What is a biblioblog? That is the question which Scott Bailey asked and which Jim West, Joel Watts, Rod of Alexandria, Steve Caruso and James Bradford Pate have each sought to answer.
I am due to host the Biblical Studies Carnival in early September with a round-up of posts from August. So hopefully we can all figure it out by then, if not sooner, so that I know what to include! 🙂
My own view is that, for the purpose of a Biblical Studies Carnival, the focus should be on posts which touch on, feature and relate to academic Biblical studies, not whether such posts are the main focus of that particular blog as a whole. But the question of how to define a biblioblog may seem more difficult to answer. Certainly Jim West’s approach, connecting it with SBL membership, doesn’t seem to me to be particularly helpful, since anyone who wishes can join the Society of Biblical Literature simply by paying the membership fee.
Perhaps the answer is instead to match blogs to the Society of Biblical Literature’s mission statement (whether in its old or more recent formulation): a biblioblog is a blog which promotes (critical) academic study of the Bible.
Would that work? I think it might be just right – neither too inclusive nor too exclusive. But what do others think? If you like this approach, let me know, and if you don’t, then let me know that too – and please also suggest a better one!
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