Research in Religious Studies Conference Call for Papers

Posted on January 16, 2012 at 12:26 pm by Dr. Jim

The Religious Studies Department, at the University of Lethbridge, will present the 10th Annual Research in Religious Studies Conference on May 5 – 6, 2012.

The conference provides undergraduate and graduate level students with the opportunity to present papers on the history, belief, practices, cultural contexts, and artistic or literary expressions of any religious tradition.  Proposals for papers from any discipline within the academic fields of the humanities and social science are welcome.

The conference is open to students from any educational institute at any point in their educational career.  Although we encourage PhD students to attend, we are particularly seeking papers by undergraduate and masters level students.

Papers will be selected on basis of abstracts submitted. Click here to submit your abstract. And if you need some help:  How To Write An Abstract

Found at http://jumpinginpools.blogspot.com

The conference’s history has been one of great success in terms of the numbers and quality of papers presented and the obvious impact it has had on students. Our meeting provides all the benefits conferences provide for professors and more. It is a very positive pedagogical tool for those destined to continue their studies at a more advanced level. The conference provides students with a way to make good on all the constructive feedback from their professors and to see just what kind of level they can actually work at. The conference is modeled on professional conferences and is a venue for undergraduate and master’s students to meet and share the fruits of their research. The students certainly rise to the occasion and the pedagogical benefits are many.

 See our page on tips for presentations and how the conference is organized

My first attempt at organizing a student conference was with a friend back when we were undergraduates at the University of Alberta in the early ’90s. Our few presenters and somewhat skeptical but supportive professors all thought it a great success. Unfortunately, it lasted only one year after we graduated. During my time at the University of Alberta I was encouraged to attend professional conferences as well, and even had two papers accepted for presentation at the annual meetings of the Pacific Northwest Region of the Society of Biblical Literature/American Academy of Religion.

Our first meeting was in early May 2003, when a handful of students presented papers to a small body of their peers, parents and a few professors. The next year 12 papers were presented and in 2005 we advertised the conference at the University of Calgary. A strong showing from there brought our total to over 20 presenters.

In 2006 over 40 papers were presented by students from five provinces, and even from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The succeeding year our meeting was as large and we included participants from Ontario, Washington, Tennessee, Alabama and Oregon. Financial difficulties for students led to smaller meetings in subsequent years, but we still drew participants from across Canada.  In 2012 we had some 50 papers scheduled with some presenters travelling from Halifax and Stanford University in California. Go here to see the 2011 schedule!

The diversity of topics is astounding, from Islamic and Hindu philosophy and mysticism to apocalyptic imagery in the tea-party movement in the United States. The religious content of Second World War propaganda posters interests one presenter while another will talk about psychological aspects of conversion.

The variety of approaches and disciplines from which these papers are drawn cover almost all of the academic disciplines that study humans and society. There have even been papers on religious video games.

http://cheezburger.com/View/5701280512

Altogether, the conference highlights what universities are all about: curiosity into the nature of the world we inhabit and create for ourselves. And there is no better way to end an academic year than to see that curiosity pursued so diligently and expertly by students.

This year, our banquet keynote speaker will be James F. McGrath,  Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis, and world famous as the mind behind the Exploring Our Matrix blog, and famouser as the editor of the new volume. Religion and Science Fiction.

For additional information, please contact the Conference Coordinators at rrsconference@uleth.ca

Or contact individually,

Dr. James Linville, Coordinator  - james.linville@uleth.ca

Bev Garnett, Administrative Assistant, RELS - bev.garnett@uleth.ca

Categories: Academics, Biblical Scholarship, Religious Studies, University of Lethbridge
Tags: , , ,

Leave a Comment

Dr. Jim to Speak in Calgary

Posted on January 15, 2012 at 10:01 am by Dr. Jim

Yup, I’m going to try this again.

I’m really pleased to be travelling up to Calgary at the end of the month to speak at a meeting of the Centre for Inquiry (part of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy). This was originally scheduled for late 2010, but my mom fell ill (she died a short time later) so I had to cancel.

Thanks to Nathan Phelps, director of CFI Calgary, I’m back in the loop.

Here’s the facebook blurb:

Calgary’s Centre for Inquiry is proud to present University of Lethbridge professor Jim Linville for a talk on the challenges of teaching religions as a non-believer.

The field of Religious Studies is constantly battling with questions of “insider” versus “outsider” knowledge of religious traditions, ideas, and societies. Many people—even on the “outside”– assume that Religious Studies scholars necessarily belong to the traditions they teach and research. Many others, however, assume that academic examination of the Bible or Judeo-Christian religious traditions are intended to challenge or even subvert the teachings and integrity of those faiths. As an atheist researcher and teacher of the Hebrew Bible (who also dabbles in introductions to Judaism and mythology) there are many roadblocks and pitfalls, especially if one is also an active advocate for secularization and humanism in the public sphere. In presenting these potential land mines Jim will also point to the riches in teaching in these fields.

3:30 p.m. Saturday January 28.

University of Calgary – MacEwan Student Center – Bianca Room, 2500 University Dr NW , Calgary

TICKET PRICES:
General Admission: $10
Student Admission: $5
Friends of the Centre & U of C Freethinker Members Admission: FREE

Categories: Biblical Scholarship
Tags: , , ,

Leave a Comment

It’s a CARNIVAL, Jim, but not as we know it!

Posted on January 1, 2012 at 3:30 pm by Dr. Jim

Yes, it’s that time of the month again! (Oops, did I say something wrong?). Its the blogging carnival for the Bible Bloggers!

And what a month it was, what with all sorts of holidays!  Of course, there was Hanukkah, Chanukah or whatever you call it. And also Christmas or the “unmentionable” holiday or whatever you call THAT, And New Years eve, or Hogmanay, or whatever the Scots call it! Now, Kwanzaa might come but once a year, but the Carnival is every darn month, as if there is always something more to say about the  Bible, let’s do something different. Instead of talking about peace on Earth, good will to non-gendered persons, lets get down to brass tacks, shall wee?

“Take it from me, whenever you see a bunch of buggers puttering around talking about truth and beauty and the best way of attacking Ethics, you can bet your sandals it’s all because dozens of other poor buggers are doing all the real work around the place.” – (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)

So this time around, lets give another cannon a shot, and recognize some other festivities too. And let’s not forget that   DECEMBER 32 WAS HOGSWATCHNIGHT (or, for all you loyal Omnians out there, the  Fast of St Ossory)

And for the uninitiated, what is Hogswatchnight?  It is last night of the year on the Discworld, that rather silly (and very realistic, scientifically speaking, I’m being metaphorical) place in space riding through the cosmos on four giant elephants which are standing on an even colossal turtle. C’mon, you guys do read your Terry Pratchett, don’t you? You don’t?

HEATHENS! Jim West cronies!

Well, here is the official synopsis of the book:

Susan had never hung up a stocking . She’d never put a tooth under her pillow in the serious expectation that a dentally inclined fairy would turn up. It wasn’t that her parents didn’t believe in such things. They didn’t need to believe in them. They know they existed. They just wished they didn’t.

There are those who believe and those who don’t. Through the ages, superstition has had its uses. Nowhere more so than in the Discworld where it’s helped to maintain the status quo. Anything that undermines superstition has to be viewed with some caution. There may be consequences, particularly on the last night of the year when the time is turning. When those consequences turn out to be the end of the world, you need to be prepared. You might even want more standing between you and oblivion than a mere slip of a girl – even if she has looked Death in the face on numerous occasions…

Ah yes, the end of the world. It didn’t happen twice in 2011, and it won’t happen a few more times in 2012!

But back to the carnival. Or more accurately (queue the dramatic music), the PREAMBLE to the Carnival. I probably didn’t advertise it enough, but I didn’t get too many people emailing with suggestions (thanks to those who did!) so I spent hours looking for good stuff (and found it) Alas. And so the theme might not seem appropriate to you, but I don’t care.

So, where were we? Oh yeah, Terry Pratchett, Author of the Scripture, Hack of the Canon (and so forth). So, here is the scriptural reason why this carnival will just be another great glorious hodge bodge with no particular order, rhyme or reason, and with  not-at-all-forced-or-other-wise-eisegessized-incursions-of-an-artifically-deliberately-created-intertextual-nature with the TRUE SCRIPTURE©®™

And much, much earlier than that, when the Discworld was formed, drifting onwards through space atop four elephants on the shell of the giant turtle, Great A’Tuin.

Possibly, as it moves, it gets tangled like a blind man in a cobwebbed house in those highly specialized little space-time strands that try to breed in every history they encounter, stretching them and breaking them and tugging them into new shapes.

Or possibly not, of course. The philosopher Didactylos has summed up an alternative hypothesis as ‘Things just happen. What the hell.’ (Hogfather)

http://thoughtsawrystudio.com/?projects=hogfather

As you can see, Hogfather is the real inspiration behind Father Christmas. Hogfather travels the disk, and gives presents of pork products to good kids (mmmmm….bacon), and bones to the bad ones and will give good kids their wishes. As reported in the Scriptures, the Hogfather is kidnapped by an evil genius who makes children stop believing in him.

Anyway, Hogfather (and lots of other Pratchett books) feature the character Death who speaks in all-caps, all the time. Death has to take over from Hogfather while Death’s adopted granddaughter, Susan Sto Helit rescues the real one.

Michelle Dockery as Susan in Sky One TV's adaptation. Image from wikipedia

Alas, Death starts taking kids’ wishes a little too literally…  And all sorts of entities spring into being, including the deity Billious, invoked countless times on Hogsfather Day (i.e., New Year’s Day) by hungover folk chanting “Oh God…” But fantasy is real, isn’t it? Isn’t that what Christmas (Ok, and all other Holy Days) is all about?

“You’re saying humans need … fantasies to make life bearable.”
“NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.”
“Tooth fairies? Hogfathers?”
“YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.”
“So we can believe the big ones?”
“YES. JUSTICE. DUTY. MERCY. THAT SORT OF THING.”
“They’re not the same at all!”
“REALLY? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET YOU ACT, LIKE THERE WAS SOME SORT OF RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.”
“Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what’s the point—”
MY POINT EXACTLY.               - Susan and Death (Terry Pratchett, Hogfather)

Anyway, Here are the best biblioblog posts I and a few other folk could find in December. And some random quotes from a number of Pratchett’s books, all shamelessly ripped off the internet, and remember, the Discworld is the the true seasoning for the reasoning. Hey, things just happen. Sue me.

Ruminations on Biblical Studies

Stories don’t care who takes part in them. All that matters is that the story gets told, that the story repeats. Or, if you prefer to think of it like this: stories are a parasitical life form, warping lives in the service only of the story itself.

It takes a special kind of person to fight back, and become the bicarbonate of history.  (Terry and Lyn Pratchett, Witches Abroad)

Jim West has a _______ ing go at Hector Avalos about the end of Biblical Studies, or some other BS (see below).

Philip Davies, on in Bible and Interpretation walked into a B.A.R. article  and asked the bartender (Garfinkel) if  he could get a round of common sense from the establishment, but alas not, since the bar was hosting a wake for minimalism, and getting around common sense for some time. Deanne Galbraith was artistically moved:

Vridar (Neil Godfrey) wonders why we argue about it anyway. But we’re not going to stop, and neither is he.

What the heck is a bible anyway?

In the second scroll of Wen the Eternally Surprised a story is written concerning one day when the apprentice Clodpool, in a rebellious mood, approached Wen and spake thusly: “Master, what is the difference between a humanistic, monastic system of belief in which wisdom is sought by means of an apparently nonsensical system of questions and answers, and a lot of mystic gibberish made up on the spur of the moment?” Wen considered this for some time, and at last said: “A fish!” And Clodpool went away, satisfied.  (Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time)

Chris Brady wonders is Grayling’s Humanist Bible is a Bible at all.

Steve Wiggins offers his usual insightful insights, this time directed towards a column on the importance of the bible.

she was opposed to books on strict moral grounds, since she had heard that many of them were written by dead people and therefore it stood to reason reading them would be as bad as necromancy. Among the many things in the infinitely varied universe with which Granny did not hold was talking to dead people, who by all accounts had enough troubles of their own (Equal Rites).

Bible and History

Kol Haadam lists all the books named in the Hebrew Bible in suggesting that the statement “the Bible has no history” depends on a rather narrow understanding of “history”.

These aren’t books in which the events of the past are pinned like so many butterflies to a cork. These are the books from which history is derived. There are more than twenty thousand of them; each one is ten feet high, bound in lead, and the letters are so small that they have to be read with a magnifying glass.
When people say “It is written . . .” it is written here.
There are fewer metaphors around than people think.(Small Gods)

Chris Heard of a way to Type Hebrew vowels on iPadHebrew and Aramaic

Basically, it was p’ch’zarni’chiwkov. This epiglottis-throttling word is seldom used on the Disc except by highly-paid stunt linguists and, of course, the tiny tribe of the K’turni, who invented it. It has no direct synonym, although the Cumhoolie word “squernt” (‘the feeling upon finding that the previous occupant of the privy has used all the paper’) begins to approach it in general depth of feeling. The closest translation is as follows:
           the nasty little sound of a sword being unsheathed right behind one at just the point when one thought one had disposed of one’s enemies
—although K’tumi speakers say that this does not convey the cold sweating, heart-stopping, gut-freezing sense of the original.  (Equal Rites)

Greek

David Black of Jesus Paradigm lists his ten fave books on studying Greek.

Rod Decker finds some Greek Words with Different Roots and Suppletive forms, verbs with multiple roots

Biblical Studies and technological Tools is pretty useful, especially when it comes to Searching for Greek Roots in Accordance, BibleWorks, and Logos and  Searching for Greek Semantic Domains Using Louw-Nida in Accordance, BibleWorks, and Logos

Bible Translations and Translating

After four years of theological college he wasn’t at all certain of what he believed, and this was partly because the Church had schismed so often that occasionally the entire curriculum would alter in the space of one afternoon. But also—

They had been warned about it. Don’t expect it, they’d said. It doesn’t happen to anyone except the prophets. Om doesn’t work like that. Om works from inside.

—but he’d hoped that, just once, that Om would make himself known in some obvious and unequivocal way that couldn’t be mistaken for wind or a guilty conscience. Just once, he’d like the clouds to part for the space of ten seconds and a voice to cry out, “YES, MIGHTILY-PRAISEWORTHY-ARE-YE-WHO-EXALTETH-OM OATS! IT’S ALL COMPLETELY TRUE! INCIDENTALLY, THAT WAS A VERY THOUGHTFUL PAPER YOU WROTE ON THE CRISIS OF RELIGION IN A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY!” (Carpe Jugulum)

 

Suzanne McCarthy posted on the Best Online Bibles

Jim West has been walking the streets of the Intertubes with a sandwich board advertising the  Common English Bible throughout the month even giving a few away. He has an interview with  Joel Green, finds its rendering of Sirach inspiring,  but finds some fault with the CEB in regards to Gen. 1.  Nick Norelli  also has something to say about the CEB.

Ah, the search for a good, public domain translation! And its a DEATHmatch! (Told you it was Hogswatchnight this month!) Anyway, Better Than Esdras thinks its a deathmatch between the Darby and World English Bible.

Benjamin Shaw at gptsrabbi thinks people should pay more attention to commas, especially in Ephesians 4:11-12.

Isaiah 9:5 in the New American Bible: Revised Edition gets some critique from “Believe, teach, and confess” (Rich Shields).  He also takes to task the New Living Translation and Mark 1:4.

Letters received from complete strangers sometimes lead to a discussion on biblical slavery and how to translate some Greek terms, as Deirdre Good, who is not a sausage, found out.

“Slave is an Ephebian word. In Om we have no word for slave,” said Vorbis. “So I understand,” said the Tyrant. “I imagine that fish have no word for water.” – (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)

“Pride is all very well, but a sausage is a sausage.” (Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms)

How Much of the Job Does Your Translation Do? is something Rod Decker wants to know. I assume it is a survey…

Kurk Gayle offers an An analysis of Dow Marmur’s claims that the Bible is untranslatable , and, if you are reggae for it, some ruminations on translatin’ the Bible for the Jamaicans.

Theophrastus spent the 25th remembering feminist scholar Catherine Clark Kroeger and her study Bible. He also offered a A Brief Comment on Tremper Longman III, Mark Strauss and Daniel Taylor’s Expanded Bible. 

 Text Criticism

Michael Samuel offers a post on The Origin of the Septuagint–The World’s First Biblical Translation

Genesis

“Spirit of God” vs. “Mighty Wind” is the subject of a post by Michael Samuel.

In the Beginning there was nothing, which exploded. – (Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies)

God does not play dice with the universe: He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players,* to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with balcnk cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won’t tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time. * i.e., everybody. ( Good Omens By Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett)

Leviticus

Theophrastus has some trouble translating shelamim in Levitucus, and so should you.

‘Where I come from priests are holy men who have dedicated themselves to lives of poverty, good works and the study of the nature of God.’
Rincewind considered this novel proposition.
‘No sacrifices?’ he said.
‘Absolutely not.’
Rincewind gave up. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘they don’t sound very holy to me.’

Numbers

Chuck Grantham has notes from the Ancient Biblical Commentary series
Numbers Chapter 9:1-11, 15-19 Antique Commentary Quotes
Numbers Chapter 13:26-28, 31; 14:6-9, 17-23 Antique Commentary Quotes
Numbers 24:17; Matthew 1:16-21; 2:1; 2:7-11 Antique Commentary Quotes
Numbers 22:4-6,31-35; 23:19-23 Antique Commentary Quotes

Judges

Fat Eglon is the subject (tub-ject?) of posted paper by James Aitken on Academica.edu

 Samuel

Remnants of Giants muses on whether Goliath was hit in the head or somewhat lower. But not there.

“The point is that descriptive writing is very rarely entirely accurate and during the reign of Olaf Quimby II as Patrician of Ankh some legislation was passed in a determined attempt to put a stop to this sort of thing and introduce some honesty into reporting. Thus, if a legend said of a notable here that “all men spoke of his prowess” any bard who valued his life would add hastily “except for a couple of people in his home village who thought he was a liar, and quite a lot of other people who had never really heard of him.” (Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic).

Isaiah

Jim West is punny at least when it comes to Isaiah 57.

This one could go under “translations”, Christmas, or other places, but here it is: Jim West looks at Common English Bible’s rendering of almah (young girl) in Isaiah 7:14.

Psalms

Gods die, and J. Z. Smith should get over it, thinks D. O. McCLellan.

James Pate has commentary on a number of Psalms, including Psalm 53 Psalm-54 Psalms-55, & Psalm 57.

The world was silent on Psalm 65 until Theophrastus started singing its difficult bit…

Bob McDonald at Poetry of Christ continues his series on Psalms study. Of the numerous ones this month, take a look at what he does with Psalm 110.

The prayers of most religions generally praise and thank the gods involved, either out of general piety or in the hope that he or she will take the hint and start acting responsibly. The Tezumen, having taken a long hard look around their world and decided bluntly that things were just about as bad as they were ever going to get, had perfected the art of the plain-chant winge. (Eric)

Esther

Kurk Gayle and Theophrastus offer four posts on the literary qualities of Greek and Hebrew Esther: Esther translations,  An open window onto the Jewish Bible The Literary Merits of Hebrew Esther/ Esthers on the rag: A Change will do the Jews Good

Gospels

Tom Verenna: Memes killed Kenny and history and fiction and so we all believed it, just like the Gospels.

Joel Watts: The Gospels were not memes, except maybe Matthew.

Tom Verenna: Oh yes they were!

Humans! They lived in a world where the grass continued to be green and the sun rose every day and flowers regularly turned into fruit, and what impressed them? Weeping statues. And wine made out of water!… As if the turning of sunlight into wine, by means of vines and grapes and time and enzymes, wasn’t a thousand times more impressive and happened all the time…
(Small Gods)

Mathhew

According to Kurk Gayle, there are Jewish Voices in Matt. 7.

Mark

Brian LePort FINALLY got around to writing on The “delayed parousia” of Mark 13.

John

The Sacred Page looks at John 21: Later Addition or Epilogue? and whether John wrote the book or not.

They thought you could see life through books but you couldn’t, the reason being that the words got in the way (Carpe Jugulum)

1 Corinthians

Tim Bulkeley at 5 Minute Bible posts a couple of podcasts on the contradiction in 1 Cor. 14:34, Part One, Part Two

Colossians

NJ Gupta needs some help with his commentary on the epistle.

Romans

Who is Paul addressing in Rom. 2.17? asks Rafael from Verily Verily.

Joel Watts posts a paper on Romans that looks all academic, footy-notey and everything! Which must really tick Jim West off. Heck, Joel even learned something before he wrote it!

Ephesians

Joel got academic again:  Ephesians 2.11-22 – The Destruction of the Temple, Theomachy, Necessity of the Gentile Mission 

“Chain letters,” said the Tyrant. “The Chain Letter to the Ephebians. Forget Your Gods. Be Subjugated. Learn to Fear. Do not break the chain — the last people who did woke up one morning to find fifty thousand armed men on their lawn.” – (Terry Pratchett, Small Gods)

Hebrews

Rod Decker has been thinking about Heb 2:5

Brian Small has a bibliography of this past year’s articles on Hebrews.

The question seldom addressed is where Medusa had snakes. Underarm hair is an even more embarassing problem when it keeps biting the top of the deodorant bottle.– (Terry Pratchett, Soul Music)

Titus

The third chapter of Titus is the subject of some posts by Phillip J. Long: Titus 3:9-11 – Dealing with those who Disagree  Ethics in Titus “Sound Doctrine” – Titus 3:4-8a

The wages of sin is death but so is the salary of virtue, and at least the evil get to go home early on Fridays (Witches Abroad)

Revelation

David Stark on Irenaeus on 666 and 616 

The gods of the Disc have never bothered much about judging the souls of the dead, and so people only go to hell if that’s where they believe, in their deepest heart, that they deserve to go. Which they won’t do if they don’t know about it. This explains why it is so important to shoot missionaries on sight. – (Terry Pratchett, Eric)

Early Common Era Texts

Acts of Mar Mari the Apostle are acted upon (but not marred) by Rebecca  at The Primary Word.

 

…as is generally the case around the time a prophet is expected, the Church redoubled its efforts to be holy. This was very much like the bustle you get in any large concern when the auditors are expected, but tended towards taking people suspected of being less holy and putting them to death in a hundred ingenious ways. This is considered a reliable barometer of the state of one’s piety in most of the really popular religions. There’s a tendency to declare that there’s more backsliding around than in the national toboggan championships, that heresy must be torn out root and branch, and even arm and leg and eye and tongue, and that it’s time to wipe the slate clean. Blood is generally considered very efficient for this purpose. (Small Gods)

Study Resources

Menachem Mendel was one of the many bloggers to notice the publication of a new Index to the Talmud.

Chuck Grantham shows us How to Use Kindle Bible Books

JonDave Medina at Near Emmaus offers The Answer to Hebrew in Word. Its LaTeX, a typesetting program.

Early Christianity

Larry Hurtado at the Christian Origins blog discusses some issues about Jesus’ Galilee

Richard Fellows examines the rather generous Gaius Titius Justus and his new name, Stephanas 

Junia was the subject of a whole series of articles by Suzanne McCarthy and Kurk Gayle: junia-evidence-i, junia-evidence-ii, junia-evidence-iii, junia-evidence-iv/, junia-evidence-v/, junia-and-andronicus

“There is a very interesting debate raging at the moment about the nature of sin, for example.”
“And what do they think? Against it, are they?”
“It’s not as simple as that. It’s not a black and white issue. There are so many shades of gray.”
“Nope.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no grays, only white that’s got grubby. I’m surprised you don’t know that. And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.”
“It’s a lot more complicated than that—”
“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they are getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes—”
“But they starts with thinking about people as things . . .”  (Carpe Jugulum)

Christianity in General

“The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret”  (Terry Pratchett, The Truth)

Storied Theology’s post on how foundational the doctrine of the trinity is to Christianity was a favourite of one Carnival sender-inner. The same sender-inner also liked Reformation 21′s (Gabriel Fluhrer) comments on not striving to be a great preacher.

Early Judaism

Michael Samuel writes: “[C]ompass sea and land to make one proselyte” — Early Jewish Proselytizing in Late Antiquity

Ancient Near East

Charles Halton at Awilum has a post on taking ANE texts as they are are, not as extenstion of the biblical world, and makes some other recommendations for biblical scholars using that material. The Abnormally Interesting Duane Smith also adds his $.02 worth.

Archaeology

Too many people, when listing all the perils to be found in the search for lost treasure or ancient wisdom, had forgotten to put at the top of the list ‘the man who arrived just before you’.  (Terry Pratchett, The Last Hero)

City of David Floor

http://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/the-strange-shapes-in-the-floor-a-city-of-david-mystery/

Posts that are Pure to Yah

This is very similar to the suggestion put forward by the Quirmian philosopher Ventre, who said, “Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it’s all true you’ll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn’t then you’ve lost nothing, right?” When he died he woke up in a circle of gods holding nasty-looking sticks and one of them said, “We’re going to show you what we think of Mr Clever Dick in these parts…” – (Terry Pratchett, Hogfather)

A late second temple period  seal that some think was intended to mark items as pure for ritual services has turned up and Heavenly Ascents was one of the  blogs blogging it. Helek Tovel did too. James Davila linked to four news reports  Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Arutz Svheva and Associated Pressand posted some high resolution photos on the 25th.

George Athas, who claims to work only With Meagre Powers writes may have actually been a currency exchange token.

And in Dutch, JP van Glessen offers his own interpretation based on Psalm 90.

Afgeniza! A Geniza in Afganistan, that is. Reported by  Jerusalem Post and blogged by James Davila The find is Commented on by Antonio Lombatti

Loads of ANE Texts: http://oldtestamentpassion.blogspot.com/

Jim West also highlighted a Facebook page with scads of photos by University of Tel Aviv folks on Tel Lachish, Khirbet Qeiyafa and Tel Zarit (Gath).

Pseudo-Archaeology & Pseudo-Epigraphy

Jesus Christ, Simcha got Nailed! says Jim West

A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on.  (Terry Pratchett, The Truth)

Tear it to Shrouds!  News that the Turin Shroud is authentic (at least according to some) made some bloggy waves. Old Testament Passion post on how the image was made with Octarine Ultraviolet Lasers. But Jim West still thinks it’s fake and Joel Watts is likely to agree, although not publicly. And for those who don’t care to know, according to Terry Pratchett, Octarine is the colour of magic. And it’s much nicer than infra-black.

 

Jordan Codices? We don’t need no stinking Jordan Codices! Says some guy named  Daniel O. McClellan. And even if we did think we needed them, they’re fake.

 Bible TV and Movies

NaTVity reviews on Bible Films Blog   Part One, and Two.

“Actors,” said Granny, witheringly. “As if the world weren’t full of enough history without inventing more.” (Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters)

 

Bible Sex and Queeriness 

“Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It’s the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.”   (Terry Pratchett, Eric)

Paul opposed Roman (bisexual) norms, not gay marriage according to Richard Fellows.

Roland Boer wondered about biblical erotica in two posts on David: first with Abigail and then Bathsheba but it’s not smutty. well, they’re not that smutty. Ok, some of it is.

BW 16 had a queery about Mary, conceiving sexlessly and all, with another picture that many might find interesting.

 

- “Sodomy non sapiens,” said Albert under his breath.
- “What does that mean?”
- “Means I’m buggered if I know.”   (Terry Pratchett, Mort)

Education and Pedegogy

The Bible World has some advice for those thinking of PhDs. And, of course, so does Terry.

Of course, it is very important to be sober when you take an exam. Many worthwhile careers in the street-cleansing, fruit-picking and subway-guitar-playing industries have been founded on a lack of understanding of this simple fact. – (Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures)

Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on. – (Terry Pratchett, Hogfather)

Blogging News

Claude Mariottini’s popular blog has a new URL: http://claudemariottini.com/

The Sacred Page Podcast is Now Fully Functioning on iTunes

Personal News

Congratulations to Emanuel Pfoh on his new PhD! Trust Jim West to keep us all informed of various bits of news in the Bible scholarship front.

Simcha Jacobovici is suing Joe Zias over allegedly getting a TV station to not broadcast a show. Jim West posted the news, Bob Cargill made a very long comment which Jim elevated to a new post status.

Publication News

Biblical Studies Journal Alerts (Danny Zacharias) keeps us all alert to journals of Biblical Studies

Nathan Eubank at Duke Newts posted a summary of, and a link to a recent article of his on Almsgiving in 1 Timothy.

Lawrence Shiffman has an intro to the Dead Sea Scrolls online (hat tip to Jim West)

Michael Langlois is celebrating the release of a book he edited written by  Valérie Triplet-Hitoto:  Mysteries and Hidden Knowledge at Qumran: Dt 29:28 in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Book Reviews

A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.

– (Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!)

Jim West reviews Jesus and the Land: the New Testament Challenge to Holy Land Theology (Gary M. Burge)

Jim West reviews Gerd Theissen’s The New Testametn: A Literary History

Claude Mariottini posts his comments on  Israel: Ancient Kingdom or Late Invention? (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2008), edited by Daniel Block

Larry Tanner continues his series on James’ Kugel’s How to Read the Bible.

“But you read a lot of books, I’m thinking. Hard to have faith, ain’t it, when you’ve read too many books?” (Terry Pratchett, Carpe Jugulum)

Marc Zvi Brettler and Amy Jill Levine, editors, Jewish Annotated New Testament caused a bit of traffic. Not really a book review, but Rachel Barenblat,the Velveteen Rabbi, posted some comments on a talk by the editors. See the comments in Italian on the book at Ta Biblia. Brian LePort has a multipart review with photos of select page so you can see how it is laid out. Go here,   here,    here. 

Jesus Have I loved, but Paul? by J. R. Daniel Kirk  is discussed at a number of  blogs, including the Biblical World where you will also get some video of Kirk, but not doing anything scandalous. Brian LePort has also reviewed it.

Chris Tilling reviews David Moffitt’s Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews

Visiting the Corruption of the New Testament by  Daniel  Wallace is reviewed in two parts at diglottng.com, Part One, and Part Two.

James McGrath read a book this past month and wants to tell you about it. Review of John Walton, Genesis 1 as Ancient Cosmology

Jesus among friends and enemies (Chris Keith and Larry Hurtado eds.)   got some notice. NJ Gupta provides of review of some length.

The Audio Greek New Testament performed by John Scwandt Review, Pt. 1 and   The Audio Greek New Testament: Review, Pt. 2  is reviewed by Michael Halcomb

Joel Watts has  Review: Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology @Kregelbooks   I take it he read it.

Holiday Studies

A number of religions in Ankh-Morpork still practiced human sacrifice, except that they didn’t really need to practice any more because they had got so good at it.

– (Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!)

Iconic Religion and Ritual by Kenny Paul Smith reflects on other-than-Christmas rituals at Christmas time at Religion Bulletin.

The Advent of Advent, by Ben Witherington III

James McGrath is the Scholar who stole Christmas. Blame him.

Sol Invictus was a looser. Just ask Judith Weingarten, Jesus won. He was there first.

Some odd Dutch customs get racially and wikipedially scrutinized by J. K. Gayle.

Simon Holloway turns The Lights on Hanukkah with forays into the sources. Meanwhile, Theophrastus wonders if Macabbees can be used as a historical source.

James Pate also dug into the Hasmonean era with two posts. Maccabees and Discerning Gods and another on Daniel 2.

Storied Theology has some insights into Christmas peace.

Jeff Carter was adventist, too, with some good news for the poor, and he also sang a lullaby for the innocents

“That’s blasphemy,” said the vampire.

He gasped as Vimes shot him a glance like sunlight. ”That’s what people say when the voiceless speak.” (Feet of Clay)

Bible and Science

James McGrath posts a lot on science and anti-science, and the creationists caught their fair share of his wrath this month. One of his posts are worth mentioning here: An Example of How Answers in Genesis Does Violence to the Bible, and Not Just Science. And here too, with his own cartoon, denouncing the idea a spherical bible.

Our Matrix explorer also  go a few digs in on the anti-reality crowd with a playful dialogue by commenter Darren Pardee . Oh, I feel a Pratchett coming on!

SCIENCE: A way of finding things out and then making them work. Science
explains what is happening around us the whole time. So does RELIGION, but
science is better because it comes up with more understandable excuses when
it is wrong. There is a lot more Science than you think.
– From A Scientific Encyclopedia for the Enquiring Young Nome
by Angalo de Haberdasheri
(Terry Pratchett, Wings)

The Historical Jesus or the Hysterical Jebus.

Was there a historical Jesus? I don’t know but  James McGrath had only a little to say about the subect, mostly in terms of Neil Godfrey’s take onPaul-Louis Couchoud  Neil, however, had a lot more, for example here.

The Divine Jesus?

As argued by Roger Olsen, Daniel O. McClellan and James McGrath

“They always gives me bath salts,” complained Nobby. “And bath soap and bubble bath and herbal bath lumps and tons of bath stuff and I can’t think why, ’cos it’s not as if I hardly ever has a bath. You’d think they’d take the hint, wouldn’t you?” (Hogfather)

General Oddities and Soddities

Jim West is so full of B. S. (Biblical Studies) he mistakes normal people abbreviations for Biblical Studies ones!

Jeff Carter gave us a Science Fiction / Bible Mash up – E.T and Jesus – and wants us all to keep  Thor in Thursday

Sects and Violence has traces the history of tebowing (whatever the hell that is) to the ancient Near East.

Sadly Christopher Hitchens died and there was a lot of comments on that. Unreasonable Faith highlighted some of the ignorant ones. James McGrath linked to some of the more appreciative ones and the new internet sensation, Coffee with Jesus:

People said there had to be a Supreme Being because otherwise how could the universe exist, eh?

And of course there clearly had to be, said Koomi, a Supreme Being. But since the universe was a bit of a mess, it was obvious that the Supreme Being hadn’t in fact made it. If he had made it he would, being Supreme, have made a much better job of it, with far better thought given, taking an example at random, to things like the design of the common nostril. Or, to put it another way, the existence of a badly put-together watch proved the existence of a blind watchmaker. You only had to look around to see that there was room for improvement practically everywhere.

This suggested that the Universe had probably been put together in a bit of a rush by an underling while the Supreme Being wasn’t looking, in the same way that Boy Scouts’ Association minutes are done on office photocopiers all over the country. (Small Gods)

Holiday Funnies

J K Gayle
From the Velveteen Rabbi

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR HOGSWATCH? said the Hogfather hurriedly.
Mother took her economic cue again, and said briskly: “She wants a—”
The Hogfather snapped his fingers impatiently. The mother’s mouth slammed shut.
The child seemed to sense that here was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and spoke quickly.
“I wanta narmy. Anna big castle wif pointy bits,” said the child. “Anna swored.”
WHAT DO YOU SAY? prompted the Hogfather.
“A big swored?” said the child, after a pause for deep cogitation.
THAT’S RIGHT.  [...]“You can’t give her that!” she screamed. “It’s not safe!”
IT’S A SWORD, said the Hogfather. THEY’RE NOT MEANT TO BE SAFE.
“She’s a child!” shouted Crumley.
IT’S EDUCATIONAL.
“What if she cuts herself?”
THAT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT LESSON.  (Hogfather)

 

 

Posted by Jim West

Humans, eh? Think they’re lords of creation. Not like us cats. We know we are. Ever see a cat feed a human? Case proven. (Terry Pratchett, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents)

Posted by Jim West

The Velveteen Rabbi

from Stalins Moustache.
Found at Bob Cargill’s blog
Seen at Exploring our matrix

The smith pushed the baby back into the arms of the frantic midwife. Then, as respectfully as possible he unpried the thin, pale fingers from the staff… She twitched aside a fold of the blanket. The smith looked down, and swallowed. … “But he said it would be a son!” …

“What have I done?” he moaned. “

You’ve given the world its first female wizzard, said the midwife. “Whosa itsywitsy, den?”

“What?”

“I was talking to the  baby.”  (Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites)

Categories: Biblical Scholarship, Blogging
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

17 Comments

2012 Biblioblogging Carnival Update!

Posted on December 17, 2011 at 10:13 am by Dr. Jim

Yes, its me, the illustrious Boss of the Carnivals who is very happy to report that I’ve had some volunteers to host 2012 Biblioblogging carnivals!

Here is the line up so far. Feel free to volunteer for the remaining months if you blog the Bible!

Jan. 1   Yours Truly

~~~~~~~~~~

February 1: Amanda MacInnis from Cheese Wearing Theology

~~~~~~~~~~

March 1: Duane Smith with his Abnormal Interests

~~~~~~~~~~

April 1:  Jim West, the Zwingli Redivivus  

~~~~~~~~~~

June 1:  Phil Long at Reading Acts

And don’t forget to send me your favourite Bible Blog posts from December for inclusion in the Jan 1 Edition at happilyunchurched[at]gmail.com!

Categories: Blogging, Cats & Lolcats
Tags: , , , ,

1 Comment

A New Feature: Bold Brassy Blues Babes!

Posted on December 4, 2011 at 8:46 am by Dr. Jim

Just surfed my way over to One Minion’s Opinion, and saw her post on lyrics in music and her link to the website of Blues duo Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley. How the hell did I miss them before?  It’s now #1 on my Christmas list Hell, I’m not waiting for Christmas…

Click here to go to Itunes Preview.

Photo from the site above.

There are three CDs for sale on the Electro-Fi site:

Morning Sun is a collaboration by renowned Blues artists Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley. A tribute to the classic blues sounds of the 30’s and 40’s, “Morning Sun” is a collection of original acoustic compositions that are both contemporary and traditional. “We were inspired by such greats as Memphis Minnie, Tampa Red, Lonnie Johnson, Bessie Smith, Big Bill Broonzy and the famous “Bluebird” record sound”, singer/songwriters Braithwaite and Whiteley relate. “We wanted to produce an album that embraces a time honoured sound while retaining it’s own originality”.

Night Bird Blues is the next chapter in Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley’s wide ranging tribute to the Blues of the 1930’s and 40’s. Once again they have chosen to take an acoustic and original approach. Their horizons have expanded to not only include the “Bluebird” sound so lovingly captured on their widely acclaimed “MORNING SUN” CD, but also to pay tribute to and affectionately evoke some of the smoother Blues classics of that era. The songs are all original compositions; the singing and playing is top notch. The result is Night Bird Blues.

 

"DeltaPhonic" is Electric and Eclectic Vintage Blues Music from the Award Winning Duo of DIANA BRAITHWAITE & CHRIS WHITELEY. On this new album, their 3rd for Electro-Fi, Chris and Diana delve deeply into their love of the Blues Music of the 1930’s and 40’s, this time also including an electric edge to the proceedings as they also pay tribute to the Chicago Blues.

 

Absolutely great stuff! Heard a track from DeltaPhonic on CBC or CKUA the other day. My favourite new (old) Blues! The pair will be playing in Calgary sometime soon, but I missed the details.

Categories: Bold Brassy Blues Babes, Music
Tags: , , ,

Leave a Comment

I’m the New Boss of the Internets-thingee! And the Biblioblogging Carnival!

Posted on December 2, 2011 at 7:07 am by Dr. Jim

Starting Jan 1, I will be coordinating the Bibliobloggers Carnival, and kicking things off for the New Year with the best of the bible blogging blog posts for the last month of 2011.

I need volunteers to host the show for the rest of year!  Well, sign up!

Stolen from http://webpub.allegheny.edu

Email happilyunchurched@gmail.com and get yerself famous!

Stolen from http://udtahaathi.wordpress.com

And don’t forget to check out the GIANT November Carnival at Remnants of Giants!

Categories: Biblical Scholarship, Blogging
Tags: , , , ,

2 Comments

Interracial couples not welcome in Kentucky Church. Welcome to the past.

Posted on November 30, 2011 at 8:26 pm by Dr. Jim

What freaking century is this?

Hat tip to Russell McCutcheon for noting this on Facebook:

Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church in Pike County, Kentucky has decided that in the interests of church “unity” that interracial couples are not welcome in most of its activities or as members. The Rawstory.com article says:

“Last Sunday, church members voted 9-6 in favor of [former pastor Melvin] Thompson’s proposed ban. Others attending the church business meeting declined to take a stand on the issue.”

“Parties of such marriages will not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship services and other church functions, with the exception being funerals.”

Stella Harville and Ticha Chikuni, photo from link above.

It all started when a nice white girl brought her black fiance to sing at the church while she played piano. How scandalous!

The ban on interracial couples attending church functions does not apply to funerals, though. No word yet if this actually applies to funerals for victims of lynchings.

Melvin Thompson and Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church, you are the JERKS OF THE DAY. Well done.

Categories: Seen in the News
Tags: , ,

5 Comments

Society of Biblical Literature’s Damnably (un?)Holy Alliance with Belief

Posted on November 29, 2011 at 8:02 pm by Dr. Jim

The aftermath of the SBL’s recent national meeting in San Francisco is getting interesting, and so I might as well have my rant, too.

I’ve added a correction and some (happiness engendering) updates based on an email from John Kutzko, executive director of the SBL, highlighting them in red. I do apologize for the error. 

Jacques Berlinerblau went public with his (justified) complaints about the Society of Biblical Literature’s unhealthy (and too “damn” “holy”) dalliances with the Society for Pentecostal Studies and other evangelical bible-believing groups at the recent SBL national meeting in San Francisco. His new opinion piece is in the Chronicle for Higher Education.

Summarizing the content of his own presentation that called on the SBL administration to finally decide on whether the society should be an academic organization dedicated to free scholarly inquiry, Berlinerblau writes of his experiences at a session hosted by the Society for Pentecostal Studies (a “Program Affiliate”, i.e., not the SBL, but its sessions still get in the SBL program book).

That these Pentecostal scholars appeared like extraordinarily nice people—the types of folks that emerge from the darkness to help you fix a flat tire—shouldn’t obscure the complex questions that their affiliation with the SBL raises.

To what degree is this type of scholarship comparable with what the rest of the academy understands to be scholarship? If it is taken as a given that God exists, that the Bible is His word and His Truth, and that one’s job is to cooperatively identify that Truth, then what happens to the scholarly ideal of critical inquiry? To what degree does a professor in a Pentecostal seminary have the right to challenge these articles of faith? And what happens to her when she does that? …

It would be wrong to ask these questions solely of Pentecostals. What many of us in the SBL have been alleging for years is that the prevalence of organized religious blocs in the Society creates a state of affairs that is unhealthy for scholarship on the Bible and Bible scholars.

Deanne Galbraith posted some comments and photos of the Evangelical Theological Society (I had originally written that this was another “Program Affiliate”. John Kutzko has pointed out that it is not, and was not on the SBL program), likening them to children “playing” scholarship. The simile is not entirely inappropriate, as they are hardly going to question their most fundamental premises, that the Bible is the word of an extant God. What is most offensive to me, is revealed by the photos Galbraith posted of the proselytizing material from “Jews for Jesus” and other such outfits offered at the book display.

~~~~~~

But surely the problem is simply not just with “Program Affiliates” like the SPS other organizations that piggy-back their meetings with the SBL’s and use the larger organization’s drawing power. Rather, the SBL has it is own program units that are really beyond the pale when it comes to scholarship.

One of these SBL program units is called Christian Theology and Bible  which seems academic enough. Certainly the bible has a lot to do with Christian theology, and the development, history and continuing theological thought of Christianity is surely a valid topic for research. But it is quite clear that this program unit is not directed at Christian theology as the subject of research but is dedicated to the PRACTICE of theology as an exercise of Christian belief.

This is how the unit advertised its sessions:

The Christian Theology and Bible Section is organizing three paper sessions around the topic of ‘Life in the Spirit,’ which will explore Jesus’ experience of life lived in the Spirit and the ways in which our own experience of life in the Spirit may have been akin to his. Two of these sessions will present papers by invitation only, while the third will be an open session focusing on Galatians and Colossians.

Session 1: Jesus’ life as lived by the Spirit, or the Spirit in Jesus’ life. (Jesus’ experience of the Spirit, and how it might have been akin to our own.) Papers by Invitation only

Session 2: Christological Controversies surrounding Nicea in light of Jesus’ (and others’) experience of the Spirit Papers by Invitation only

Session 3: The Spirit in Galatians and Colossians We welcome papers on the Spirit in Galatians or the Spirit in Colossians, especially those that pertain to Jesus’ experience of the Spirit and how it might have been akin to our own.

And here is one of the paper’s abstracts:

Gregory Polan:

The Spirit-filled Word in the Spirit-filled Life of Jesus

Throughout the gospels we find the Hebrew Scriptures constantly on the lips of Jesus. The manner in which Jesus uses the Hebrew Scriptures suggests that these Spirit-filled words gave shape to the meaning of his life, vocation, and destiny as the Messiah. This presentation will look at passages in the gospels which suggest that Jesus’ own destiny, voca¬tion and life, guided by the Spirit, were formed by the Spirit-filled words of Scripture. We rightly discern here a connection to the manner in which the Spirit-filled words of Scripture give focus to our own lives as well.

This is not really the study of religion at all, but the practice of it. MODERN religious sentiments provide the premises for an ancient text. It is little more than a retelling of Christian mythology. It adds exactly nothing to the academic knowledge of Christianity or the Bible. It has no place in an academic conference.

The SBL is also home to The Homiletics and Biblical Studies unit. Again, a study of how the Bible is used in Christian preaching may make for an interesting study, but this is not really what is going on. Rather, the unit is designed to foster “dialogue among scholars in both fields who share an interest in critical exegesis, its various methods, and the unique hermeneutical and theological problems inherent to the relationship between biblical interpretation and proclamation.” What this boils down to is an attempt to appropriate biblical scholarship for propagating the CHristian message. Here is part of one of abstractsL

Karoline M. Lewis, Luther Seminary
Preaching John: The Word Made Flesh as Theological and Interpretive Method 

This paper will explore the theological, literary, and practical issues when preaching John, drawing from interpretive issues on the forefront of Johannine scholarship within the last ten years and giving specific attention to the Gospel’s own homiletical aspirations. The paper will argue for a specific theological framework from which to engage the Fourth Gospel for preaching and suggest an interpretive strategy so as to engage more fully John’s imaginative world.

Why should the SBL be helping preachers preach? Is that really fostering biblical scholarship?  It should not be the goal of an academic society to help a religion train its own clergy, or to do the Church’s work for it. Rather, the goal of scholarship should be to understand historically, deconstruct and critique what happens within religious communities. This should not be to help them do it but to locate those practices and modes of thought within the greater frame work of human activity and introspection. In this sense, there is no more reason for the SBL to help improve Christian preaching that there is for the American Academy of Religion to suggest ways the ancient Mayans might have made bloodier human sacrifices.

Similarly, the SBL has a program unit on Bible and Pastoral Theology. Again, an academic society is helping a religion do its own work, without asking whether Pastoral Theology is actually helping people. The abstract for one paper really made me laugh. Jennifer J. Williams, of Vanderbilt University says of her paper, “The Book of Job: On Friendship, Bullying, and Sacrifice”:

Bullying has reached appalling levels in our nation’s schools and universities, culminating in radical and terrible responses (e.g. children seeking plastic surgery, mass shootings in the nation’s high schools, and tragic suicides)…  this paper will utilize perspectives and conversations gleaned from high school students who are leaders in their schools and faith communities in order to consider how the Book of Job might shed light on this challenging contemporary issue. … This paper reflects on how Job may or may not be a good example of how to resist bullying and pressure from peers. The story also helps reveal how our own culture of violence repeatedly leaves no other option for the ones being bullied but to sacrifice to and for the sake of their tormentors. Because of this, the Book of Job might necessitate a resistant reading, as it provides little opportunity for deliverance from tormentors for the sufferer and also reinstates an oppressive and illegitimate framework of understanding. Ultimately, the paper considers how an individual friend or an entire faith community might respond in pastoral ways to the issue of bullying and to those who suffer from bullying.

Now, I’m hardly one to say that bullying is not a major issue. I know it is. My point is simply this: WHAT THE FUCK HAS THE BIBLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOLVING THIS? (sorry for yelling and swearing as if I’m threatening you to believe me [I'm aware of the irony]). Do we really need more Bible reading to combat school yard thugs? This strikes me as nothing more than bibliolatrous efforts to keep the Bible relevant to everything. Perhaps the issue with bullying is not the Bible at all.

Some of the other papers listed in the abstract book were truly mind-boggling in their bibliolatry. It seems for some that the Bible is the key to everything. Again this is the myth that needs deconstructing and analyzing, not promulgation. For instance, Johnson Leese’ in an “Ecological Hermeneutics Session (again SBL, not an affiliated group) discusses Christ as Creator: Implications for an Eco-theological Reading of Paul. The abstract ends with: .

This following questions will guide this study: What does 1 Cor 8.6 articulate about the relationship between Christ and creation, both cosmological origins and the ongoing creative process? What is the relationship between Christ, God, all things, and us? How might Paul’s specific directives concerning meat/food provide new terrain for ascertaining ethical principles for contemporary questions about the human relationship to the created realm?

Now, why on Earth would we even care what a Roman era Jewish Christian thought about meat and food to help us out of modern ecological problems? The only reason to care (besides purely antiquarian interests, which would be a sideline to the real issue) would be if the Bible really had something trans-historically important to say about the subject, but how could it? It is only through belief that the Bible is eternally relevant that it is brought up in any of these kind of debates. Do we consult the Vedas for routes to solving global warming? Yet, some folks think global warming is the province for biblical scholars.[Another late addition] Should we as scholars of religion recommend reading the Rg Veda (or Prose Edda, or Ugaritic hymn to Baal, for that matter) to offer solutions to global warming? Why does the BIble get special status?”

In my paper presented in the review session for Roland Boer’s book Secularism and Biblical Scholarship, I noted how some of the contributors to the volume saw a liberating function for biblical studies. To my mind, some of this (not all of it!) amounts to a similar bibliolatry in which biblical studies is grossly over-advertised. Here is a (slightly edited) excerpt from my presentation.

I cannot trade quotes and references to the pantheon of critical theorists or Marxist ideologues with Philip Chia, Joseph Marchal, Roland Boer and Ward Blanton. But I think we might do well to engage in a bit of mischief and and characterize call for emancipatory biblical studies by adapting the words the deepest philosopher of them all, Homer Simpson: “To alcohol! The cause of… and solution to… all of life’s problems”: and so: “To the Bible: the cause of and solution to all of the world’s problems!”

I wonder if the culture critics not attempting too much and heaping too much importance on the BIble and on themselves as its authorized interpreters for the good of the whole world?

Philip Chia offers the most extreme claims for the relevance and scope of biblical studies. He asks asks if the discipline is delivering what people are demanding from it. He writes,

“Biblical studies in particular and Christian/religious studies in general have been seriously challenged with a call for public relevance and market value, thus situating the discipline at the crossroad of human inquiry” (p. 133).

My response is “no”, we are not delivering what people want, but neither should we. Customers are NOT always right, sometimes don’t know what they need, and often go into the wrong shop entirely. Biblical studies has to be very careful not to invent or construe problems in a way we are uniquely capable of solving. We don’t like it when auto-mechanics or politicians do it to us. There is something to be said for the golden rule. I think biblical scholars need to be more honest and modest about what their discipline can and cannot accomplish, and even if people are asking for one thing, to be ready to admit when we cannot provide it.

Chia (p. 134) implies that biblical studies should address “global economy, global warming, environmental ecology, life-sciences such as Stem Cell research, DNA manipulation projects, life cloning etc.” How can biblical scholars do this without grossly misrepresenting the relevance and content of the biblical text, and tossing away any pretext to modesty or shame about their competence? Do we, as biblical scholars, really know enough to contribute as experts in subjects relevant to these issues?

Perhaps a few of us are in some of these areas, but in general, we are no better off here than experts in English literature, American Civil War archaeology, Celtic folk music or knitting. One does not need a PhD in biblical studies to critique the challenges to science presented by creationists. The best thing biblical scholars can do to help the global warming situation is to tell people to recycle their Bibles when they don’t want them anymore, and to pay attention to the relevant scientists who are not on the payroll of Exxon Mobil.

And my conclusion:

Biblical studies still has something to offer humanity, but it cannot be a panacea. Since the BIble is a product of human minds, as are all gods and all religions, the non-religious study of the Bible helps render an account of humanity to humanity without appeal to invented deities. Each bit of research is a tiny drop in a very large bucket, but is a contribution all the same. Biblical studies must stand apart from the religions it examines and closer to the study of all religions and other aspects of culture around the world and through the ages.

Hopefully, the SBL will soon be taking some positive action on this and getting back to exclusively fostering biblical scholarship and understanding religion and forget its sideline occupation of fostering religion and preaching the Bible.

John Kuttzko also made three other points, which do give one reason reason to be optimistic. One will have to stay tuned for all the updates from the SBL.

The SBL Council, following a year of discussion, has approved a new Affiliate Policy, and it will begin reviewing current Affiliates and possible new Affiliates. Reviews of Affiliates will be conducted by a subcommittee of Council. This policy will be announced in the next SBL newsletter and posted on the SBL site.

The Annual Meeting Program Committee, chaired by Francisco Lozada, has drafted two separate handbooks for the Program Unit Chairs and the Program Committee. These will include criteria and standards of discourse for the program sessions.

The SBL Council, chaired by Bruce Birch, read a statement from Council at the Annual Business Meeting on Sunday, November 20 in San Francisco. That statement outlined actions, both realized and ongoing, that will take effect and guide participation in the program. The statement will be posted on the website and included in the next newsletter.

All of this sounds promising. I should also add that there have been a lot of discussions between the SBL and advocates of a secular-only focus for the SBL over the past several years. Many of us involved in that are hopeful of a positive change, far more hopeful than my original rant here would have indicated. 

 

Categories: Biblical Scholarship
Tags: , , , , , , ,

33 Comments

What the ‘El is Ugarit doing in the Newspaper?

Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:03 am by Dr. Jim

The Public Professor column that Dan Johnson and I started a few years ago is still running in the Lethbridge Herald. Here is my latest piece from 2 weeks ago, in anticipation of  Prof. Pierre Bordreuil’s talk on Ugarit at the university. We got a lot of people show up for talk, and it is good for academics to boil down their work for the larger population.

The paper doesn’t give us space for images, though. I pinched the ones here off various websites.

Destroyed and abandoned in a war after some 4000 years of occupation, Ugarit in northern Syria (a few km. north of Latakia) was abandoned around 1190 B.C.E.. The so-called “Sea Peoples” were moving into what are now Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Egypt. This was a factor in the “Bronze Age Collapse” in which many urban civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean failed because of environmental, economic and political catastrophes.

http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/ugarit.html

Many clay tablets were discovered at Ugarit and these caused a major stir among archaeologists and biblical scholars. Previously, little was known about the “Canaanite” god Baal, except that the Bible bans his worship. With the Ugaritic discoveries, one could read what believers, and not just detractors, thought of this god and the rest of the Canaanite pantheon.

Head of the pantheon was El, whose name simply means ‘god” and was imagined as powerful bull. The myths portray him enjoying a quiet retirement while still making some executive decisions and, in one text, getting very drunk.

The most important texts concern the weather or storm god, Baal (“Master” or “Lord”). He fights to be the active principle and power in the universe. Sadly, the tablets are badly damaged and it is not clear in what order they should be read. One myth has Baal, the “Rider of the Clouds”, fight Yamm (“Sea”), also called Judge Nahar (“River”).  With his victory, Baal is enthroned and establishes the proper cycles of rain and sets boundaries for the sea and rivers. In another cycle, Baal is swallowed by Mot (“Death”) only to be revived to assume his throne. This myth has many agricultural associations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baʿal

The Ugaritic language and literary styles are similar to the Hebrew in the younger biblical texts. Ugaritic descriptions of Baal and El share some common elements with the Bible’s descriptions of the Israelite god, often called Elohim, a longer form of El. The divine courtiers in Ugaritic El’s palace are called “Sons of El”, while the biblical deity is attended to by “Sons of Elohim” in the book of Job. The ancient Israelite deity, also called Yahweh, was himself a storm god like Baal. The prophet Hosea casts the two deities as rivals and complains that Yahweh’s people have falsely credited Baal with Yahweh’s provision of the earth’s bounty. Although El and Baal were distinct deities in the Ugaritic pantheon, some biblical passages, such as Psalm 118:27, stress that Yahweh and Elohim (El) were one and the same. In one Psalm, Yahweh stands out among the heavenly “sons of gods” [pl. of el] and the Holy Ones. He controls the sea (Heb. yamm) and defeats chaos serpents. King David is then given a seemingly godly dominion. Yahweh says, “I will set his hand also on the sea [yam], And his right hand on the rivers [pl. of nahar]” (Ps. 89:25). Yahweh has crushed the many heads of the aquatic serpent Leviathan according to Psalm 74:13-14. Isaiah 27:1 has the defeat of the twisting serpent still in the future. Hundreds of years before any of these biblical passages were written, however, an Ugaritic text recalled Baal’s defeat of Lotan, a wriggling, seven-headed serpent associated with Yamm.

While the beliefs of the people of Ugarit and the Bible’s writers seem at times diametrically opposed, they both shared a common cultural and literary heritage and many similar conceptions of the divine.

Oh, heck, lets have a kitty!

Click the Kitty to Vote. Help Get Meow-weh on ICHC Front Page!

Categories: Academics, Biblical Scholarship, Cats & Lolcats, Seen in the News, University of Lethbridge
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

1 Comment

Cat on a haughty Jim’s (Car) roof?

Posted on November 25, 2011 at 9:22 am by Dr. Jim

Apparently, Jim West is now raving about a cat that allegedly sits on his car. Dr. West doesn’t like it and is threatening Hellfire and Brimstone. Don’t believe his lies. Here is a photo of his car, taken just the other day:

“Runs great. Purrs like a kitten” he says.

Categories: Cats & Lolcats, Fun
Tags: , ,

2 Comments

Page 1 of 391234567…2030…Last >