Surprise Festschrift for Telford and Barton (Gupta)

This SBL was a very special one for me – my co-editor (Kristian Bendoraitis) and I presented a surprise Festschrift to my doktorvater Dr. Stephen C. Barton (University of Durham). The FS offers essays jointly in honor of Dr. Barton and Dr. William R. Telford (also retired Durham faculty).

On Saturday night, Kristian and I planned a dinner at SBL with Dr. Barton – it was Dr. Barton’s very first SBL! We were very grateful to be able to present the book to him in person.

This summer I had a chance to do some research in England, and I was able to announce the book in person to Dr. Telford.
These are two exceptionally kind-hearted, wonderful men who have made a deep impact not only with their scholarship, but also with their mentorship with students and guild leadership. They are both very deserving of this honor.

The book is called Matthew and Mark across Perspectives: Essays in Honour of Stephen C. Barton and William R. Telford (the subtitle will appear on the printed book). The publisher is Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, in the LNTS series. A fun note – part of the reason we chose the LNTS series is that Dr. Telford’s dissertation monograph was the very first JSNTSup volume (#1!), and JSNTSup became LNTS – an extra tribute to his work.

The emphasis of the volume is many perspectives and methods. Not only have Barton and Telford approached the Gospels from different perspectives, but each one has impacted scholarship by use of many perspectives. Telford is especially known for his traditio-historical work, but also reception of the Gospels in film. Barton is especially appreciated for his work in social-scientific criticism, but has done great work in literary criticism and theological interpretation/spirituality. Currently he is interested in emotions in the New Testament.

Contributors to this honorific volume include (with * noting those associated with Durham as faculty or alum):

-Kristian Bendoraitis*

-Prof. Francis Watson*

-Prof. Helen Bond*

-Dan Fryer-Griggs* (studied with Telford)

-Dr. Craig A. Evans

-Dr. Donald Hagner

-Louise Lawrence

-Nijay K. Gupta* (studied with Barton)

-Prof. James D.G. Dunn*

-Prof. Loren Stuckenbruck*

-Peter Francis (appreciation for Telford)

-Prof. Walter Moberly* (appreciation for Barton)

These contributors were eager to honor Barton and Telford, and we had a nice time at the Durham reception celebrating with Barton (Telford was not there).

We are hoping for a release of the book relatively early in the New Year 2016. The Table of Contents with chapter titles can be found on the Bloomsbury website.