New Blog

A friend of mine from Durham, Frederik Mulder, has recently started a new blog: Resurrection Hope. His expertise, as you can tell from the title, is all things resurrection. The interesting aspect of his work is the intersection between Paul and his later interpreters (mostly second century so far). You’ll obviously see the connection between our interests. I’m sure we will enjoy reading his blog as his studies progress even further.

 

Patristics Carnival XXXI

In case you were wondering, another good instalment of the Patristics Carnival (no. XXXI) is up over at The Church of Jesus Christ.

 

Evangelicals and the Early Church

I got an email about this and am sorry that I’ll miss it since my thesis reflects this larger movement.

Spring Gathering | March 18 – 19, 2010

Evangelicals and the Early Church: Recovery • Reform • Renewal

Sponsored by The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies and The Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals

In recent decades Evangelicalism has witnessed an increased interest in the faith and practices of the early Church.  Yet, many seem to be largely unaware of the influence of the writings of the early Church Fathers on eighteenth- and nineteenth- century evangelicals.

Inspired by the literature of the early church, a growing number of evangelicals have begun to reconfigure their ecclesial practices and pay renewed attention to classical Christian doctrines.

The Spring gathering will explore why some evangelicals in the past have ignored the early church, and attempt to reclaim the rootedness of Evangelicalism suggesting new pathways along which evangelicals may engage the early church in vital partnership.

Keynote Speaker:  Everett Ferguson, “Why Study Early Christian History and Literature?”

Registration Fees: $50 General Admission (Free to students, but advanced registration is required).

For registration, schedule, and further information please visit http://www.wheaton.edu/Theology/WCECS/Gatherings.html

 

The Durham Patristics Seminar: Epiphany Term 2010

Thursday, Seminar Room B, 4.15 – 5.45

Jan 28, Thomas L. Humphries Jnr (Emory University), ‘Cassian’s Ascetic Pneumatology’

Feb 4, Francis Watson (Durham University), ‘In the Beginning: Irenaeus, Creation, and the Environment’

Feb 11, Andreas Andreopoulos (Lampeter University), ‘Anatomy of a Miracle: the Feast of the Transfiguration’

Feb 18, Steve Bagby (Durham University), ‘Freedom to Roam(ans): Origen’s Defense of the Will in the Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans’

Feb 25, Jonathan Zecher (Durham University), ‘”State of Angels, Progress of Eternity”: The rhetoric of angelic life in The Ladder of Divine Ascent’
and
Jeremy Bergstrom (Durham University), ‘Gentiles, Jews, Christians and Sacraments in Augustine’s De doctrina Christiana’

Mar 4, Thomas Graumann (Cambridge University), ‘Acting, ceremonial, liturgy: Neglected
 aspects of Church Councils?’

Mar 11, Lewis Ayres (Durham University), ‘The Grammarian and the Rise of Christian Exegesis’

Mar 18, Zurab Jashi (Durham University), TBA

 

Durham NT Research Seminar: Epiphany 2010

We have quite the line-up for the NT Research Seminar this term:

18 January, Prof Francis Watson: “Noncanonical gospels (1): the Egerton Gospel”

25 January, Dr Lutz Doering: “Noncanonical gospels (2): P. Oxyrhynchus 840”

1 February, Prof Philip Esler (University of St Andrews): ‘”Not that We Lord it Over Your Faith”: A Social-Psychological Approach to Paul’s Use of Influence in 2 Corinthians’

8 February, PG Presentations: John Goodrich, “Compelled to Preach: The Meaning and Significance of Paul’s Stewardship Metaphor in 1 Corinthians 9”; Ben Blackwell, “Becoming ‘Gods’? 2 Corinthians 3.18 and Theosis”

15 February, Dr Bill Telford: “Noncanonical gospels (3): the Gospel of Peter”

[16 February, C. K. Barrett Lecture: Prof Morna Hooker, “Sanctification in Paul”, 7.30 pm, C. K. Barrett Lecture Theatre, Calman Learning Centre]

22 February, Dr Angus Paddison (University of Winchester) will lead a discussion based on his book, Scripture: A Very Theological Proposal (2009)

1 March, Dr Peter Oakes (University of Manchester) will lead a discussion based on his book, Reading Romans in Pompeii (2009)

8 March, Dr. Tom Wright (Bishop of Durham): title tbc [Romans 2-4]

15 March, Dr A. K. M. Adam (University of Glasgow), “Learning Not To Know: Paul, Postmodernism, and Biblical Interpretation”

 

The Thesis is Submitted!!

About noon today–the 20th of January–I dropped off the two softbound copies of my thesis to the department, and so, God willing, I’m done working on my thesis! The title I went with is ‘Christosis: Pauline Soteriology in Light of Deification in Irenaeus and Cyril of Alexandria’. It’s taken just about 3.5 years, slightly delayed because of my work with NT Wright, and it’s been a good journey with its trying moments. Thanks to Heather, Elam, and Silas for seeing me through it. I’ll have my viva (pronounced with a long i like eye) around the last week in March, so I can be eligible for that post doc (i.e., post doctoral fellowship) that I’m applying for. Let’s hope that Lewis Ayres and John Riches like my work.

So what to do now? I should hear in a couple of weeks if I made it to the second round for the post doc. If so, the final decisions will be made in May and I would start in October. But, I officially started full-time for NT Wright this month, so I will get to spend my time helping him finish out the Paul book and start on the two commentaries he’s slated to do. For the position, I’m officially a member of the staff at the university in the department of theology, which is cool. I feel very blessed to be able to pick up a full-time gig right off the bat in light of the economy and all, and with +Tom no less. We’re all very excited.

Whether with a post doc, working for Wright, or something else, we plan on being here in Durham for another couple of years or so because 1) we like it and 2) my wife has a commitment to her youth/children’s position. God willing, we’ll get back to TX, AR, CA, OR, and WA for a month-long trip this summer to visit everybody we can. This will be the first trip ‘home’ for me–I’ve only been back for SBLs. The fam got over to visit the fam in OR and WA a couple of years ago so this will be a big trip for all of us.

 

Text Critical Symbols

I just came across a new (and better) way of inserting different text critical symbols.  I have done a post on the papyrus symbol, and there I mentioned that you need a different font.  I use Gentium for Greek and English (because it’s unicode), and so I didn’t want to have to switch fonts for just one symbol.  I just learned that the text critical symbols are in Gentium, but you can’t find them through MS Word’s Insert Symbol function (see the HT link below for details).  Here’s how you do it:

1. Type in the unicode number for your symbol.  E.g., 1D510 (see below).
2. Keystroke: Alt-X
3. Voila – the symbol appears

Majority Text symbol, 1D510
Papyrus symbol, 1D513
Septuagint, Greek Old Testament, 1D516
Lectionary symbol, 1D459

HT: NT Resources

 

Wheaton Theology Conference 2010 and NT Wright

I agreed to put this up a while back and am just now getting around to it…(sorry Nicholas) 

This year’s Wheaton Theology Conference (April 16-17, 2010) is in dialogue with Bishop of Durham, N.T. Wright and his dialogue partners for the weekend are very impressive! Of course Wright will be there, not just for a fly-by, but all weekend with several lectures and a Q & A! But – there is more. Throw in Richard Hays, Markus Bockmuehl, Sylvia Keesmaat, Brian Walsh, Kevin Vanhoozer, Marianne Meye Thompson, and Edith Humphrey and you have what looks to be an amazing discussion! For the schedule see HERE. Soon there will be a permanent link on the sidebar.

 

Jesus and Women

Why did Jesus first reveal himself to women after the resurrection?

Mary Astell (an early 18th century feminist) notes one interpretation told to her:

Women were the least able to keep a secret.

in Some Reflections on Marriage.  Astell also notes the parallel fashion of God’s statement that the husband will rule the wife (to Eve) and that the younger will serve the older (by Isaac).  She argues that they were telling what would happen, not what ought to happen.

 

New Orleans Conference Review

Like everyone else, I suppose I should give my roundup of SBL New Orleans.  But having lost a week of work and only a month left for my target of submitting my thesis, I won’t have time to run through all the details.  But I will say this has been the most enjoyable conference in recent memory. 

I went down early and hung out with two friends who are planting a church in one of the Katrina flooded areas, so they took me around to see how things look.  We poked around in a boarded up elementary school (they’re looking for a building) and it was pretty eerie.  They also scored tickets to a Hornets game, so that was an unexpected but fun night out.

Now that I’m getting close to the end, I’ve started second guessing myself a little, especially since I’m doing a non-standard way of reading Paul–backwards is a common description by some. : ) Anyhow, it was good to go to SBL and hear other theological interpretative stuff and to see that Mike Gorman’s work wasn’t just dismissed when he presented on a similar area.

My paper on 2 Cor 3.18 went well.  I got a couple of questions, but no real push back.  Mike Gorman also dropped my name a few times in his Romans paper since he overlapped with ideas that I had presented last summer at SBL Rome. 

Other than catching up with old seminary friends, I met quite a few new students and scholars this year.  Although I didn’t go into October with many plans to meet people, my meal schedule filled up pretty quickly with various people.  One enjoyable meal was with Tom Wright along with Chad Marshall (who’s doing similar work for NTW at Princeton), Kevin Bush of the NT Wright Page, Archie Wright (one of NTW’s former assistants, and a Durham PhD) and Ron Herms (a Durham PhD).  A few of us also got to grab a meal with Jim (aka James) Harrison from AU.  The capstone was a lunch on Tuesday with Joey & Sadie Dodson and Justin Hardin (college friends), and John Goodrich (current Durham student) and Nijay Gupta (Durham PhD).   

I thought it turned out to be the perfect balance of sessions and socialising.  Now just back to whittling my thesis from 110k to 99k words before Jan 4 or so…  You may not hear much from me between now and then.  So happy christmas.