Warning:  This will be a dirty post.  Anthropologists remind us from time to time of their basic definition of dirt—- namely that it is matter out of place.  For example, the soil in my front garden is rich and good, but if I walk through it in my good Sunday shoes and then walk onto the carpet in my living room, suddenly the good soil just becomes dirt, and the carpet is dirty, or soiled— not a good thing.   But… Read more

New College Oxford is a pretty special place.  Originally established in 1379 as a college for the training of priests, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary,  as you can see from the picture above, it has remarkable architecture and an inspiring chapel.  Less inspiring however was the condition of the oak timber beam ceilings in various places in the college as we shall see.   This college has been viewed as perfect for films, and was used in both… Read more

An Updated BibleWorks larryhurtado | September 5, 2011 at 6:57 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pYZXr-bD Several weeks ago I was given (by the publisher) a copy of the latest version of the computer-based software package, BibleWorks 9.  Having expressed my misgivings about the dangers of students relying on such resources and not really doing the work of learning Greek and/or Hebrew, I feel obliged to give some initial and limited comments about this particular one. I’m an amateur… Read more

I love golf for many reasons.  I love it because you get to be outdoors in beautiful scenery, and feel the breeze, and see the green grass, and walk, and walk, and walk (yes I walk and carry my clubs).  I am by no means the golfer I was fifteen years ago.  Time and age have a way of diminishing things.  I don’t play to win,  I play for exercise, for fun, for some good shots once in while, and… Read more

Hallelujah! 13 years after inception, final pages of handwritten … Read more

A New(ish) Journal  (Post by Larry Hurtado) larryhurtado | September 10, 2011 at 8:48 am | Tags: Important publications, NT Studies | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pYZXr-c3 At the recent British NT Conference, the publishers, Mohr Siebeck kindly gave each of us a sample copy of their new journal, Early Christianity (edited by J. Frey, C. . Rothchild, J. Schroeter, F. Watson), which commenced publication in 2010.  The sample issue, vol. 1, part 3 (2010) has a focus on “Recent… Read more

Miles Dewey Davis is, of course, a jazz legend. Without question he is the most influential trumpet player of his entire era, even including figures like Satcho (louis Armstrong) or Dizzy Gillespie.   And when he joined forces with such premiere talents as Bill Evans and John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Hancock and John Scofield (and we could go on and on), his circle of influence only widened and still today is being continually felt and demonstrated in the… Read more

President Timothy Tennent gave the following address at our September Convocation  at Asbury this month.  In my view, it hits on a lot of crucial points that need to be addressed going forward (Reprinted with permission) Our Mission to “theologically educate” by Timothy C. Tennent, Ph.D Fall Convocation, 2011 In his 1937 landmark book, The Kingdom of God in America, Richard Niebuhr memorably described the message of Protestant liberalism as “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a… Read more

The UK PhD: Structure and Pressures larryhurtado | September 10, 2011 at 1:46 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pYZXr-c9 Several days ago I promised to engage questions about how it is that examiners of PhD theses in NT/Christian Origins can report the sort of incidents mentioned to me (which I hope are exceptional) where a student is obviously lacking in basic language tools.  Those considering PhD studies and fellow academics as well may find the following of interest.  Otherwise,… Read more

Rob Bell is leaving Mars Hill for ‘broader’ forms of ministry. We will find out in due course what that means. Here is the link to the CT article announcing this…. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/septemberweb-only/rob-bell-leaves-mars-hill.html Read more