Thursday, April 10, 2008
Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference IV
Thursday, Heathrow Airport, 15.34: Checked out of Lincoln College this morning, after a nice breakfast which featured two slices of British back bacon. Last time I will get any of that until August. I was disappointed to have to miss the last couple of sessions, the first of which featured Christoph Heil on Reconstructing Q, Stephen Patterson on Thomas and Eric Eve on the Synoptic Problem without Q. Heil's paper was not online before the conference, so it was a particular shame to miss his. Eve's was so full of good sense that I doubt I would have had any comments of my own to throw in. Patterson's was one of the papers I would have particularly liked to have discussed -- the subject is one of great interest to me in my current research. There was also a plenary scheduled for people to reflect on future directions. But I was already on the coach to Heathrow, listening to the Russell Brand podcast and reading the latest Doctor Who Magazine. I met up with the family, who had come down from Peterborough, and we are about to fly. There is no wireless here, so I will upload this post when I get back to Raleigh. It will be pretty late because we are flying into DC and driving down from there.
This conference has been excellent. It was very well organized and ran very smoothly; congratulations to Andrew Gregory, Paul Foster, John Kloppenborg and Joseph Verheyden for a job very well done. The catering at Lincoln College was excellent, and the location ideal -- bang in the centre of Oxford (and right next to my old college). In spite of the number of papers, the programme did not feel crammed, and I appreciated the free time on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, and the free time again after 9pm or so. The number present, forty or so, was about right to ensure good discussion after each paper and set of papers. Any more, and it would have become unwieldy. By the end of the conference, one had the feeling of having got to know almost everyone.
Each session worked very well, with a general theme and three or so presentations followed by discussion. The only one that did not quite work, in my opinion, was the session that paired David Peabody with Kathleen Corley -- these were such very different papers that the discussion was less focused than it was for the other sessions where things were more naturally related.
The academic quality of the papers and the discussion was very high. I have to admit that I was initially a bit sceptical about the decision not to invite "position papers", or to have individuals arguing in favour of given theories, but it turned out that this was a brilliant decision. The encouragement to all presenters to be as balanced and fair as possible, and the invitations to read papers on specific themes, led to pretty helpful discussions with a marked lack of polemic; there was more light than heat, to use the cliché.
All in all, an excellent conference and a very enjoyable few days away. Congratulations to all involved!
[Actual time of upload, Friday, 15.25, back in Raleigh, North Carolina.]
This conference has been excellent. It was very well organized and ran very smoothly; congratulations to Andrew Gregory, Paul Foster, John Kloppenborg and Joseph Verheyden for a job very well done. The catering at Lincoln College was excellent, and the location ideal -- bang in the centre of Oxford (and right next to my old college). In spite of the number of papers, the programme did not feel crammed, and I appreciated the free time on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, and the free time again after 9pm or so. The number present, forty or so, was about right to ensure good discussion after each paper and set of papers. Any more, and it would have become unwieldy. By the end of the conference, one had the feeling of having got to know almost everyone.
Each session worked very well, with a general theme and three or so presentations followed by discussion. The only one that did not quite work, in my opinion, was the session that paired David Peabody with Kathleen Corley -- these were such very different papers that the discussion was less focused than it was for the other sessions where things were more naturally related.
The academic quality of the papers and the discussion was very high. I have to admit that I was initially a bit sceptical about the decision not to invite "position papers", or to have individuals arguing in favour of given theories, but it turned out that this was a brilliant decision. The encouragement to all presenters to be as balanced and fair as possible, and the invitations to read papers on specific themes, led to pretty helpful discussions with a marked lack of polemic; there was more light than heat, to use the cliché.
All in all, an excellent conference and a very enjoyable few days away. Congratulations to all involved!
[Actual time of upload, Friday, 15.25, back in Raleigh, North Carolina.]
Labels: conferences, Oxford, Synoptic Problem, Travel diaries
Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference III
Oxford, Thursday, 00:47; last full day of the Synoptic Problem conference. First session, 9a.m.: Andrew Gregory chaired what was perhaps the meatiest section yet, four papers on issues relating to compositional issues and the Synoptic Problem. Three of the presenters were present and Gregory summarised the fourth paper, Kirk's, on "Memory, scribal media and the synoptic problem". Alex Damm spoke first on "Ancient Rhetoric and the Synoptic Problem"; then Robert Derrenbacker talked about "Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem"; then Gerald Downing on "Writers' use or abuse of written sources". Discussion was wide ranging and enthusiastic. There was perhaps most discussion on Gerald Downing's paper, and some comment on his claim that the minor agreements are in fact problematic for all synoptic theories. Several of us have picked up the feeling that this session provided a good indication of where the debate is likely to develop in the coming years -- compositional issues are clearly going to be key in future discussion of the Synoptic Problem.
After morning coffee, the next section was chaired by John Kloppenborg and featured two main papers, Eugene Boring on "The 'Minor Agreements' and Their Bearing on the Synoptic Problem" and Peter Head on "Textual Criticism and the Synoptic Problem". John Kloppenborg also read out a summary of Robert Stein's paper, "Duplicate Expressions in Mark". The discussion focused mainly on Gene Boring and Peter Head's papers. I attempted to make my point, with respect to Eugene Boring's paper, that the postulation of a "Revised Mark" may not actually aid the Two Source Theory with respect to the Minor Agreements since a Revised Mark might, in fact, have been less like our Matthew and Luke than our Mark is. On such a scenario, there might in fact have been more minor agreements in the earliest texts, and not less. I had only limited success articulating this point, however, and it may be that I need to think carefully about how to articulate it more clearly on future occasions -- or to drop it.
Before lunch, there was a group photograph. Just as we were gathering, I had a phone call from Q; we had planned to get together today, as we usually do when I am in the UK. Someone suggested that Q take the group photograph, which he was delighted to do. I hope that some kind person will email me one of the photographs taken so that I can upload it to the blog. After the photograph, Q and I wandered to the covered market, as we used to do when we were students together, and enjoyed a splendid lunch in Mortons.
The next event on the schedule, after tea, was my paper, the third of the main papers, on "The Evangelists' Use of the Old Testament and the Synoptic Problem". I enjoyed speaking on the topic, and was honoured to have it chaired by my Doctorvater John Muddiman. I began my talk by sending Michael Goulder's greetings to the conference. (I had spent Sunday afternoon with him). The discussion after my paper was perhaps a little more subdued than some of the other discussions, and I hope that that was not a reflection on its quality or interest. Nevertheless, there were lots of useful and interesting questions, including from the chair.
Drinks were at 6.30; dinner was at 7. The main course was duck and it was excellent. Once again, the relatively early end to proceedings allowed a little time for additional socializing for those so inclined.
Alas, I have to miss the last morning of the conference. I need to get the coach to Heathrow to meet the family and get the plane back to DC, and I don't think I will be able to make it to any of the morning activities. Nevertheless, I hope to add concluding comments tomorrow. Needless to say, an excellent conference, intellectually stimulating and conducted in a generous, positive spirit. Congratulations and thanks to the convenors, John Kloppenborg, Andrew Gregory, Paul Foster and Joseph Verheyden, who have done a superb job.
After morning coffee, the next section was chaired by John Kloppenborg and featured two main papers, Eugene Boring on "The 'Minor Agreements' and Their Bearing on the Synoptic Problem" and Peter Head on "Textual Criticism and the Synoptic Problem". John Kloppenborg also read out a summary of Robert Stein's paper, "Duplicate Expressions in Mark". The discussion focused mainly on Gene Boring and Peter Head's papers. I attempted to make my point, with respect to Eugene Boring's paper, that the postulation of a "Revised Mark" may not actually aid the Two Source Theory with respect to the Minor Agreements since a Revised Mark might, in fact, have been less like our Matthew and Luke than our Mark is. On such a scenario, there might in fact have been more minor agreements in the earliest texts, and not less. I had only limited success articulating this point, however, and it may be that I need to think carefully about how to articulate it more clearly on future occasions -- or to drop it.
Before lunch, there was a group photograph. Just as we were gathering, I had a phone call from Q; we had planned to get together today, as we usually do when I am in the UK. Someone suggested that Q take the group photograph, which he was delighted to do. I hope that some kind person will email me one of the photographs taken so that I can upload it to the blog. After the photograph, Q and I wandered to the covered market, as we used to do when we were students together, and enjoyed a splendid lunch in Mortons.
The next event on the schedule, after tea, was my paper, the third of the main papers, on "The Evangelists' Use of the Old Testament and the Synoptic Problem". I enjoyed speaking on the topic, and was honoured to have it chaired by my Doctorvater John Muddiman. I began my talk by sending Michael Goulder's greetings to the conference. (I had spent Sunday afternoon with him). The discussion after my paper was perhaps a little more subdued than some of the other discussions, and I hope that that was not a reflection on its quality or interest. Nevertheless, there were lots of useful and interesting questions, including from the chair.
Drinks were at 6.30; dinner was at 7. The main course was duck and it was excellent. Once again, the relatively early end to proceedings allowed a little time for additional socializing for those so inclined.
Alas, I have to miss the last morning of the conference. I need to get the coach to Heathrow to meet the family and get the plane back to DC, and I don't think I will be able to make it to any of the morning activities. Nevertheless, I hope to add concluding comments tomorrow. Needless to say, an excellent conference, intellectually stimulating and conducted in a generous, positive spirit. Congratulations and thanks to the convenors, John Kloppenborg, Andrew Gregory, Paul Foster and Joseph Verheyden, who have done a superb job.
Labels: conferences, Oxford, Synoptic Problem, Travel diaries
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference II
Oxford, 01:02: second day of the Oxford conference on the Synoptic Problem at Lincoln College. One of the participants here teased me about whether or not I might blog what I had for breakfast today. So in his honour: breakfast today was sausage, egg and tinned tomatoes; it was perfectly fine but to have been perfect it would have needed (at least) good British back bacon and black pudding. But of course the catering people here don't know how much the British ex-pats present hanker for such things, and the breakfast was very nice.
Today was the first full day of the conference. The sessions all take place in the same room, a very Oxford kind of conference room, in which we all sit around the table rather than in rows. There were two separate sessions this morning, separated by coffee, and each with a series of three papers summarized. In session 1, Paul Foster chaired. William Loader talked about Synoptic Perspectives on Jesus and the Law, and his summary was in fact an interesting supplement to the paper he had uploaded, with reflections on how the evidence appeared from the perspectives of the Two-Source Theory, the Griesbach Theory and the Farrer Theory. This has become something of a pattern here -- these are the three theories mainly on the table and which receive the attention from most presenters. Duncan Reid then talked about the miracles from the perspective of differing Synoptic theories. Duncan is one of John Kloppenborg's students in Toronto. Charles Hedrick was not able to be present, so Paul Foster read a 15 minute summary of his paper. There was a broad discussion afterwards.
The second session was chaired by Joseph Verheyden. Kathleen Corley spoke about White Male dominance of Synoptic research, and David Peabody talked about Reading the Synoptic Gospels from the perspective of different source hypotheses, though he focused, inevitably, on the Two-Gospel Theory. I found Kathleen Corley's paper a bit disappointing, not least because it did not engage with the Synoptic Problem at all, so we did not get any closer to an answer to the question posed. I also doubt her thesis, that men are inclined towards Synoptic research because they identify with the historical Jesus. The third paper in the session was from Udo Schnelle, who was not present, and a summary was read, in German, by the chair.
After lunch, it was free time, and then tea. The second main paper was John Kloppenborg on Synopses and the Synoptic Problem. This was perhaps the paper that I found the most engaging in the conference so far, and it generated lengthy and helpful discussion afterwards. Dinner is finished in good time each evening, allowing plenty of time for a bit of socializing afterwards.
The way in which the discussion is being conducted at this conference is excellent. There are a few agenda-heavy questions, with repetitions of the protagonist's particular theories or perspectives, but on the whole, the discussions are tending to air issues of interest to all present, and across a range of areas.
Today was the first full day of the conference. The sessions all take place in the same room, a very Oxford kind of conference room, in which we all sit around the table rather than in rows. There were two separate sessions this morning, separated by coffee, and each with a series of three papers summarized. In session 1, Paul Foster chaired. William Loader talked about Synoptic Perspectives on Jesus and the Law, and his summary was in fact an interesting supplement to the paper he had uploaded, with reflections on how the evidence appeared from the perspectives of the Two-Source Theory, the Griesbach Theory and the Farrer Theory. This has become something of a pattern here -- these are the three theories mainly on the table and which receive the attention from most presenters. Duncan Reid then talked about the miracles from the perspective of differing Synoptic theories. Duncan is one of John Kloppenborg's students in Toronto. Charles Hedrick was not able to be present, so Paul Foster read a 15 minute summary of his paper. There was a broad discussion afterwards.
The second session was chaired by Joseph Verheyden. Kathleen Corley spoke about White Male dominance of Synoptic research, and David Peabody talked about Reading the Synoptic Gospels from the perspective of different source hypotheses, though he focused, inevitably, on the Two-Gospel Theory. I found Kathleen Corley's paper a bit disappointing, not least because it did not engage with the Synoptic Problem at all, so we did not get any closer to an answer to the question posed. I also doubt her thesis, that men are inclined towards Synoptic research because they identify with the historical Jesus. The third paper in the session was from Udo Schnelle, who was not present, and a summary was read, in German, by the chair.
After lunch, it was free time, and then tea. The second main paper was John Kloppenborg on Synopses and the Synoptic Problem. This was perhaps the paper that I found the most engaging in the conference so far, and it generated lengthy and helpful discussion afterwards. Dinner is finished in good time each evening, allowing plenty of time for a bit of socializing afterwards.
The way in which the discussion is being conducted at this conference is excellent. There are a few agenda-heavy questions, with repetitions of the protagonist's particular theories or perspectives, but on the whole, the discussions are tending to air issues of interest to all present, and across a range of areas.
Labels: conferences, Oxford, Synoptic Problem, Travel diaries
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Travel Diary: Synoptic Problem Conference I
Oxford, England, 00:22: caught the train down from Birmingham to Oxford this morning, a journey that I did many times as a student; tried to finish reading one of the conference papers that I hadn't yet read and fell into a deep sleep. Walked up to Lincoln College, the location for a conference on the Synoptic Problem to celebrate the centenary (forthcoming) of the Oxford Studies in the Synoptic Problem of 1911. The idea is that the essays written for this conference will be revised for the volume to be published in time for that centenary.
I am enjoying being back in Oxford. I spent ten years here, nine of them as a student. I met my wife here and we had our first daughter here. The conference location, Lincoln College, is next door to my old college, Exeter, and I have already enjoyed walking around favourite old locations. Oxford does not change much, and the only major difference about the kind of student accommodation we are in is the addition of en-suite facilities to make the place more conducive to conferences like this. Back in my day, I had to walk down four flights of stairs to the basement to the shared, stone showers. Students today have it easy.
The conference began with lunch in the hall and then the first session of summarized papers. There are forty-three people in attendance, and most of these are presenting papers, most in summarized format. The essential idea is that the papers are written in advance and uploaded to the web (Papers), allowing plenty of time for discussion in each of the sessions, though not all have actually written their papers in advance, so some of the summaries are first-time presentations.
Eugene Boring chaired the first session and there were three papers, all from conference conveners, Andrew Gregory on Literary Dependence and the Synoptic Problem, Paul Foster on the History and Demise of M and Joseph Verheyden on Proto-Luke. Each one spoke for 15-20 minutes and the discussion was then another 45 minutes or so. Perhaps the majority of questions went to Paul Foster on his M paper, including my own on the question of "legendary" elements in M narrative material and John Kloppenborg's on the modelling of the theory. There were also comments from F. Gerald Downing, William Loader, Stephen Patterson and David Peabody.
One of the nice things about a British conference is that one breaks for tea at the proper time; I have been in America long enough to have forgotten what a pleasure it is to have a tea break at a conference. There were large, metal pots of tea of the old-fashioned catering variety.
We went from tea to the first main paper, Christopher Tuckett on "The Current State of the Synoptic Problem". The paper was ideal for the context. It was generally regarded as fair, rigorous, thorough and balanced, even if some would disagree with particular arguments, or particular selections of material covered. I was honoured that Prof. Tuckett referred to my work several times when discussing the Farrer Theory, and afterwards David Catchpole, who was chairing the session, offered "the oppressed minorities" a right to reply, me first on Farrer and then David Dungan on Griesbach. The discussion ranged to a variety of other topics, with comments and questions from, among others, Bob Derrenbacker, F. Gerald Downing, Dennis Macdonald, Maurice Casey (about the absence of Aramaic Q the survey), Paul Foster (why is Luke's use of Matthew more popular than Matthew's use of Luke?), Joseph Verheyden (are the 2ST crowd more introspective and prone to questioning their hypothesis than advocates of other theories?), William Loader (concerning the regular usage of the Synoptics in sabbath-by-sabbath worship, asking whether this distinguished them from other Graeco-Roman texts with which they are regularly compared) and others.
One general question that has already begun to raise its head is the one relating to oral tradition, literary dependency and modes of contact between documents and traditions. My guess, at this stage, is that that the issues here will recur over the coming days.
After Prof. Tuckett's paper, there were drinks. At this drinks reception, David Catchpole announced that the purpose of the volume for which we are writing is the celebration of the work of Christopher Tuckett. Prof. Catchpole spoke and Prof. Tuckett responded, thanking those assembled, but offering special thanks to David Catchpole, Bob Morgan and Christopher Rowland, all of whom were present.
From the drinks reception, we went to the hall for dinner. It was an excellent dinner -- fish course with a nice white wine; chicken for the main course with an acceptable red, and some kind of cakey pudding that I forget because of the arrival of the port.
I am enjoying being back in Oxford. I spent ten years here, nine of them as a student. I met my wife here and we had our first daughter here. The conference location, Lincoln College, is next door to my old college, Exeter, and I have already enjoyed walking around favourite old locations. Oxford does not change much, and the only major difference about the kind of student accommodation we are in is the addition of en-suite facilities to make the place more conducive to conferences like this. Back in my day, I had to walk down four flights of stairs to the basement to the shared, stone showers. Students today have it easy.
The conference began with lunch in the hall and then the first session of summarized papers. There are forty-three people in attendance, and most of these are presenting papers, most in summarized format. The essential idea is that the papers are written in advance and uploaded to the web (Papers), allowing plenty of time for discussion in each of the sessions, though not all have actually written their papers in advance, so some of the summaries are first-time presentations.
Eugene Boring chaired the first session and there were three papers, all from conference conveners, Andrew Gregory on Literary Dependence and the Synoptic Problem, Paul Foster on the History and Demise of M and Joseph Verheyden on Proto-Luke. Each one spoke for 15-20 minutes and the discussion was then another 45 minutes or so. Perhaps the majority of questions went to Paul Foster on his M paper, including my own on the question of "legendary" elements in M narrative material and John Kloppenborg's on the modelling of the theory. There were also comments from F. Gerald Downing, William Loader, Stephen Patterson and David Peabody.
One of the nice things about a British conference is that one breaks for tea at the proper time; I have been in America long enough to have forgotten what a pleasure it is to have a tea break at a conference. There were large, metal pots of tea of the old-fashioned catering variety.
We went from tea to the first main paper, Christopher Tuckett on "The Current State of the Synoptic Problem". The paper was ideal for the context. It was generally regarded as fair, rigorous, thorough and balanced, even if some would disagree with particular arguments, or particular selections of material covered. I was honoured that Prof. Tuckett referred to my work several times when discussing the Farrer Theory, and afterwards David Catchpole, who was chairing the session, offered "the oppressed minorities" a right to reply, me first on Farrer and then David Dungan on Griesbach. The discussion ranged to a variety of other topics, with comments and questions from, among others, Bob Derrenbacker, F. Gerald Downing, Dennis Macdonald, Maurice Casey (about the absence of Aramaic Q the survey), Paul Foster (why is Luke's use of Matthew more popular than Matthew's use of Luke?), Joseph Verheyden (are the 2ST crowd more introspective and prone to questioning their hypothesis than advocates of other theories?), William Loader (concerning the regular usage of the Synoptics in sabbath-by-sabbath worship, asking whether this distinguished them from other Graeco-Roman texts with which they are regularly compared) and others.
One general question that has already begun to raise its head is the one relating to oral tradition, literary dependency and modes of contact between documents and traditions. My guess, at this stage, is that that the issues here will recur over the coming days.
After Prof. Tuckett's paper, there were drinks. At this drinks reception, David Catchpole announced that the purpose of the volume for which we are writing is the celebration of the work of Christopher Tuckett. Prof. Catchpole spoke and Prof. Tuckett responded, thanking those assembled, but offering special thanks to David Catchpole, Bob Morgan and Christopher Rowland, all of whom were present.
From the drinks reception, we went to the hall for dinner. It was an excellent dinner -- fish course with a nice white wine; chicken for the main course with an acceptable red, and some kind of cakey pudding that I forget because of the arrival of the port.
Labels: conferences, Oxford, Synoptic Problem, Travel diaries
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Travel Diary: Oxford Synoptic Problem Pre-Conference II
Birmingham, 00.19. After an excellent weekend with my folks in South Derbyshire, we have spent the day in Birmingham, seeing old friends. Early start tomorrow to travel down to Oxford for the conference.
Labels: Travel diaries
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Travel Diary: Oxford Synoptic Problem Conference Pre-Conference Post
The new series (the fourth) of the new Doctor Who starts on BBC1 tonight (6.20pm) and we have flown over to England specially to see it. While here, I am planning to attend the Synoptic Problem Conference in Oxford (my paper). It gets underway on Monday at Lincoln College, Oxford and I must admit that I am looking forward to it very much. I have read most of the papers that are already online (see link above) and there is clearly going to be a lot of interest to talk about. I have brought the blogging machine with me and I am hoping to blog the conference as we go through, but it will depend a bit on whether there is wireless at Lincoln College. If there isn't, I will still write notes as I go through, but won't be able to upload until the end of the week. For now, I am enjoying some time at my parents' place in Derbyshire.
Labels: Doctor Who, Synoptic Problem, Travel diaries
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Travel Diary, Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale airport, Sunday, 9.56am.: I've spent a couple of days on my first Biblical Archaeology Society study weekend. The location was the Hampton Inn in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a pleasant place to stay, though not close to the sea, and a little bit out on its own with only a handful of eating places in walking distance. But the service was excellent, and pretty friendly. The hotel had a pool, but sadly it was not quite warm enough to use it; and when it was warm enough, it was very windy. I did manage to get down to the sea at the end of the study weekend, though, when one of the participants kindly drove us down to the sea front for a walk and dinner at a German pub where I enjoyed a Wurstplatter (but does all American Sauerkraut taste so strongly of vinegar?).
The study side of the weekend was very enjoyable. Anne Killebrew was talking about various archaeological topics, always with interesting pictures, great anecdotes and a sense of what makes archaeology so fascinating. I learnt a great deal from her four lectures and they appeared to be very popular with the audience, who asked many interesting questions.
My own contribution was a series that I entitled "Monarch or Messiah? The King of Jewish Expectation and the Christ of the New Testament". I dealt with the Old Testament evidence in the first lecture, looking at the development of hope for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy in the post-exilic period. In the second I looked at other Second Temple Jewish literature, focusing specially on Psalms of Solomon, but looking also at the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Similitudes of Enoch and 4 Ezra. For Saturday's lectures, I took Paul in the morning and the Gospels in the afternoon, looking at the way in which the New Testament texts develop the concepts of King and Messiah found in the Second Temple Jewish texts. I had interested, intelligent and engaging responses throughout, and found it an enjoyable forum to share ideas in.
At the halfway point, on the Friday evening, there is a dinner followed by a Q&A session for the two lecturers, and again there were many intelligent and interesting questions. Steve Feldman organized and chaired the whole affair and did a fine job. This was a rewarding experience. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to develop a line of thought across four lectures in a tight time frame, something that one rarely gets the opportunity to do.
The study side of the weekend was very enjoyable. Anne Killebrew was talking about various archaeological topics, always with interesting pictures, great anecdotes and a sense of what makes archaeology so fascinating. I learnt a great deal from her four lectures and they appeared to be very popular with the audience, who asked many interesting questions.
My own contribution was a series that I entitled "Monarch or Messiah? The King of Jewish Expectation and the Christ of the New Testament". I dealt with the Old Testament evidence in the first lecture, looking at the development of hope for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy in the post-exilic period. In the second I looked at other Second Temple Jewish literature, focusing specially on Psalms of Solomon, but looking also at the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Similitudes of Enoch and 4 Ezra. For Saturday's lectures, I took Paul in the morning and the Gospels in the afternoon, looking at the way in which the New Testament texts develop the concepts of King and Messiah found in the Second Temple Jewish texts. I had interested, intelligent and engaging responses throughout, and found it an enjoyable forum to share ideas in.
At the halfway point, on the Friday evening, there is a dinner followed by a Q&A session for the two lecturers, and again there were many intelligent and interesting questions. Steve Feldman organized and chaired the whole affair and did a fine job. This was a rewarding experience. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to develop a line of thought across four lectures in a tight time frame, something that one rarely gets the opportunity to do.
Labels: Travel diaries
Thursday, March 06, 2008
On the road again
I set off for Fort Lauderdale later today where I am giving four lectures on the topic "Monarch or Messiah: the King of Jewish Expectation and the Christ of the New Testament". Anne Kilbrew is the other speaker and is talking about "Insights Into the Bible from Archaeology". (Fort Lauderdale Study Program). Since it's a work related trip, I hope to do a travel diary over the next few days. I had thought that this would prove impossible because my blogging machine conked out yesterday and has gone off to Atlanta to be fixed. But Duke found me a loan machine so I am back to trying to catch up again. If you are waiting for an email, my apologies. I have about ten thousand to get through.
Labels: Travel diaries
Friday, February 29, 2008
Passion Première: Travel Diary VI
Charlotte, NC, 5.13pm: Back in the USA. It's the first time I have arrived since our Green Cards arrived and it was a lot of fun joining the US Citizens / Permanent Resident Aliens line and, for the first time, not having my retina scanned and fingerprints taken.
Perhaps not surprisingly, I overslept this morning. I didn't go to bed until late because I was buzzing so much from the evening's events. Nevertheless, I still made it easily to Gatwick, but not with enough time to spare to put another entry in the travel diary. The flight was a whopping 9 hours, which gave plenty of time for sleeping, reading The Guardian and Doctor Who magazine, and watching the kind of crappy films that one only ever watches on flights, this time the second half of Licence to Wed, which I had begun on the way over, Nanny Diaries and Mr Woodcock, all three pretty terrible.
Now I'm back in the same spot in Charlotte, again drinking Sam Adams, where I was 48 hours ago. I think it was a bit barmy to fly over specially for this event, but I am delighted that I did it. I am unlikely ever to have another opportunity like this, and I am really thrilled to have been able to enjoy it while it lasted. I am actually very proud of my involvement with The Passion. It is a superb drama and I hope that it will be talked about for years to come. And it is a rare thing in an academic's life to have the kind of luck I have had in being invited onto this production, and I am pretty sure I will look back on it in years to come as a fantastic opportunity.
Perhaps not surprisingly, I overslept this morning. I didn't go to bed until late because I was buzzing so much from the evening's events. Nevertheless, I still made it easily to Gatwick, but not with enough time to spare to put another entry in the travel diary. The flight was a whopping 9 hours, which gave plenty of time for sleeping, reading The Guardian and Doctor Who magazine, and watching the kind of crappy films that one only ever watches on flights, this time the second half of Licence to Wed, which I had begun on the way over, Nanny Diaries and Mr Woodcock, all three pretty terrible.
Now I'm back in the same spot in Charlotte, again drinking Sam Adams, where I was 48 hours ago. I think it was a bit barmy to fly over specially for this event, but I am delighted that I did it. I am unlikely ever to have another opportunity like this, and I am really thrilled to have been able to enjoy it while it lasted. I am actually very proud of my involvement with The Passion. It is a superb drama and I hope that it will be talked about for years to come. And it is a rare thing in an academic's life to have the kind of luck I have had in being invited onto this production, and I am pretty sure I will look back on it in years to come as a fantastic opportunity.
Labels: BBC Passion, Travel diaries
Passion Première: Travel Diary V
A hotel in London, 2:18am: I am back from the Passion Première and had a wonderful evening. Before I say anything else, let's just get one thing out of the way: I met Robert Powell! In fact I didn't just meet Robert Powell, but I had a reasonably lengthy and enjoyable conversation with him. I had seen him arrive early in the evening, and saw him having his photograph taken with Joseph Mawle, who plays Jesus in The Passion, and I resisted the temptation to run up to him and say Hi. Happily, later in the evening opportunity presented itself for me to say hello, as I slided steadily towards him alongside Matt Page of the Bible Films blog, who was as keen as I was to meet him.
But with that excitement out of the way, let me rewind a little. I arrived early at the Apollo West End, where the première was to take place, and Matt Page and I filled the time with a pint and some chat. On arrival, I was ushered into a side room where Frank Deasy, the writer of The Passion, was being interviewed. We had often talked on the phone and by email, but this was the first time we had met in person. I did two short interviews in the same room, the first with Christian Premier Radio and the second with Christian Today. I just had time to grab a glass of wine before the screening began, and a chance to meet Nigel Stafford-Clark, the producer, and Michael Offer, the director, also for the first time. And on my way down the stairs, I recognised Joseph Mawle (Jesus) and introduced myself to him and gushed about how good he was in the role. (I did a lot of gushing tonight). I sat with Michael Wakelin, the head of religion and ethics at the BBC, and a fellow advisor on the programme. Jane Tranter, head of drama at the BBC, introduced the screening and read a long list of thank-yous.
Watching the first episode in its final form on the big screen was a wonderful experience. I have seen it many times in earlier edits, but seeing the final version, and on the big screen, was very powerful. The most striking thing to me was the "Coming Soon . . ." trailer at the end, which gathered together some of the most remarkable moments from the forthcoming episodes. And I would be dishonest if I did not confess to some pleasure in seeing my name on the credits after it.
After the screening of the first episode, there was a Q&A session with, left to right, Joseph Mawle (Jesus), Frank Deasy (writer), Jane Tranter (head of drama, chairing), Nigel Stafford-Clark (producer), me, and Michael Offer (director). There were several interesting questions from the audience. Did the spectre of Mel Gibson's film loom large? (No, not really). Had Joseph Mawle had any reservations about playing Jesus (No, not really; yes, there was a huge responsibility, but also he is a "working actor", delighted to get the role). Another question agreed with the others that it was a stunning, compelling piece but added that she was unhappy with one of the lines spoken by Mary; a later questioner echoed the concerns, but I reassured both that I did not think there was any reason to be worried about the theology of the piece, either here or elsewhere.
At the reception afterwards, I met several old friends and lots of new ones, enjoyed a glass of wine (or two) and lots of canopes. The buzz was pretty positive. Almost everyone I talked to had found the first episode compelling drama and they were keen for more.
Oh, and did I mention that I met Robert Powell?
But with that excitement out of the way, let me rewind a little. I arrived early at the Apollo West End, where the première was to take place, and Matt Page and I filled the time with a pint and some chat. On arrival, I was ushered into a side room where Frank Deasy, the writer of The Passion, was being interviewed. We had often talked on the phone and by email, but this was the first time we had met in person. I did two short interviews in the same room, the first with Christian Premier Radio and the second with Christian Today. I just had time to grab a glass of wine before the screening began, and a chance to meet Nigel Stafford-Clark, the producer, and Michael Offer, the director, also for the first time. And on my way down the stairs, I recognised Joseph Mawle (Jesus) and introduced myself to him and gushed about how good he was in the role. (I did a lot of gushing tonight). I sat with Michael Wakelin, the head of religion and ethics at the BBC, and a fellow advisor on the programme. Jane Tranter, head of drama at the BBC, introduced the screening and read a long list of thank-yous.
Watching the first episode in its final form on the big screen was a wonderful experience. I have seen it many times in earlier edits, but seeing the final version, and on the big screen, was very powerful. The most striking thing to me was the "Coming Soon . . ." trailer at the end, which gathered together some of the most remarkable moments from the forthcoming episodes. And I would be dishonest if I did not confess to some pleasure in seeing my name on the credits after it.
After the screening of the first episode, there was a Q&A session with, left to right, Joseph Mawle (Jesus), Frank Deasy (writer), Jane Tranter (head of drama, chairing), Nigel Stafford-Clark (producer), me, and Michael Offer (director). There were several interesting questions from the audience. Did the spectre of Mel Gibson's film loom large? (No, not really). Had Joseph Mawle had any reservations about playing Jesus (No, not really; yes, there was a huge responsibility, but also he is a "working actor", delighted to get the role). Another question agreed with the others that it was a stunning, compelling piece but added that she was unhappy with one of the lines spoken by Mary; a later questioner echoed the concerns, but I reassured both that I did not think there was any reason to be worried about the theology of the piece, either here or elsewhere.
At the reception afterwards, I met several old friends and lots of new ones, enjoyed a glass of wine (or two) and lots of canopes. The buzz was pretty positive. Almost everyone I talked to had found the first episode compelling drama and they were keen for more.
Oh, and did I mention that I met Robert Powell?
Labels: BBC Passion, Travel diaries
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Passion Première: Travel Diary IV
A hotel in London, 5.29pm: I had an excellent lunch on Millbank with two old friends, one of them Q; a little bit of walking and several phone calls. Checked into my hotel; heading out again shortly to the Apollo West End for the première. I hope to get a chance later to report on how things go.
Labels: Travel diaries
Passion Première: Travel Diary III
Starbucks, Victoria Street, 9.55am. Great flight. Read a couple of articles, watched a moderately funny episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and a terrible film (Heartbreak Kid) and slept very deeply. The plane landed early and it is lovely to be back in England, even if for only 24 hours. I smile all the way through Gatwick airport; hearing so many English accents makes me realize how accustomed I am to living in America. Occasionally I get looks from people who wonder why I seem so happy. The first advertisement I see is for Mother's Day and I have a double take when I see "Mum" instead of "Mom". I pick up a Guardian from the first WH Smith's I pass and the latest Doctor Who Magazine, with Freema Agyeman on the cover, from the larger one at Victoria Station. That will be my treat for the flight home.
While on the train to Victoria, I had a surprise phone call from Q. It turns out that he is in London today and we are going to meet up, along with another old friend I had already planned to meet at the House of Commons. This is already shaping up into an excellent day.
While on the train to Victoria, I had a surprise phone call from Q. It turns out that he is in London today and we are going to meet up, along with another old friend I had already planned to meet at the House of Commons. This is already shaping up into an excellent day.
Labels: Travel diaries
Passion Première: Travel Diary III
Starbucks, Victoria Street, 9.55am. Great flight. Read a couple of articles, watched a moderately funny episode of Everybody Loves Raymond and a terrible film (Heartbreak Kid) and slept very deeply. The plane landed early and it is lovely to be back in England, even if for only 24 hours. I smile all the way through Gatwick airport; hearing so many English accents makes me realize how accustomed I am to living in America. Occasionally I get looks from people who wonder why I seem so happy. The first advertisement I see is for Mother's Day and I have a double take when I see "Mum" instead of "Mom". I pick up a Guardian from the first WH Smith's I pass and the latest Doctor Who Magazine, with Freema Agyeman on the cover, from the larger one at Victoria Station. That will be my treat for the flight home.
While on the train to Victoria, I had a surprise phone call from Q. It turns out that he is in London today and we are going to meet up, along with another old friend I had already planned to meet at the House of Commons. This is already shaping up into an excellent day.
I will be in the same clothes for a little longer, but look forward to checking into my hotel later so that I can shower and clean my teeth.
While on the train to Victoria, I had a surprise phone call from Q. It turns out that he is in London today and we are going to meet up, along with another old friend I had already planned to meet at the House of Commons. This is already shaping up into an excellent day.
I will be in the same clothes for a little longer, but look forward to checking into my hotel later so that I can shower and clean my teeth.
Labels: Travel diaries
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Passion Première: Travel Diary II
I've arrived in Charlotte and am enjoying a Sam Adams and some crisps overlooking the concourse. I have a longish wait here but it is large airport and I may even be able to find somewhere to plug in my blogging machine, which is almost out of power. I am happy with the wait; when booking the flights I didn't want to risk missing the flight to London; it's that flight or nothing. I slept very deeply on the flight, and am looking forward to more of the same in a bit.
I may blog later, if I get time, about a couple of the developing media stories about The Passion because I am getting an interesting insight into the way that journalists sometimes go looking for a story.
I may blog later, if I get time, about a couple of the developing media stories about The Passion because I am getting an interesting insight into the way that journalists sometimes go looking for a story.
Labels: BBC Passion, Travel diaries
Passion Première: Travel Diary I
It's time for another of my travel diaries. The occasion this time is the premiere of The Passion, the BBC / HBO co-production which will air in the UK on BBC 1 in Holy Week, for which I have been historical consultant. I have never done anything quite so bizarre as travelling to England for only 24 hours. I leave today, arrive in the morning and depart again on Friday morning. But I doubt that I will ever have an occasion like this again, an invitation not only to be at the premiere of a TV mini-series but also to have some involvement in it. At first I laughed off the idea that I might fly over specially, but then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could actually pull it off, not least because of when it fell, on a Thursday in a semester when my teaching is all on Mondays and Wednesdays.
So here I am, sitting at Raleigh-Durham International airport on the first leg of my journey. I have already had a beer and a burger in the sports bar and have watched a bit of a BBC4 documentary about Margaret Thatcher on my laptop. I'll be changing at Charlotte, arriving at London Gatwick in the morning. I have the blogging machine with me, as well as a pile of articles to read, lots of podcasts to catch up on and lots of sleep time. As I have said before on such occasions, I am one of those lucky people who really enjoys flying. I find the idea of sitting down doing nothing for hours on end, with food and drink provided, with reading, viewing and listening to do, very attractive; and I find it easy to sleep on flights (and anywhere else, for that matter).
There is one downside, other than the obvious one of being away from the family for a couple of days, and that is that I get to miss most of Dale Allison's tenure as this year's Clark Lecturer at Duke. Before setting off for the airport, I was able to get to the first of his lectures today, on the Historical Jesus and the Theological Jesus. Most of my Historical Jesus class and Kavin Rowe's Introduction to the New Testament class came along too, and the Goodson Chapel was the only place big enough to hold us all. It was an excellent and entertaining lecture, but I don't have the energy to try to summarize it all here. He gives the second lecture in the series tomorrow, and talks tonight to the New Testament colloquium about the "harrowing of hell".
So here I am, sitting at Raleigh-Durham International airport on the first leg of my journey. I have already had a beer and a burger in the sports bar and have watched a bit of a BBC4 documentary about Margaret Thatcher on my laptop. I'll be changing at Charlotte, arriving at London Gatwick in the morning. I have the blogging machine with me, as well as a pile of articles to read, lots of podcasts to catch up on and lots of sleep time. As I have said before on such occasions, I am one of those lucky people who really enjoys flying. I find the idea of sitting down doing nothing for hours on end, with food and drink provided, with reading, viewing and listening to do, very attractive; and I find it easy to sleep on flights (and anywhere else, for that matter).
There is one downside, other than the obvious one of being away from the family for a couple of days, and that is that I get to miss most of Dale Allison's tenure as this year's Clark Lecturer at Duke. Before setting off for the airport, I was able to get to the first of his lectures today, on the Historical Jesus and the Theological Jesus. Most of my Historical Jesus class and Kavin Rowe's Introduction to the New Testament class came along too, and the Goodson Chapel was the only place big enough to hold us all. It was an excellent and entertaining lecture, but I don't have the energy to try to summarize it all here. He gives the second lecture in the series tomorrow, and talks tonight to the New Testament colloquium about the "harrowing of hell".
Labels: BBC Passion, Travel diaries
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
SBL: Arrival Home
I arrived at about midnight last night after the kind of journey that reminded me of the lengths of journey I used to have flying back to the UK. The only difference was that I was in flights with much less leg room, and changed more often. I flew out first to Phoenix, from where I blogged. My flight to DC was then so delayed that I had to be re-routed via Charlotte. There was a bonus, though, in meeting a fellow blogger and NT enthusiast at the airport there and sharing notes about the meeting. On arrival at Raleigh-Durham just before midnight, my luggage had not arrived. I was expecting that, given the re-route, and would have been very surprised if it had arrived, so it was no big deal. And it was very nice to be home. And now there is lots of catching up to do, but it is so much easier to do all that now that I am living in the US because it's the Thanksgiving break here and there is no university until next Monday, and the kids are off school too.
Labels: SBL San Diego, Travel diaries
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
SBL: Journey Home
It turned out that I had very limited time to use the blogging machine during the SBL Annual Meeting, so I will write up my diary on my journey home, which has already begun. I am blogging, with a pint of Sam Adams, from a bar called Tequileria at the airport at Phoenix, Arizona, having left San Diego earlier this morning. I've had a great conference with lots of great conversations, some good laughs, some excellent intellectual exchange and, as usual, not enough sleep and too much rushing around. But I am looking forward very much to getting home later. Not only is there the special new Doctor Who Children in Need scene that aired last Friday to look forward to (and I promised the kids that I would not watch it on my own while I was away), but there are the last two episodes of Sarah Jane Adventures, the Thanksgiving break which gives us several days off from work and school; and most excitingly, tomorrow England play Croatia for a place in Euro 2008. I found time on Saturday afternoon to check online and was delighted to see that Israel had beaten Russia to throw us a lifeline. So lots to look forward to in the coming days, and lots of interesting stuff to reflect on from the last few days at the SBL, more of which anon.
Labels: SBL San Diego, Travel diaries
Friday, June 15, 2007
Travel Diary: Seattle to Home
We had an excellent day exploring Seattle on Wednesday, with most time spent at the Space Needle and the Science Fiction museum. The latter was enjoyable but it had a pitifully tiny amount on the longest running SciFi TV series ever -- one paltry picture of the fourth doctor with the Daleks! The Sound and Vision museum connected to it was well worth visiting, though, with a superb "oral history" project, just the kind of thing to appeal to academic types like me. The journey home on Thursday was a marathon one; we were up at 4am and home at 11pm, with about five hours spent in Atlanta airport. I hope to post some more pictures over on the Americanization of Emily in due course.
Labels: Travel diaries
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Travel Diary, Bellingham to Seattle
We are into our third day of our trip to Washington state now. I spent Monday afternoon at the Logos Bible Software offices in Bellingham and was treated to the full tour from Mike Heiser, and met some old friends and some new ones, including fellow bibliobloggers Rick Brannan and Daniel Foster. The Logos offices are in an old law firm building and so are quite grandiose, but I got the impression of a happy and industrious centre with a surprisingly large staff, working away on a variety of projects with some energetic collaboration. Several of the key players treated me to a full, illustrated exposition of various projects currently underway, and the time went very quickly. To be honest, I was bowled over by what the software does, and so from that point of view it was a complete success on their part. I was quite persuaded of how valuable it would be for me to own! I won't try to list all the different things that appealed to me, but perhaps more of that anon.The family joined us for an evening meal at a very nice restaurant by the water, and then we dashed off to the centre where I was to give my lecture, at about 7pm. I had a good audience, 80 or 90 I'd guess. I spoke for 45 minutes on the topic, "Did Jews in Jesus' Day Expect the Messiah?" and I felt that it was a receptive and enthusiastic group, and they asked questions for over half an hour. Many of the questions were highly informed and quite intelligent, e.g. there were some students down from Trinity Western. This was the first time that I had talked outside of the Duke classroom on the topic of messianism in the second temple period, and I found it pretty stimulating; it is always more enjoyable to talk about work in progress than to be looking back on previous work. The act of articulating my argument and laying out some of the evidence helped me to see where I needed to do more exploration; and several of the questions helped me to hone the issues too. All in all, it was a profitable evening at the end of a most enjoyable day. I was well looked after by Logos, and I felt honoured to have been invited.
The next morning, Tuesday, we set off for Seattle where we are spending a couple of days before returning to North Carolina. We went on the underground tour, which takes you to the original street level of the city, c. 150 years ago, before a major fire. We found a great English-style pub called the Elephant and Castle, which is where the picture above was taken. (I was going to put in a picture of my talk, but it came out a little blurred, and the one above is much nicer). I enjoyed my pint and bangers and mash very much -- it was a pretty good effort at being British. I also liked the poster above -- take a look at the quotation if you want to see something uplifting.
Since the work-related element of the trip is now complete, I will return now to everyday blogging, but probably not until we are back in North Carolina again soon.
Update (11.37): there is a little more over on The Americanization of Emily.
Labels: Travel diaries
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Travel Diary: Bellingham, WA
As regular readers will be aware, I occasionally write a travel diary here, on condition that the trip is in some way work connected. The current journey is to Bellingham in Washington state, right up in the north-western bit of the United States, almost as far from North Carolina but still within the States as you can get. The occasion is a lecture I am giving tomorrow in the Logos Lecture Series. Logos Bible Software is based up here in Bellingham, and I am looking forward to meeting some of the folk and seeing the heart of operations. There is a little biblioblogging synergy happening here since Logos have their own blog, Logos Bible Software Blog, and so too does Rick Brannan of Ricoblog, though I expect him to be on paternity duty at the moment since he is now a proud father.
It was the strangest feeling to make our journey up here. It took us almost as long as it takes us to get to England, and there are big timezone adjustments too (from Eastern Time to Pacific Time), and yet here we are, after all those hours, still in America. It was one of those experiences that brings home just how enormous the USA is. We got up at 3.25am, having had a late night too, after packing, cleaning and sorting things out (and finding just enough time to watch last night's fabulous episode of Doctor Who, written by Steven Moffatt, called Blink). Our flight from Raleigh-Durham was at 6.05am; we got into Atlanta at 7.30, set off from there at 9.30 for Seattle, arriving at 12pm (3pm EST). It was AirTran, and so no TV or food, and I slept the entire way, with just a few minutes of Horbury's Messianism and the Cult of Christ before drifting off each time.
It is a pleasure on this occasion not to be travelling alone this time, and the kids are able to come too, having finished school last Thursday. We hired a car in Seattle, and drove the 98 miles or so to Bellingham, stopping off for a nice Italian on the way. Seattle looks like a great city and we return there for a little bit of holiday on Tuesday. I put on the car in the radio but couldn't find Frasier Crane's show. What we saw of the State, though, looked very nice, with as many trees as where we live in NC, but a lot more mountains.
It was the strangest feeling to make our journey up here. It took us almost as long as it takes us to get to England, and there are big timezone adjustments too (from Eastern Time to Pacific Time), and yet here we are, after all those hours, still in America. It was one of those experiences that brings home just how enormous the USA is. We got up at 3.25am, having had a late night too, after packing, cleaning and sorting things out (and finding just enough time to watch last night's fabulous episode of Doctor Who, written by Steven Moffatt, called Blink). Our flight from Raleigh-Durham was at 6.05am; we got into Atlanta at 7.30, set off from there at 9.30 for Seattle, arriving at 12pm (3pm EST). It was AirTran, and so no TV or food, and I slept the entire way, with just a few minutes of Horbury's Messianism and the Cult of Christ before drifting off each time.
It is a pleasure on this occasion not to be travelling alone this time, and the kids are able to come too, having finished school last Thursday. We hired a car in Seattle, and drove the 98 miles or so to Bellingham, stopping off for a nice Italian on the way. Seattle looks like a great city and we return there for a little bit of holiday on Tuesday. I put on the car in the radio but couldn't find Frasier Crane's show. What we saw of the State, though, looked very nice, with as many trees as where we live in NC, but a lot more mountains.
Labels: Travel diaries
Friday, March 02, 2007
Travel Diary 3: Return from Baltimore
I arrived back from the Mid-Atlantic Region SBL Meeting in the early hours of this morning with jumpy flights which were running on time, and teaming rain when I got back, but happily no tornadoes. (The tornado warning for our area ended at 8 am).
I enjoyed getting the chance to go to an SBL regional meeting for the first time. This one was remarkably low key compared to the SBL Annual Meeting. I would guess that there were only 150 or so people there, and not many of what Michael Goulder always used to call the "top brass". The seminars were fairly laid back affairs with only ten or so people in each one that I went to. It reminded me much more of the British New Testament Conference than of the SBL Annual Meeting, though it was considerably smaller than the BNTC, with a much smaller book display, and without the communal, scheduled meals.
My paper, "The Devil is in the Detail: Dispelling Doubts about Dispensing with Q" was the plenary paper in the late afternoon. (Handout available here). There were fifty or sixty present and it was a friendly audience and there were some useful an interesting questions. I enjoyed getting the chance to revisit Q again, having been invited to do so by Kathy Grieb who is the president of the MAR-SBL but not having had much in the way of fresh thoughts about Q in the last five years. After my talk, which I gave as a presentation rather than as a read paper, as is my habit on these occasions, there was a smaller, informal gathering with fewer people (ten or so) for further discussion. All in all, I was grateful for the invitation.
I enjoyed getting the chance to go to an SBL regional meeting for the first time. This one was remarkably low key compared to the SBL Annual Meeting. I would guess that there were only 150 or so people there, and not many of what Michael Goulder always used to call the "top brass". The seminars were fairly laid back affairs with only ten or so people in each one that I went to. It reminded me much more of the British New Testament Conference than of the SBL Annual Meeting, though it was considerably smaller than the BNTC, with a much smaller book display, and without the communal, scheduled meals.
My paper, "The Devil is in the Detail: Dispelling Doubts about Dispensing with Q" was the plenary paper in the late afternoon. (Handout available here). There were fifty or sixty present and it was a friendly audience and there were some useful an interesting questions. I enjoyed getting the chance to revisit Q again, having been invited to do so by Kathy Grieb who is the president of the MAR-SBL but not having had much in the way of fresh thoughts about Q in the last five years. After my talk, which I gave as a presentation rather than as a read paper, as is my habit on these occasions, there was a smaller, informal gathering with fewer people (ten or so) for further discussion. All in all, I was grateful for the invitation.
Labels: conferences, SBL, Travel diaries
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Travel Diary 2: Arrival in Baltimore
I had a most enjoyable flight, that ideal combination of reading, thinking and sleeping. I sketched out the plan for my next book and had that great (if unrealistic) feeling of, "Well, that's half the work done". I feel a little bad about flying now that the Bishop of London has declared it a sin. But I couldn't face driving 300 miles alone, especially since it's a big battle to stay awake, and I'm not sure that it's so much better for global warming to have a single person in a car driving 600 miles. You can't get the train or the bus between cities here in the US, at least not where I live. While waiting at Charlotte airport, I decided that since I was sinning by flying, I may as well compound the sin by having one of those delicious brownies they do at Starbucks, and the pint of coffee washed it down splendidly.
I arrived at the hotel after midnight and after a particularly enjoyable thirty minute chat with my cab driver who, it turned out, was an immigrant from Eritrea. He'd come here twenty-six years ago, after eighteen months in Rome, and now one of his kids is a doctor and another is a successful businessman.
This is my first regional SBL meeting and it is interesting that these too, like the enormous Annual Meeting, seem to take place in hotels and conference centres. It will be interesting to see how it differs from the big meeting.
I arrived at the hotel after midnight and after a particularly enjoyable thirty minute chat with my cab driver who, it turned out, was an immigrant from Eritrea. He'd come here twenty-six years ago, after eighteen months in Rome, and now one of his kids is a doctor and another is a successful businessman.
This is my first regional SBL meeting and it is interesting that these too, like the enormous Annual Meeting, seem to take place in hotels and conference centres. It will be interesting to see how it differs from the big meeting.
Labels: conferences, SBL, Travel diaries
Travel Diary 1: On the way to Baltimore
It's a while since I have had a travel diary on the blog, but I have a brief one over the next day or so because I am on the way to the SBL Mid-Atlantic Region Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland where I have been invited to speak on the topic, "The Devil is in the Detail: Dispelling Doubts about Dispensing with Q". I know, it's horribly alliterative but I just couldn't resist it once I started with "the Devil is in the detail". The occasion for that was Christopher Tuckett's review of my Case Against Q in Novum Testamentum a couple of years ago, which ended with the point that "the devil is in the detail", i.e. there are lots of natty little details among the Synoptic data that my case does not deal with. I am not going to use the occasion tomorrow, except briefly, to respond to critics, however, but will instead focus on why the details matter for my case too, and how a careful look at them can encourage us to dispense with Q.
The conference gets underway tomorrow morning, but I am flying in tonight and am currently enjoying a Sam Adams and a "Seattle Chicken Club" sandwich at the sports bar in Raleigh Durham International Airport. I am one of those people who generally fills one's day so full that I love travelling to give me a chance to take it a little easier, to catch some time to read, think, relax, sleep, oh, and blog. It is particularly welcome that I have this time now since I have been recently been deep in another paper, on Thomas's use of the Synoptics, which I gave at our New Testament Colloquium last night.
The conference gets underway tomorrow morning, but I am flying in tonight and am currently enjoying a Sam Adams and a "Seattle Chicken Club" sandwich at the sports bar in Raleigh Durham International Airport. I am one of those people who generally fills one's day so full that I love travelling to give me a chance to take it a little easier, to catch some time to read, think, relax, sleep, oh, and blog. It is particularly welcome that I have this time now since I have been recently been deep in another paper, on Thomas's use of the Synoptics, which I gave at our New Testament Colloquium last night.
Labels: conferences, Q, SBL, Travel diaries
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Travel diary 1: Leaving Birmingham
Things have been quiet blog-wise because we have been packing up, giving away or throwing away all our earthly possessions and planning to leave Birmingham, England to move to North Carolina, USA. I had hoped to take a quick picture before leaving today to stick on the blog to mark the move, but we've accidentally packed the camera. We have a great deal to do when we arrive at the other end on Wednesday so I don't know how much time I'll have to blog, but of course the blogging machine goes with us in the hand luggage and it's my hope to get chance to continue my travel diary, if not to blog properly too. Meanwhile, it's a fond farewell to Birmingham, and the friends we've made here in what has been a happy and fruitful decade.
Labels: Life in the USA, Travel diaries
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