that there was more variation between the Gospels already, looking at them synoptically, than there was between the various texts of the Gospels. And he asked the repeated question about the distinction between the "Word of God" and "words of God". Second was Dale Martin who began by outing himself publicly as an amateur theologian, and who criticized Wright for making historical claims about what was in Jesus' mind, claims that had no place in responsible history. Next was Tom Wright, who defended his new 100 page book by noting that it did have oversimplification and that there was a lot more detail in some of his large academic books. Bart Erhman spoke last and gave a fine exhortation to taking textual-criticism seriously, chiding his NT colleagues for their ignorance, a point accepted, perhaps grudgingly, by everyone on the panel. There was a panel discussion, with a lot of talking past one another, and then there were questions from the floor.

I was left with the feeling that this was one of the more entertaining SBL sessions I had ever been to, and especially good in the textual criticism section. (By the way, the overall theme was the Authority of the Bible). But there was not, in the end, the kind of intellectual engagement between the panelists that would have made it truly memorable.

Tomorrow morning is the session of special interest in this forum -- a two hour discussion of what we think we are doing when we blog. Should be fun.

Update (2.01): Michael Bird (who was sitting next to Brandon Wason, and behind Stephen Carlson and me), has his reflections on this session on Euangelion. Unfortunately, I missed the end of Dale Martin's paper on account of being asleep.

SBL Saturday

I too am here in Philadelphia at the SBL Annual Meeting. The good news is that there is free wireless internet available in public areas of the convention centre and I have my blogging machine with me. Not a lot to report on yet, except that I have met lots of old friends, and some new ones, and have been able to put some faces to names too. At 11.30 a.m. was the annual e-listers meeting, where those who inhabit the email lists gather together and meet one another, and there are several group photographs taken.

It is good to see a big stack of Stephen Carlson's Gospel Hoax available just as one walks into the Exhibit Hall, and there seems rightly to be a lot of interest in it.

It is also good to see that Jim Davila is once again performing his science-fiction style feat of blogging through his television set (over on Paleojudaica). Other bibliobloggers encountered include Michael Pahl, Stephen Carlson and Jim West. On Early Christian History, James Crossley defends his controversial decision to photograph his hotel bed. But I remain a fan of the decision to publish the photograph; this is just the kind of the thing the punters want; it helps those who can't make it this year to get a taste of the SBL Philadelphia experience. Much more interesting than lots of text.

On the way to Philadelphia

Well, actually I'm not yet. Hey, the extraordinary thing about going to the SBL from within the USA is that you don't have to start your pilgrimage several days early. You can just jump on a plane and be there an hour or so later. It actually spoils the fun a bit. I have printed out my usual forty-five or so articles to read on the plane on the way there and have realized that I will only have time for two or three.

Some of the bloggers are on their way; others have already arrived. In a new all time high for biblioblogs, James Crossley has taken a photograph of his hotel bed to show that he is live in Philadelphia. This surely beats even the legendary thread in which bloggers took photographs of their desks.

SBL Paper handout

I've uploaded a PDF of the hand-out to my forthcoming SBL paper:

The Rock on Rocky Ground: Matthew, Mark and Peter as skandalon

SBL Didache Consultation Unit

Of course it could be (see previous post) that there are lots of papers out there on the web but which I and others don't know about. In Hypotyposeis, Stephen Carlson draws attention to a unit in which he is responding:

Didache Consultation Unit

And there are several papers there ready to read, including:

Didache 16: The Tradition Behind 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Alan Garrow

And it is this paper to which the response is now ready on Hypotyposeis:

Response to Garrow
Stephen Carlson

But see too:

Comparing Matthew with the Didache: Some Methodological Reflections
Nicholas Perrin

I am looking forward to that one. There are several other papers too.

One question that arises in my mind is: where is the SBL page on the various sections, groups and seminars? I am sure that there was one before, but I can't find it now and have looked several times (SBL Annual Meeting). Where should I be looking?

SBL Papers on-line: why so few?

I commented earlier on the pre-SBL buzz and noted that there seemed to me to be fewer papers on-line than usual. A good proportion of those that are available are written by the bloggers, and Loren Rosson gathers a bunch of them together on The Busybody, with neat summaries. It is interesting but I suppose not surprising that bloggers are more inclined to put drafts of papers out there than are others since we are used to exposing ourselves (for want of a better term!) in public, so risk-taking, shamelessness or something has kicked in. But it does surprise me that more are not willing to make papers available in advance of the SBL. It certainly helps you to improve your paper -- you will get a good number of useful criticisms, suggestions, clarifications, extra bibliography and so on. And those like Loren who can't make it to the SBL this year get a taste of things. Others who will be at sessions get the chance to read a paper in advance of a presentation.

Enter the Bibliobloggers

Jim Davila's SBL paper for the CARG Biblioblogging session is now available on-line:

Enter the Bibliobloggers

I have read the paper and it is an excellent piece, somehow managing to present an overview of the biblioblogs and the biblioblogging phenomenon at the same time as providing a great amount of detail. The feat is achieved, as with Jim's SBL Forum article by imitating the style of the blog and adding multiple hyperlinks in the text of the piece. So underneath the surface lies a fair wack of researching relevant links among the biblioblogs.

I am looking forward to hearing Jim present the paper, and am especially curious to see how Jim tackles the hyperlinks orally. Perhaps he will go for Victor Borge style Phonetic Punctuation and have a special way of saying "Various ideas have already been suggested on some blogs about what we might want to talk about here ", with each hyperlink specially represented in some way. Perhaps Jim should jump, or wave, each time he comes to a hyperlink?

3 pm, 7 April, AD30

In Paleojudaica Jim Davila mentioned an article appearing in Saturday's Times:

Moving on from reproach to rapprochement
By Geza Vermes

It is an important article on an important topic, so please forgive me for the most minor historical question which intrigues me:

The original catastrophe struck at 3pm on Friday, April 7, AD 30, when the charismatic Galilean religious preacher, Jesus of Nazareth, expired on a Roman cross, wrongly sentenced to death as an insurgent by the governor of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, with the connivance of the local Jewish leaders.

The note that intrigues me is the date. (Interesting, by the way, that The Times still use AD in an article about rapprochement; to my knowledge the scholarly BCE/CE has made no dent at all on media consciousness.) If I have understood correctly, and this is not something I have spent any time studying, the 30 date comes out of the Johannine dating of the Passion, aligning the Passover with the Sabbath, rather than the Synoptic dating, which aligns Passover with the day before the Sabbath that year. From scouting around on the net, I see that Vermes explicates this in his book The Passion, so I will have to take a look.

Real Family of Jesus DVD

Arron in Australia mentions in an email a DVD release of the BBC / Discovery documentary entitled The Real Family of Jesus, which features some bits of me filmed in Worcester College, Oxford, and lots of others, e.g. my colleague Eric Meyers:

The Real Family of Jesus DVD

The programme never went out in the UK, but I blogged on it on 27 March 2005 and 17 March 2005. I notice that I hadn't seen it on that occasion; subsequently, I did get a DVD of the broadcast and it was fun to watch.

Do not fear the blog

On Cafe Apocalypsis, Alan Bandy mentions an excellent response to Ivan Tribble article previously mentioned. It is in the Chronicle of Higher Education today:

Do Not Fear the Blog
By REBECCA A. GOETZ

. . . . I blog first and foremost because it is downright fun to participate in an emerging media form. Blogs and the blogosphere are new concepts, and the possibilities for scholarly communication are endless and exciting. Because I blog I now have contacts, online and offline, with a variety of scholars inside and outside my field. They don't particularly care that my dissertation is not yet done; the typical hierarchies of the ivory tower break down in the blogosphere so that even graduate students can be public intellectuals of a kind.

Professor Tribble lamented that blogs are not peer-reviewed and wrote that that was one reason why their content was illegitimate. While it is true that the author of a blog decides what she publishes on her blog, she does not blog in a vacuum. Other bloggers can -- and do! -- react to faulty logic or misinformation. . . . .

There's more good sense in every line of the article than there is in either Ivan Tribble's initial article, or his follow up They Shoot Messengers, Don't They? (2 September) put together.

SBL Blogging and Phil Harland

The forthcoming SBL CARG session on biblioblogging generated several recent posts from me and from others (See SBL Carg Biblioblog Session, Resources for SBL CARG biblioblog session and SBL CARG Biblioblog Session: Relevant Posts) and I've just spotted an extra resource that is relevant to the discussion that I would have mentioned before. It focuses on Phil Harland's excellent Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean Blog:

Academics take up blogging
Online diaries give professors a new audience
By James Allison, Editor, News@Concordia.ca:

. . . . Harland said adapting his writing for the blog has been a balancing act between maintaining a serious tone and providing light reading for a non-academic audience. However, it has proven beneficial in helping him to develop ideas and express them succinctly.

“When you’re reading a book and come up with idea, you don’t always take the time to jot it down,” he said. “The blog is useful for grabbing those ideas and developing them further.” . . . .

One of the remarks here is particularly relevant to one of the topics of our discussion:

This semester, students in Harland’s courses will also be given the opportunity to take part in this distributed conversation. He will post entries on his blog that deal with issues raised in class and encourage students to continue the discussion online . . . .

. . . . Allowing the public to observe and participate in classroom-related discussions in the context of a blog is an innovative way of enriching the educational experience.

And I would add that the great thing about the blog-as-classroom experiment is that we all get educated. I have personally found the recent entries on Religions of the Ancient Mediterraneans Blog on the Apocryphal NT very interesting and informative.

In related news, I noticed in a CARG email from Kirk Lowery that "The Blogging session received special highlighting by SBL; see p. 12 in the Program Book." I don't have a Program Book yet -- I guess it must have got lost somewhere between the US and the UK and back -- but it's good to hear that this session has been specially flagged.

Tyndale Bulletin latest

On BiblicalStudies.org.uk, Rob Bradshaw has the list of contents for the latest Tyndale Bulletin. I must admit that it is a journal I never consult, perhaps because of its weak on-line presence, perhaps because we didn't subscribe to it in Birmingham, perhaps just ignorance. However, I had a look on my Journals page and I was pleased to see that I do list its website:

Tyndale Bulletin

And all the abstracts are listed for the latest issue:

Volume 56.2 (November 2005)

(though note that it erroneously has May 2005 at the head). One of the articles looks especially interesting to me:

The Coming of the Son of Man in Mark's Gospel
Edward Adams, (King's College, London)

This article defends the view that Mark’s sayings on the coming of the Son of Man (Mark 8:38; 13:24-27; 14:62) refer to Jesus’ parousia, against claims made by R. T. France and N. T. Wright. According to France and Wright, these sayings call attention to the vision of Daniel 7:9-14, in which ‘one like a son of man’ comes into the presence of God for the purpose of enthronement, and point to Jesus’ post-mortem vindication, not his second coming. It is argued here that the Markan passages in question link Daniel 7:13 with other Old Testament texts and motifs, in particular, texts (such as Zechariah 14:3) and images about God’s future coming to earth; the selective combination of Scriptures and scriptural images and their application to Jesus generates the essential concept of his parousia – his coming as exalted Lord from heaven to earth at the end of history.

We do have it here at Duke, so I must make a strong mental note to go and dig this one out.

Idle Musings of a Bookseller

I'll join Joe Cathey in welcoming this new blog, now added to my blogroll:

Idle Musings of a Bookseller
Idle musings of what it is like to be an online bookseller in a niche market. Complete with ramblings about Biblical Studies, the ancient Near East, bicycling or anything else I am reading (or experiencing). Of course, opinions are mine and not my employer's.

The author is given as "jps" but Joe Cathey unmasks him as James Spinti of Eisenbrauns. A welcome addition to the blogosphere.

My SBL Paper

I have uploaded a first draft of my SBL paper:

The Rock on Rocky Ground: Matthew, Mark and Peter as Skandalon [PDF]

It's for the Matthew section, Sunday 20th at 1 p.m. It is all about the way that Matthew reads Mark, and the way that we read Matthew and Mark. I attempt to offer a little narrative-critical corrective to an overuse of redaction-criticism in Matthew's characterization of Peter. And I suggest that the key to understanding Matthew's characterization of Peter is to see that he is narrativizing the well-known claim in early Christianity that the crucified Christ was a skandalon to Jews (1 Cor. 1.23).

As always at this point, there is more work to be done on it before next week, but I wanted to get something up earlier rather than later to provide an opportunity for comments, which will be gratefully received.

Update (Tuesday, 17.45): second draft now uploaded, with some minor corrections and some additional bibliography. With some kind help, I managed to get most of my boxes of books opened yesterday and dug out a few things I'd wanted to re-read on the topic, with more of the same still to come.

Update (Thursday, 00.47): Third draft uploaded, with some additions and clarifications, and a little more bibliography.

Update (13 June 2006, 1.43): paper removed; it has been revised and submitted for publication.

Reduced Nativity Story

This morning's Sunday programme on Radio 4 announced a competition for Christmas to create a "Reduced Nativity Story":

Nativity Story competition
After the success of the Limerick competition in last year's Christmas programme, this year we're asking you to get your creative juices flowing by writing in with a "Reduced Nativity Story". Judged by Adam Long from the Reduced Shakespeare Company, we're asking listeners to write the Nativity Story in 30 seconds - for most of us that's about ninety words. There'll be a prize for the best one, and we'll read out the shortlisted ones throughout the programme.

The Americanization of Emily

Here's a new blog of particular interest to Brits in America:

The Americanization of Emily

The author is a certain Viola and the theme of the blog is "my take on relocating from the UK to the USA -- Pros and Cons, Dos and Don'ts, Loves and Hates". The title comes from the 1964 film starring Julie Andrews.

Did I mention that Viola is my wife?

Q sceptical Brits?

Over on one of my favourite blogs, The Busybody, Loren Rosson has an interesting post based on Akenson's Saint Saul:

Q: Sceptical Brits, Credulous Americans

Among other things, Loren asks:

Akenson's book was published only months before Mark Goodacre's Case Against Q -- the book which, on second reading, finally persuaded me to give up my belief in Q. I wonder what Mark thinks of Akenson's contrast between the continents, especially now that he's been transplanted to U.S. soil. Do the Brits have an edge on us here? Is it a coincidence that the three most formidable challenges to Q have come out of the U.K.? Do Americans, on the whole, need more skepticism and less credulity?

Thanks for reading my book, Loren. On this question, what I think is that all such broad-sweep characterizations are pretty useless. At best, the exceptions are so great that they render the generalizations invalid. Take the International Q Project, for example. Its strength is that it is just that -- international. Of course it is dominated by North America, but then so is everything else -- it's just that there are more American scholars out there. Or take the fact that Michael Goulder's Q scepticism has, on the whole, persuaded only a handful of Brits. Look at his peers, the great senior British NT scholars like Morna Hooker, Jimmy Dunn, Graham Stanton, Christopher Tuckett, David Catchpole, Howard Marshall, John Riches. Which of these has been persuaded by Goulder? Sadly, not a single one.

I don't think it's anything to do with great credulity or anything like that. If being on US soil has persuaded me of any generalization, it is that you can't generalize. Many of my own preconceptions about America and Americans, good and bad, have been overturned in the last two months. In any case, bear in mind that America too has produced Q sceptics, James Hardy Ropes, Morton Scott Enslin, Edward Hobbs, E. P. Sanders. I suppose that the interesting question for me is: why have these been just as unsuccessful in persuading people as the Brits mentioned? The answer is complex, and to some extent it is a thing I try to answer in the first chapter of The Case Against Q. Essentially, I think it comes down to strategy, palatability and plausibility. Farrer was no tactician (he did not think about strategy); Goulder has problems with palatability (the perceived unattractiveness of the associated claims); yet both had an essentially plausible thesis, which is why the seeds that they have sown are bearing fruit, perhaps not yet one hundredfold, but bearing fruit nonetheless.

Update (Sunday, 22.58): AKMA comments

Wasn’t it you, Mark, who proposed the Q skepticism in the U.S. tended toward the neo-Griesbach School (Farmer, Dungan, Longstaff, Peabody) whereas in the U.K. Q skepticism tended toward the Farrer-Goulder approach?

Certainly Q skepticism has a long, persistent tradition on these shores; it’s a little odd to hear that the Atlantic Isles might have an edge on us. . . .

Yes, I have certainly spent some time outlining the extent to which the dominant alternative to the Two-Source Theory in North America has been Griesbach (e.g. Case Against Q, Chapter 1). I suppose that I am being a little possessive about the term "Q scepticism" since I see Ropes, Farrer, Goulder, Franklin, Green, Drury et al as true "Q sceptics" in that they are strong Marcan Priorists, whereas the neo-Griesbach theory is sceptical not only about the existence of Q but also about Marcan Priority. I tend to think of the Griesbach theory as pivoting around their rejection of Marcan Priority rather than around their rejection of Q. The latter is something of a by-product, no? In the end, I don't suppose that that matters very much, but I hope that it goes some way to elucidating the language in my comments above.

Jesus: Stranger from heaven, Man from heaven or Son of Man?

Over on Euangelion, Michael Bird has an interesting post on a variant in John 3.13, "the Son of Man who is in heaven". I'd be interested to hear more about this from the experts. But it reminds me of a variant in the secondary literature that I found this week, and a story connected with the book there mentioned.

I have been lecturing on John this week, and on Friday we were looking at John's Christology. Naturally, I spent some time exploring Wayne Meeks's classic article, “The Man from heaven in Johannine Sectarianism”, JBL 91 (1972): 44-72, reprinted in John Ashton (ed.), The Interpretation of John (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1997): 169-206, which I regard as the desert-island-article of Johannine studies (i.e. if you only had one article that you could take, which would it be?). Anyway, I noticed Stephen Barton, "Can we identify the Gospel audiences?" in Richard Bauckham (ed.), The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998): 173-94 refers to Meeks's classic article on 190 first by its correct title, and then twice under the incorrect title "The Son of Man in Johannine Sectarianism" (190, nn. 42-43).

Barton's variant reminds me of a story John Ashton used to tell about Wayne Meeks, viz. that he would refer to his own article, "Man from heaven . . . .", as "Stranger from heaven . . . .", apparently confusing the title of his piece with the title of Marinus de Jonge's 1977 book, Jesus: Stranger from Heaven and Son of God: Jesus Christ and the Christians in Johannine Perspective (SBLSBS, 11; Missoula: Scholars Press, 1977). I wonder if there is any truth in this?

Update (Sunday, 17.13): don't miss Ulrich Schmid's comments to this post.

Update (Monday, 09.14): Many thanks to David Mackinder in comments for the actual reference to Meeks's reference to his own article as "Stranger from heaven . . . ": "The simple answer is yes: have a look at p. 267 of the 1983 original edition of The First Urban Christians!"

Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films

Also on Codex Blogspot is a post on the Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films. It refers to a list on the Arts and Faith message board:

The 2005 Top 100 Arts and Faith Spiritually Significant Films

There are some interesting choices, not that I would want to compile even a top 10 under such a title. I am always surprised by just how much people seem to love Pasolini's Gospel According to Matthew, which comes in at 7 here. It's nice to see The Miracle Maker up there at 23, though. I was surprised to find out that none of my Intro New Testament class here had even heard of it.

Goliath's Cereal Bowl discovered

The prize for the most entertaining post on the recent important archaeological find goes to Tyler Williams on Codex Blogspot:

Giant Pickle's Goliath's Cereal Bowl Discovered

And there are some useful links to sources of information on the find, including the relevant blog posts.

SBL CARG Biblioblog Session: Relevant Posts

Further to my previous two posts (Resources for the SBL CARG Biblioblog Session and SBL CARG Biblioblog Session), I would like to draw attention to some relevant blog posts. Please let me know of useful ones I've missed.

What Should We Talk About? (on Ralph)

. . . . One thing I hope we don't talk about is the term "biblioblogger." There the term is, and we're stuck with it. And I hope we don't discuss "what is a biblioblogger," or the forgery scandal, or minimalism, or the historical Jesus, or what our desks look like, or which character from the Simpsons we are, or such worthy-but-irrelevant topics.

What Would Jesus Blog? (on NT Gateway)

This short post generated a series of interesting replies, including:

"God-Blog" or "Biblioblog". What's The Distinction? (on Biblical Theology)

. . . . To put it another way, in terms of magazines: "God blogs" are the "People" magazine of religion and religious studies while "biblioblogs" are the "Expository Times". The people interested in "People" are very likely, if they are of a religious bent, to read the "God-blogs" while the readers of Expository Times (Or JBL or CBQ or ZAW) would more likely be interested in biblioblogs. (By the way, as to which biblioblog is akin to which learned Journal I will leave to the readers decision).

CARG Biblioblogging Session @ SBL (on Sansblogue)

. . . . What's the use of blogging to a biblical scholar? or Why bother? Because if we can't answer that one we might as well all stay home, and carry on blogging...

(Would we then be "blogging a dead horse"?)

Mark Goodacre on the "God-blogging" phenomenon and academic blogs [I think this post may have been removed; it was on Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean blog]

This latter post was followed up by Tim Bulkeley on Sansblogue, Who is a biblioblogger?. See too:

jesus and biblioblogging, history and theology (from The Stuff of Earth).

See also on Deinde:

Who reads biblioblogs?

. . . . I do wonder if the 'ideal' of academics connecting with the public is actually being played out (this is a genuine question, not a rhetorical one). For instance, has Paleojudaica or any of the other biblioblogs been 'cited for clarification' in the media? Or has any of the bibliobloggers actually done a poll of its readers?

Update (23.29): On Bible Software Review Weblog, Rubén Gómez comments on Rick Brannan's paper.

Resources for SBL CARG biblioblog session

In my previous post, I began brainstorming about the session on biblioblogs scheduled for the SBL's CARG next week. Here are some of the resources that might help to guide and stimulate further thought:

The Blogosphere as a Carnival of Ideas
By HENRY FARRELL
From: The Chronicle of Higher Education 7 October 2005

. . . . Others, perhaps the majority, see blogging as an extension of their academic personas. Their blogs allow them not only to express personal views but also to debate ideas, swap views about their disciplines, and connect to a wider public. For these academics, blogging isn't a hobby; it's an integral part of their scholarly identity. They may very well be the wave of the future.

This is a useful article, which I first saw mentioned on Paleojudaica. It touches on many of the issues already mentioned, and asks how blogging fits into the academic's career, workload, output and public perception.

Bloggers Need Not Apply
By IVAN TRIBBLE

We've seen the hapless job seekers who destroy the good thing they've got going on paper by being so irritating in person that we can't wait to put them back on a plane. Our blogger applicants came off reasonably well at the initial interview, but once we hung up the phone and called up their blogs, we got to know "the real them" -- better than we wanted, enough to conclude we didn't want to know more.

This is also from the Chronicle of Higher Education, from 8 July 2005, and is a distinctly discouraging view of the potential problems with young academics blogging. I first spotted this on Ralph the Sacred River and Ed has a bunch of interesting links and comments at the bottom of the post.

Assimilated to the Blogosphere: Blogging Ancient Judaism
James R. Davila

This article appeared on the SBL Forum (April 2005) [Repeated note: the SBL Forum still does not have a browsable archive of past editions -- this really needs fixing]. It's an excellent series of reflections on Jim's experiences of writing Paleojudaica.

Biblioblog Problems and Solutions: PastoralEpistles.com as a Sandbox
Rick Brannan

This paper is written for the forthcoming session.

Do others have useful suggestions? In my next post, I would like to gather some individual blog posts on the topic that are worth reading again.

SBL CARG Biblioblog Session

Now that sounds incomprensible to the outsider, doesn't it? It stands for Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting Computer Assisted Research Section [Group], which has a session on Sunday 21st November on biblioblog, which might loosely be defined as a blog that focuses on the academic study of the Bible and related topics.

Here are the programme details:
--
Computer Assisted Research
11/20/2005
9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Room 411 & 412 - Marriott

Theme: The Pleasures, Pains and Prospects for Biblioblogging

The phenomenon of "blogging", the maintenance of a regular online journal or weblog, has proliferated massively in recent times. As in all areas of life, political, religious, cultural, art, entertainment and media, so too in the area of academic Biblical Studies, the blog is an informative, innovative, up-to-the-minute way of discovering more about the subject, discussing the latest developments, interacting on controversial topics and enjoying the lighter side of the discipline. These "biblioblogs" are now widely consulted by those in the guild, and are contributing something of interest and intelligence. But what is the future of the biblioblogs? What is their scope for development? This session gathers together a panel of pioneers in this area.

Mark Goodacre, University of Birmingham, Presiding

James Davila, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Enter the BiblioBloggers (20 min)

R.W. Brannan, Logos Bible Software
PastoralEpistles.com: Biblioblog? Annotated bibliography? Or Something in Between?(20 min)

Panel Discussion (80 min):

A.K.M. Adam, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Panelist
Tim Bulkeley, University of Aukland, Panelist
Stephen Carlson, Fairfax, VA, Panelist
Edward Cook, Cincinnati, OH, Panelist
Torrey Seland, Volda University College, Panelist
James West, Quartz Hill School of Theology, Panelist
---

The panel discussion is the thing I'd like to spend a little time brainstorming. First off, we will of course discuss issues arising directly from Rick's and Jim's papers. Rick's is already available to read here:

Biblioblog Problems and Solutions: PastoralEpistles.com as a Sandbox

and Jim's is forthcoming. But what else? Some brainstorming suggestions:

1. What is a biblioblog and are we bibliobloggers?
The term "biblioblog" originated in a comment made by David Meadows on RogueClassicism and it was gradually, and not without reluctance in some parts, adopted by those Meadows was describing. But what is a biblioblog? Is it a useful term? I am interested here in the variety represented on the panel, not least to get some of AKMA's Random Thoughts, since he has been blogging far longer than anyone else on the panel, but relatively rarely on Biblical Studies related topics. I am also interested to get some of Jim Davila's thoughts, since I regard him as the pioneer in this area. Paleojudaica was unquestionably the direct catalyst for my beginning blogging.

2. Who does it?
I am interested in the mix among the authors of the biblioblogs, from academics (what Americans call "professors"), to graduate students, to pastors, to gifted and enthusiastic independent scholars. Each group is very well represented, and it may account for the success of the biblioblogs, in particular the way that they interact with each other so well.

3. Why do we do it?
Self indulgence? Big-headedness? Altruism? Desire to communicate our scholarship to a wider public? Writing practice? Trying out ideas?

4. What do we think we are doing?
What justifications do we give for blogging?

5. What is our readership, actual and ideal?
I am sure that we all get some kind of feel for our readership through the comments we receive on blog entries, through emails and so on.

6. "Does your wife read your blog?"
As I once asked on a blog entry. In other words, we need to deal with the gender issue: why so few female bloggers. And this might also be the heading to deal with the question of what we blog about. How much personal detail is desirable / acceptable? This is one I often grapple with. In general, I have resisted personal posts, yet found that when I opened my travel diary on coming to North Carolina, I had more comments and enthusiastic responses than ever.

7. Networking and Interaction
How far do we see ourselves as a network, with our own distinctive emphases and interests, but with overlap and complimentarity?

8. How many more biblioblogs?
Just how far can we expand? At what point do we fragment and specialize to the extent that it becomes quite impossible to read everyone's biblioblog? Are we already at that point now? What if everyone blogged?!

9. What about team blogging?
Team blogs are on the rise. Is this the future for biblioblogging? What advantages do the team blogs have over the solitary blog?

Well, they are some of my thoughts about what we could talk about. In my next post, I'd like to pool some useful resources for discussion.

Update (17.08): Jim West comments on Biblical Theology, suggesting a tenth:

10. Can, and should, blogging become a teaching tool alongside classwork, coursework, and supplemental website work?

I must admit to having toyed with the idea of team-blogging as an element in student assignment for a given course, but have never experimented with it. I know others have. I wonder with what results?

(Jim's little extra refers to one of my non-highlights of the week, failing my North Carolina road test. When I told a colleague here, he told me that it didn't make me a bad person. And I would like to point out that I performed brilliantly on the written test. Mind you, it's not that difficult.)

Update (20.21): Joe Weaks comments on the Macintosh Biblioblog.

Update (Sunday, 16.38): Jim West has more on Biblical Theology:

11- Can We As Bibliobloggers contribute to the education of the wider public concerning archaeological discoveries and biblical studies by counteracting the misinformation often found in the Press.

What I mean by this of course is the fact that the news reports concerning "The Birth of Jesus" for instance (a la the dreadful DaVinci nonsense) and the finding of "proof of Goliath" for another offer bibliobloggers the opportunity to debunk the misstatements of the press. It seems to be a pressing need and one that many are simply overlooking.

Update (Sunday, 16.42): Michael Pahl comments in The Stuff of Earth. It's all worth reading, in particular:

How many more biblioblogs? I think there's always room for more blogs, and there are always more readers entering the world of the internet and the blogosphere. I do think, however, that an increase in blogging among academics, especially well-established scholars, would inevitably result in increased specialization and a blogging hierarchy, which would then result in a more well-defined readership among the various blogs. Even now, when I want to access the latest high-quality info and opinion on biblical studies matters, there are only a few blogs I'll go to. I read other blogs because they provide stimulating ideas, or clever commentary, or interesting "personality," or whatever.

Update (Sunday, 19.41): Tim Bulkeley comments on Sansblogue.

Pre SBL Buzz

It is a week to go before the Society of Biblical Literature's Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, and at this time of year there is an enjoyable "buzz" around the biblioblogs, e-lists and internet generally as people make their plans, frantically write their papers, and try to find a spare slot for that meeting with a publisher / friend / colleague / former colleague, etc. I have found myself staring at my diary several times over the last couple of days and wondering how to fit everything in, and whether I'll be able to get to any papers just because I want to be there, rather than because I am responsible in some way.

But one thing seems different to me this year. This may be just because I was so out of the loop with my housing and financial woes that I was not able to concentrate properly, so I'd be interested to hear whether this is other people's perception too. Normally at about this time, the internet is awash with contributors' papers. I have often made the flight with a armful of print-outs of papers, but don't anticipate doing the same this year. Rick Brannan has his available for our session on blogging, on which more anon. In Thoughts on Antiquity, Chris Weimer mentions the Seminar Papers, which you can find on the SBL site here:

SBL Seminar Papers

It's the first time I've checked this up -- must have missed it before now, but I am struck that there are only seven papers available, and five of those are from the Matthew section, which suggests some coordination on their part. I may be misremembering, but this looks like a lot less than last year, the first year of internet-only seminar papers. And it is less still than when the fat book used to come out.

Anyway, I am speaking this year in the Matthew section and I am just putting the finishing touches to my paper and hope to upload here soon.

SBL Blogging brainstorm

The NT Gateway server was down yesterday evening, and I had a bunch of things I wanted to blog on too. O well, it gave me the chance to write 43 emails instead, and the backlog is now a little reduced. One of the things I'd like to do is a little brainstorming ahead of next week's SBL CARG (that's Computer Assisted Research Section [Group]) session all about blogging. So I'll be back on-line with my thoughts in a moment, or, as they say here in the US, "momentarily".

Reporting the Birth of Jesus on MSNBC

This article is about a feature on American TV tonight:

The daunting task of reporting on the birth of Jesus
Keith Morrison, Dateline Correspondent

That said, the questions are simply irresistible. Where was Jesus born, Bethlehem or Nazareth? Were there "wise men?" How many? Were they kings? Did Herod slaughter the boy-children of Bethlehem? Did the Holy Family flee to Egypt, as Matthew reports? Legions of scholars have done their best to sort it out. We spoke on camera to six: John Dominic Crossan, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, DePaul University and a prolific author of books about the historical Jesus; Ben Witherington, author and Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary; Craig Evans, Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College; Scott Hahn, Professor of Scripture, Franciscan University; A.J. Levine, Jewish scholar and teacher of the New Testament at Vanderbilt University, and Lesley Hazleton, author of a "flesh and blood" biography of Mary. Their views are instructive, fascinating and frequently conflicting. One of the most difficult parts of our assignment was the need to leave out so much of their compelling commentary.

Here's the programme's blurb:

In a special edition of 'Dateline NBC,' Keith Morrison asks, "What if everything you thought you knew wasn’t the whole story?" In an attempt to answer this profound question, Morrison takes viewers on a remarkable journey -- back in time -- to unravel the mystery. "The Birth of Jesus" hour airs Dateline Friday, 8 p.m./7 C.

The latter is a standard feature of advertising of TV programmes in the US -- the are on at "8/7 central", meaning 8 pm Eastern Time, 7 pm Central.

Graphic Novel Based on Mark's Gospel

This was on Religion Press Releases today:

The Angel is a Clown: First Graphic Novel Based on a Gospel Captures Vivid Power of Mark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact: Rebecca Wilson, 330-524-2067, rswilson@raex.com

November 10, 2005 -- NEW YORK--The devil rides in a stretch limousine, Moses bears a striking resemblance to Frederick Douglass, and the angel left at the tomb is a clown. And that's just the start of the unusual cast of characters in Marked, the first graphic novel based on a Gospel.

Marked, created by New York artist and Episcopalian Steve Ross, is true to both the graphic novel form and the Gospel. The story is full of action, danger and subversive characters with wild ideas: just like a comic book--and just like the biblical stories of Jesus' life. "We might want to label Marked up front the way we should label the New Testament itself: Let the reader beware," says the Rev. William McD. Tully, rector of St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City.

Why turn biblical imagery upside down? "For centuries, we've seen the long-haired white middle-class guys who have co-opted Christianity. That was my beef," says Ross. "Those images of Jesus and his followers were created by really talented artists during the Dutch Renaissance, and after hundreds of years our culture is still bound by these images' tyranny." That's why this Jesus, who starts out holding a circular saw and sporting long hair and beard, is bald and clean-shaven by page 17.

To the uninitiated--and perhaps to the uptight--Marked may appear blasphemous. Ross's art was inspired by Nikos Kazantzakis' controversial novel The Last Temptation of Christ, and the format of graphic novels encourages sophisticated play with the sort of shocking images and complex themes that have made Art Spiegleman's Maus both a prize-winner and a classic. "I fear that two thousand years of 20/20 hindsight have sucked the surprise, awe and sheer weirdness out of the Gospels," says Ross, and Marked works hard to restore those qualities to the familiar story.

But Ross is a man of deep faith and abiding love for the Gospel story: "I just wanted to see if I could receive the Gospel of Mark with a lover's heart and then recount it with a troublemaker's eye," he says. "Like Picasso stripping away layer after layer of preconceptions until he finally arrived at a new way of seeing."

Steve Ross, whose illustrations have appeared in numerous magazines and publications around the world, lives in New York with his wife and their two children. He is a member of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church.

Marked
Steve Ross
175 pages 7" x 10 1/2"
Available December 2005 from Seabury Books
1-59627-002-0 Softcover $20.00
publicity contact: Rebecca Wilson, rswilson@raex.com, 330-524-2067
Art and excerpts for media use available at www.markedgraphicnovel.com.

###

Seabury Books
an imprint of
Church Publishing Incorporated * 445 Fifth Avenue * New York NY 10016
www.seaburybooks.org * 1-800-242-1918
-----
You can see selections from the book at this website:

Marked

I suppose that for academic types, it is especially refreshing to see a graphic novel that bases itself on a particular Gospel, rather than on a harmony. And it is even more welcome to see Mark the focus, since this is so rarely the case in art. I wonder what's happened to the Visual Bible's Gospel of Mark film, by the way? I haven't heard anything for a long time now.

Update (17.25): Amazon have it for $13.60.

3rd Century Church at Megiddo

This has been big news in the blogs, and elsewhere, and my being behind on everything has not given me the chance to mention it here, but thanks to John Marshall for pointing out this Washington Post article on what was at first being called "oldest Christian church", but which is now being more accurately and responsibly reported. This article seems to get the vote as the most useful and balanced yet, and I mention it for those who haven't so far seen it:

Site May Be 3rd-Century Place of Christian Worship
Discovery Made At Israeli Prison
By Scott Wilson

If this is your first encounter with the story, you should definitely read the article above -- and keep a look out for more on this.

Evangelical Textual Criticism

I'm very behind on reading everything that has accumulated on my blogroll in recent weeks, but I've made one addition that is especially welcome:

Evangelical Textual Criticism
This is a forum for people with knowledge of the Bible in its original languages to discuss its manuscripts and textual history from the perspective of historic evangelical theology

I think I first spotted mention of it on Stephen Carlson's Hypotyposeis, Jim West's Biblical Theology and Michael Bird's Euangelion.

The new blog is welcome not only because it claims some top scholars in its team (e.g. Peter Head and Pete Williams, but also because it is a team blog, and on such an interesting and important topic.

I hope that the name of the new blog won't put people off. Not me. Some of my best friends are text critics. And some of my best friends are evangelicals. Goodness, come to think of it, I can think of friends who are both evangelicals and text critics! Well, two or three.

Jonathan Klawans

One of the (many) pleasures of being at Duke is that there is a regular New Testament and Early Judaism colloquium, sometimes with guest speakers (this semester John Barclay, before I arrived) and sometimes with the home team (this semester Joel Marcus, a couple of weeks ago, a fascinating paper on idolatry in the NT). Tonight was the third and last of the semester. After the delivered pizza, it was a paper by Jonathan Klawans on the temple incident. Although I didn't find myself sympathetic to the thesis of the paper, it was a brilliant and most enjoyable presentation, not least because of its scope -- a rethinking of the way sacrifice works in ancient and early Judaism and with a lot of useful reflections on contemporary scholarship on sacrifice. I am ashamed to say that I was not familiar with Klawans's work until tonight, but he is clearly well worth spending time with. Here's his faculty page at Boston University:

Jonathan Klawans

I am afraid that it is nothing like as strong as his colleague Paula Fredriksen's web page, with its multiple full-text reproductions of articles, but it provides a useful sketch.

Klawans has a new book out which I looked at tonight and which I will be looking to buy next week in Philadelphia. This is the OUP link:

Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple
Symbolism and Supersessionism in the Study of Ancient Judaism

Swimming in a sea of emails

A week or two ago, I was drowning in emails. Now I am swimming again, I think. Well, perhaps treading water at least. I am really sorry to all those I owe emails. I hope replies will be on the way soon. I am very behind with absolutely everything, but have this naively optimistic hope that life will be restored to some kind of normality soon, and that before leaving for Philadelphia on Friday, I will be on top of everything. It's good to dream.

Old Texts for a New Day

I received this flyer today; it is from Hollins University, and I've added a link at the beginning below to their website (but for the flyer, click on the main link below):

Hollins University:

Monday, November 28, 2005
Green Drawing Room, Main Building

Old Texts for a New Day: Setting the New Testament Writings in the Today’s World (PDF)

4:30 pm The Importance of Pauline Theology for the Church Today
Anne Katherine Greib, Hollins class of 1971, Associate Professor of New Testament at Virginia Theological (Episcopal) Seminary

7:30 pm 'Let No One Despise Your Youth': Tendencies and Countercurrents in the Pastoral Epistles
Sandra Hack Polaski, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond
Reception to follow 7:30 pm lecture

Review of Biblical Literature Latest

Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:

Finlan, Stephen
The Background and Content of Paul's Cultic Atonement Metaphors
Reviewed by Susan Haber

Frost, Samuel M.
Exegetical Essays on the Resurrection of the Dead
Reviewed by Michael Licona

Garrow, Alan J. P.
The Gospel of Matthew's Dependence on the Didache
Reviewed by Michael Bird

Gaventa, Beverly Roberts
Acts
Reviewed by Craig Keener

Incigneri, Brian J.
The Gospel to the Romans: The Setting and Rhetoric of Mark's Gospel
Reviewed by Michael Bird

Rossing, Barbara R.
The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation
Reviewed by Pieter De Villiers

Malherbe Festschrift

Tom Olbricht mentioned the following on Rhetoric-L:
--
Early Christianity and Classical Culture: Comparative Studies in Honor of Abraham J. Malherbe, eds. John T. Fitzgerald, Thomas H. Olbricht, L. Michael White (Atlanta: SBL, 2005), 740 pp.

PART I: Graphos

Dieter Zeller, "The theia physis of Hippocrates and other "Divine Men""

Harold W. Attridge, "Making Scents of Paul: The Background and Sense of 2 Cor 2:14-17"

Gerard Mussies, "In Those Days:" Some Remarks on the Use of "Days" in Matthew 2:13:1, and Luke 2:1"

David E. Aune, "Distinct Lexical Meanings of aparche in Hellenism, Judaism, and Early Christianity"

Hans-Josef Klauck, "Compilation of Letters in Cicero's Correspondence"

Duane F. Watson, "A Reexamination of the Epistolary Analysis Underpinning the Composite Nature of Philippians"

PART II: Ethos

Ronald F. Hock, "The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man (Luke 12:16-20) and the Graeco-Roman Conventions of Thought and Behavior"

Troels Engberg-Pedersen, "Radical Altruism in Philippians 2:4"

Luke Timothy Johnson, "Transformation of the Mind and Moral Discernment in Paul"

James W. Thompson, "Creation, Shame, Nature: in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16: The Background and Coherence of Paul’s Argument"

Cilliers Breytenbach, "Civic Concord and Cosmic Harmony: Sources of Metaphoric Mapping in 1 Clement 20.3"

PART III: Logos

Edgar Krentz, "Logos or Sophia: The Pauline Use of the Ancient Dispute between Rhetoric and Philosophy"

Bruce W. Winter, "The Toppling of Favorinus and Paul by the Corinthians"

L. Michael White, "’Rhetoric and Reality in Galatians: Framing the Social Demands of Friendship"

Stanley K. Stowers, "Apostrophe, Prosopopoiiua, and Paul's Rhetorical Education"

Thomas H. Olbricht, "Analogy and Allegory in Classical Rhetoric"

Everett Ferguson, "The Art of Praise: Philo and Philodemus on Music"

PART IV: Ethnos

Carl R. Holladay, "Paul and His Predecessors in the Diaspora: Some reflections on Ethnic Identity in the Fragmentary Hellenistic Jewish Authors"

Leander E. Keck, "The Jewish Paul among the Gentiles: Two Portrayals"

David L. Balch, "The Cultural Origin of "Receiving all Nations" in Luke-Acts: Alexander the Great or Roman Imperial Policy?"

Edwin A. Judge, "Did the Churches Compete with Cult Groups?"

Hanne Sigismund Nielsen, in "Men, Women, and Marital Chastity: Public Preaching and Popular Piety at Rome"

PART V: Nomos

Johan C. Thom, "’The Mind is its Own Place’": Defining the Topos"

J. Louis Martyn, "Nomos Plus Genitive Noun in Paul: The History of God's Law"

Benjamin J. Fiore, "Household Rules at Ephesus: Good News, Bad News, No News"

Marinus de Jonge and L. Michael White, "The Washing of Adam in the Acherusian Lake (Greek Life of Adam andEve 37:3) in the Context of Early Christian Notions of Afterlife"

John T. Fitzgerald, "Last Wills and Testaments in Graeco-Roman Perspective--

Alice Cooper as King Herod

I was enjoying listening to Simon Mayo on FiveLive on Friday afternoon (well, it comes on in the morning here -- still haven't got used to that) and during an interview with Alice Cooper, someone emailed to compliment him on his portrayal of Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar. Cooper said that Tim Rice himself had approached him about doing it and he did a little imitation of himself saying "Walk across my swimming pool". I wasn't familiar with this, so googled and found that it was on a 1996 London Cast recording (or 1997 highlights recording), which I have now of course ordered from Amazon, who even have a short clip available. I am looking forward to listening; it is the version with Steve Balsamo as Jesus.

Another great King Herod is, of course, Rik Mayall in the recent Jesus Christ Superstar (2001), which has Glenn Carter as Jesus.

Chicken Little

Question: what does Chicken Little have in common with The Passion of the Christ?

Update (Sunday, 23.13): Jim West gets the prize for the most entertaining answer in Biblical Theology; I also liked anonymous commenter's "The title character announces the coming of the end, suffers mockery and condemnation, and ends up saving the world through his actions?", which was in fact better than the real answer, correctly guessed by David, that the music for each was composed by John Debney. Like all the most serious film-goers, I'm a credit watcher. One of the big puzzles to an English viewer about this film, though, is why all the other characters retain their repetitive surnames, Foxy Loxy, Goosey Lucy, etc., but there is a failure of the imagination on Chicken Little, who in the UK is Chicken Licken.

Meanwhile, Crystal asks what The Passion of the Christ has in common with The Matrix Reloaded. Monica Bellucci?

Early Christians' Reactions to Slavery

Another interesting press release from Fortress (I've asked other publishers to send me these, but to no avail, so Fortress continues to get the free publicity that others don't):
--
Early Christians’ Reaction to the Practice of Slavery

MINNEAPOLIS (November 4, 2005)— How did early Christians think about slaves? J. Albert Harrill argues in his new book, Slaves in the New Testament, that they did so using conventional stereotypes familiar from ancient moral philosophy, handbook literature, and the comic stage.

In this significant new analysis of slaves and slavery in the New Testament, Harrill breaks new ground with his extensive use of Greco-Roman evidence, explicit attention to hermeneutics, and treatment of the use of the New Testament in antebellum U.S. slavery debates. He examines in detail Philemon, I Corinthians, Romans, Luke-Acts, and the household codes.

While scholars have often treated references to slaves in the New Testament as evidence of the “liberating” participation of enslaved people in early Christianity, Harrill shows that many of the figures appearing in the New Testament are literary representations drawing on ancient ideologies that supported slavery. This finding then leads to an investigation of the ideological use of the New Testament to justify, and use to condemn, slavery in the United States.

This study as a whole offers a hermeneutical challenge to the noble dream that biblical criticism can settle Christian moral debate.

"Harrill combines wide-ranging knowledge of ancient sources with a sharp eye for the jugular of a text. The result is that rare thing in biblical scholarship, genuinely fresh insights into an old question. A book both delightful and disturbing, Slaves in the New Testament demolishes a card house of wishful thinking about early Christian views on slavery. Everyone who believes that the Bible has something to say about moral issues needs to pay attention."
— Wayne A. Meeks, Woolsey Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies Department of Religious Studies, Yale University

"Far more than a historical study of slavery in early Christianity, Harrill's remarkable book raises profound moral questions for the field of Biblical Studies and for the Christian churches. Nineteenth-century debates over whether the Bible supports slavery forged the schools of thought that shape today's debates over lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered rights; the full emancipation of women; or capital punishment. Harrill deftly analyzes a range of New Testament and other Christian sources, demonstrating how frequently they echo Roman society's slave-holding values and anxieties about living with people forcibly held in bondage."
— Bernadette Brooten, Robert and Myra Kraft and Jacob Hiatt Professor of Christian Studies, Brandeis University

J. Albert Harrill is Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Adjunct Associate Professor of History and Jewish Studies, and Director of the Ancient Studies Program at Indiana University. He is author of The Manumission of Slaves in Early Christianity (Mohr [Siebeck], 1995).

Slaves in the New Testament: Literary, Social, and Moral Dimensions

Format: Hardcover with jacket, 6” x 9”, 360 pp

ISBN: 0-8006-3772-0

Price: $45.00



Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 360 pp

ISBN: 0-8006-3781-X

Price: $25.00

Publisher: Fortress Press

To order Slaves in the New Testament please call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the Web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies or exam copies, or to discuss speaking engagements or interviews, please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or email toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
--

First full study of women's roles in the early church

This press release is from Fortress:

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“This is the fruit of mature and careful social historians who now do for the study of Christian women what Beryl Rawson and Richard Saller have done for the Roman family—a patient, multidisciplinary, literary, political, and archaeological investigation. . . . The most thorough and far-reaching study to date. . . . No one wanting to engage the lives and roles of early Christian women or their central place in the expansion of Christianity in the first three centuries can afford to miss this book.”

—Harry O. Maier, Professor of New Testament Studies, Vancouver School of Theology

Fortress Press Releases the First Full Study of Women’s Roles in the Early Church

MINNEAPOLIS (October 19, 2005)— A Woman’s Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity by Carolyn Osiek, Margaret Y. MacDonald, with Janet H. Tulloch gives a focused look at women in the household context discusses the importance of issues of space and visibility in shaping the lives of early Christian women. Several aspects of women's everyday existence are investigated, including the lives of wives, widows, women with children, female slaves, women as patrons, household leaders, and teachers. In addition, several key themes emerge: hospitality, dining practices, and the extent of female segregation.

“A wonderful collection of evidence for the participation of women in early Christian house churches, as patrons, leaders, presiders, and funerary banquet hosts. . . . Essential reading for scholars of the New Testament and antiquity alike.”

—Kathleen E. Corley, Professor of New Testament and Christianity and Oshkosh Northwestern Distinguished Professor, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

“A perceptive and illuminating study of early Christian women in the domestic setting of house churches . . . set in the broader cultural context of the Mediterranean in the first couple of centuries of Christianity.”

—Beryl Rawson, Professor Emerita, Classics, Australian National University

"Uses the all too meager evidence with sophistication and presents their results with engaging clarity."

— Harold W. Attridge, Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament and Dean, Yale Divinity School

Carolyn Osiek is Professor of New Testament at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas. Her other books include, with Kevin Madigan, Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History (2005); Shepherd of Hermas (Hermeneia, Fortress Press, 1999); and, with David L. Balch, Families in the New Testament World: Households and House Churches (1997).

Margaret Y. MacDonald is Professor of New Testament at St. Francis Xavier University (Nova Scotia, Canada). Her previous books include Early Christian Women and Pagan Opinion (1996) and The Pauline Churches: A Socio-Historical Study of Institutionalization (1988).

Janet Tulloch, who contributes the chapter on women and funerary banquets, received her Ph.D. in the New Testament from the University of Ottawa.

Format: Hardcover, 6” x 9”, 320 pp

ISBN: 0800636902

Price: $35.00

Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 320 pp

ISBN: 0800637771

Price: $35.00

Publisher: Fortress Press

To order A Woman’s Place please call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the Web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies or exam copies, or to discuss speaking engagements or interviews, please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or email toddb@augsburgfortress.org
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Rhetoric, Ethic, and Moral Persuasion in Biblical Discourse

This was just announced on Rhetoric-L by Tom Olbricht:

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Rhetoric, Ethic, and Moral Persuasion in Biblical Discourse, eds. Thomas H. Olbricht and Anders Eriksson (New York: T & T Clark International, 2005) xiv + 401 pp.

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, "Disciplinary Matters: Biblical Studies as A Critical Rhetoric of Inquiry."

Rodney K. Duke, Applachian State University, Boone, NC, "The Ethical Appeal of Chronicles"

Anders Eriksson, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, "The old is good: Parables of patched garment and wineskins as elaboration of a chreia in Luke 5:33-39 about feasting with Jesus."

Manfred Kraus, Unitersität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany "Ethos as a Technical Means of Persuasion in Ancient Rhetorical Theory"

John W. Marshall, University of Toronto, "When You Make the Inside like the Outside: Pseudepigraphy and Ethos"

J. David Hester-Amador, Center for Rhetoric and Hermeneutics, Santa Rosa, California, "The Wuellerian Sublime: Rhetorics, Ethics, Power, and the Ethics of Commun(icat)ion"

Prof. Carol Poster, York University, Toronto, CA, "Ethos, Authority and the New Testament Canon"

Thomas H. Olbricht, Pepperdine University, Emeritus, South Berwick, ME, "The Foundations of Ethos in Paul and in the Classical Rhetoricians"

Roy Jeal, William and Catherine Booth College, Winnipeg, Canada, "Melody, Imagery and Memory in the Moral Persuasion of Paul"

Fred Long, Bethel College, Mishawaka, IN, "From Epicheiremes to Exhortation: A Pauline Method for Moral Persuasion in I Thesalonianst"

Mark D. Given, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, "On His Majesty’s Secret Service: The Undercover Ethos of Paul, God’s Double Agent"

Todd Penner, Austin College, Sherman, TX, and Prof. Caroline Vander Stichele, University of Amsterdam, "Unveiling Paul: Gendering Ethos in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16"

Russell B. Sisson, Union College, Barboursville, KY, "Athorial Ethos in Philippians: The Agon Topos in Paul and Hellenistic Moralists"

Troy Martin, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL, "Veiled Exhortation Regarding the Veil: Ethos as the controlling Moral Persuasion (1 Cor. 11:2-16)"

Johan S. Vos, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, "Phil 1:12-26 and the Rhetoric of Success"

Rollin Ramsaran, Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, TN, "In the Steps of the Moralists: Paul’s Rhetorical Argumentation in Philippians 4"

Jerry L. Sumney, Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, KY, "The Function of Ethos in Colossians 1:24-2:5"

Walter Übelacker, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, "Hebrews and the Implied Author’s Rhetorical Ethos"

Vernon K. Robbins, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, "From Heidelberg to Heidelberg: Rhetorical Interpretation of the Bible at the Seven ‘Pepperdine’ Conferences from 1992 to 2002"
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I particularly like the title of Mark Given's article. I always say that one should ahve a few article titles on your CV that make one sit up and take notice!

In the Footsteps of Jesus

Coming soon on BBC Radio 4:

In the Footsteps of Jesus

Edward Stourton embarks on a journey in the footsteps of Jesus, bringing to life the world in which He lived.

There has never been a greater public demand for information about Jesus, the real man. Mel Gibson's The Passion and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code have both tapped into this desire to learn more about the man who is at the centre of the world's largest religion.

For one third of the world’s population, Jesus is the son of God, while a quarter views Him as a prophet and many others revere Him as a great teacher. But in this series Edward will also trace how the idea of Jesus and our understanding of Him has changed through the centuries; from Jesus, to Christ, to Emperor and finally to Guru.

It is a four part series, beginning Monday 21 November, and continuing weekly until the week before Christmas. For those of us outside the UK, don't worry! You can listen to it on-line. (In fact if you are anything like me, you are already listening to Radio 4 on-line whenever possible).

I should add that I have been involved in the series, as script consultant. I am very happy with the way that it has shaped up. I talked to Ed Stourton not long before leaving the UK; and they also got some top notch people, including Tom Wright, Ed Sanders, Bart Ehrman and Larry Hurtado. I promise some regular reminders when the programme airs.

Review of Biblical Literature latest

A little later than usual, but here it is anyway, the latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:

Brown, Michael Joseph
The Lord's Prayer through North African Eyes: A Window into Early Christianity
Reviewed by Gerald West

Meier, John P.
Translated by Jean-Bernard Degorce, Charles Ehlinger, and Noël Lucas
Un Certain Juif: Jésus-Les Données de l'histoire: II: La parole et les gestes
Reviewed by Thomas Kraus

Tsang, Sam
From Slaves to Sons: A New Rhetoric Analysis on Paul's Slave Metaphors in His Letter to the Galatians
Reviewed by Roy Lucas

Van Neste, Ray
Cohesion and Structure in the Pastoral Epistles
Reviewed by Christopher Hutson

O'Keefe, John J. and R. R. Reno
Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas

O'Keefe, John J. and R. R. Reno
Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible
Reviewed by Marcus Sigismund

Segal, Alan F.
Life after Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion
Reviewed by Corrado Martone

Thought for the day

I am really enjoying reading Dale Allison, Resurrecting Jesus, in the few spare moments I have at the moment, and rather liked this comment which he makes in passing:

"One cannot fairly criticize an idea by ridiculing its distortions" (222).

I can think of occasions when I could have used that line to good effect, and I am going to remember it for the future.

Thanks and another attempt to return

One of my favourite parts of one of my favourite films, The Truman Show, is where they take the show off the air and they get the best ratings ever. I feel a bit like that with the blog! My blogging hiatus has generated so many sympathetic comments and emails that I wonder whether I should do it more often (only joking). The long and short of it is that we after an initial honeymoon period for the first few weeks when we arrived in North Carolina, subsequently we have found the transition from the UK to the US very difficult, and unexpectedly so in many areas. I am not able to go into detail, at least not at this point, but what I would like to do is to say thanks for the support and encouragement, which means alot.

And I am going to say darn everything and I will blog!