I am now finally unburying myself from “back to work” mess. I thought I might give a brief report on SBL this year. Overall, most folks (myself included) were disappointed with the McCormick Place convention center – restaurants were few and far between, shuttling back and forth on buses was a pain, and the sessions were so spread out that the conference as a whole lacked the kind of energy we have seen in previous years. Oh well, perhaps Baltimore... Read more

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The Justice Conference will be in Philadelphia this February and I am pleased to say that Eastern University is one of the major sponsors. This year, the speakers include Nicholas Wolterstorff, Eugene Cho, Brenda Salter McNeil, and John Perkins (among many others). I will definitely try and make it downtown to hear Wolterstorff. I am proud of Eastern for being committed to the cause of justice! I am hoping to get a group of students and faculty to participate this... Read more

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Yes, that’s right. Theologian. Trading. Cards. Read more

So, am I a Bibleworks, Accordance, or Logos user [NB: not a very good pick-up line BTW]? Answer: yes, yes, and yes. On my Mac, I run Bibleworks, Accordance, AND Logos! What can I say? I have moved so many times in the last 6 years that I do my best to make sure most of my library and research resources are online! Anyway, today is not only the first of the month (two days from my birthday!), but also... Read more

It is sometimes pointed out that, while the Apostles’ Creed is obviously based on Holy Scripture, it makes no statement about Holy Scripture. So, what are Christians supposed to believe about the Bible? And how does “what they believe” direct and effect their study of Scripture? These are questions that are at the heart of Don Thorsen and Keith Reeves’ new book What Christians Believe about the Bible (Baker, 2012). Their concern in the book is not so much to settle the... Read more

I read this in a chapter essay by Craig Bartholomew on Wisdom Literature in the OT. Brevard Childs was once asked by a student how to become a better exegete of the Bible. “Become a deeper person!” replied Childs. See “Hearing the OT Wisdom Literature,” in Hearing the Old Testament (Eerdmans), p. 309. Read more

I love that I get to teach the Old Testament. While I feel most comfortable answering questions on the New Testament, I am stretched in all the best ways in the OT courses I teach. On Monday, I will lecture on Proverbs and I am often at a loss for what to say. I do have some general notes on structure and themes and so forth. But I want to say something really profound or inspiration. I struggle at that.... Read more

A few months back I mentioned that Dr. Michael Gorman has become the “Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology” at St Mary’s Ecumenical Institute of Theology. On Thursday (Nov 8), he will give a special inaugural lecture. I won’t be able to attend that, but I WILL make it to the event the next morning (Friday Nov 9) called “A Morning with the Apostle Paul (and Friends)” which continues the celebration of Gorman’s new position. This 9-12... Read more