Secular Biblical Criticism and Introductions to the Bible
Posted on July 1, 2010 at 8:31 am by Dr. Jim
The Society of Biblical Literature has had its preliminary program for the November meeting in Atlanta online for some time.
Dr. Jim will be there and presenting a paper this time. Given the hoopla over Hendels’s claims the SBL is too religious to bother with anymore, it should get a good audience. I will address Hendel and the SBL soon. I have a big post in draft form, but see my comment, #80, on the SBL’s response.
Anyway, here are the details about our session.
Ideological Criticism
11/20/2010
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Room: Room TBD – Hotel TBD
Theme: Secular Biblical Criticism and Introductions to the Bible
Johanna Stiebert, University of Leeds, Presiding
Hector Avalos, Iowa State University
What’s Not So Secular about Introductions to the Hebrew Bible? (20 min)
James Linville, University of Lethbridge
Why is this mythology different from all other mythologies? (20 min)
Esther Fuchs, University of Arizona
Christian Bias in Feminist Introductions to the Bible (20 min)
Zeba Crook, Carleton University
A Course in Miracles, or a Secular Introduction to the New Testament? (20 min)
Barry Bandstra, Hope College, Respondent (30 min)
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Harvard University, Respondent (30 min)
I’m very glad that Barry Bandstra is responding. I had to buy his Reading the Old Testament book as an undergrad and used it in my first year of teaching Old Testament at the University of Alberta. Can’t say it did me any harm, but I will make some polite comments on how such introductions tend to affirm a kind of exceptionalism about the religious world behind the Old Testament that is unfortunate. I will use the Exodus myth as my starting point, hence the title of the paper that takes off on the Passover questions about why Passover night is different from all other nights.
July 1, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Sounds good and I would be interested in not only the response of Barry Bandstra but even more so of Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (especially in her response to “Christian Bias in Feminist Introductions to the Bible”). I also find that the comments of you or Alan Lenzi have done a good job being fair and balanced in your critiques, even avoiding some of the pitfalls of the article itself I think. But where is the picture of a cat saying something witty and putting this all into perspective?
July 8, 2010 at 5:31 am
Thanks for the heads-up on this session; I am really looking forward to it. My search for a relatively theologically neutral Intro has currently using Coogan; I find Christopher Stanley’s “The Hebrew Bible: A Comparative Approach” to be pretty ideal, but am not sure how soon I’ll get to use it.
July 8, 2010 at 6:14 am
Thanks to you! Make sure you say hi afterward if I don’t prove to be too embarrassing to be seen with.
I’ve got Stanley on order. It looks promising. I’ve been through Coogins but haven’t used it in a course.
I’ve got a series of short draft chapters for an into of my own I give to students just as printouts. It is many years away from a really book manuscript. Probably never get done.