Dunelm Road

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

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.

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.

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.