Now that some details and arrangements have been finalized I can finally share details about my plans for the 2022-2023 academic year, when I will be on sabbatical to work on a book project related to John the Baptist. First, I have the opportunity to spend time in the Holy Land this summer so that I can visit locations that have a connection with John the Baptist, who is the focus of my project for the coming year. The connections... Read more
I mentioned in a previous blog post that I will present a conference paper in the Society of Biblical Literature’s “Q” program unit about John the Baptist. I have now learned that I have also had a paper accepted by the American Academy of Religion’s Traditions of Eastern Late Antiquity program unit. The title is “Late Antique Texts and Earlier History: The Case of John the Baptist and Mandaean Sources.” Here is the abstract I submitted: There is a noticeable... Read more
While my focus during 2022-2023 will be on John the Baptist, I will continue to tinker away at my collaborative effort on the intersection of computer programming and ethics. This is a roundup of recent news on artificial intelligence and related topics. First, here is my appearance on the Souls in Soles podcast: Due to my sabbatical I probably won’t be able to present at Starbase Indy this year – but you should! (The link goes to the form to... Read more
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was... Read more
If you are at all interested in astronomy you have undoubtedly come across reference to the possibility of a “Planet X” that lies beyond Pluto, a 10th planet (assuming one counts Pluto as has traditionally been the case). Attempts to spot a planet in our solar system beyond the orbit of Pluto have thus far been unsuccessful. One possible explanation for this is that there is no such planet. Yet the behavior of other planets, and even more so of... Read more
I’ve been notified of the acceptance of a conference paper I proposed, and so I’ll be presenting a paper on John the Baptist in Q at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in November, in the SBL program unit with the shortest name (“Q”). Here is the summary of my paper: Q as a Source of Knowledge about John the Baptist In her groundbreaking study Baptist Traditions and Q, Clare K. Rothschild argued that in the Q material in... Read more
Laurențiu Ganea is a Romanian composer whose work was pointed out to me by a fellow New Testament scholar, and whose musical exploration of biblical texts should be of interest to those who (like me) are fascinated by this intersection. Below are a couple of examples of his works. Let me preface them by offering an English translation of an excerpt from an article which features comments by the composer about his setting of the Song of Songs, including his... Read more
The deadline for AAR Annual Meeting paper proposals is extended to March 8 From the American Academy of Religion: PAPERS System is Open for Submissions. Due to unexpected technical challenges, some AAR members were unable to submit their proposals. Because of these issues, we are extending the deadline by one week, to Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. EST. What You Need to Know: The Annual Meeting will have an in-person only format this year. There will not be a... Read more
Ukrainian Churches in the Time of War Round table discussion Friday, March 4 18:00-19:30 Kyiv time [17:00-18:30 CET = 11 am EST] The war in Ukraine is heavily affecting the entire population of the country, churches included. We gathered an ecumenical cohort of representatives from Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, as well as religious observers to examine how Ukrainian churches are reacting to the Russian military invasion and assisting the population. We will also examine the religious narratives being formulated and... Read more
I asked my Sunday school class to take a detour into a topic that I have been thinking about over the past several days. Three particular things have intersected to prompt this. One is hearing a philosopher’s talk about pan-African nationalism and its efforts against oppression and colonialism. The philosopher suggested that Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolence may have been a matter of pragmatism: fight the white majority, the government in the control of whites, by violent means and you’re... Read more
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