The SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) will meet in Atlanta this November, and there will be a lot of good sessions. The preliminary program book is now online. Although last year I gave three papers (which was crazy!), this year I will only be chairing a session for one of the groups on whose steering committee I serve. (Why nothing else?Largely because of numerous other lecture commitments this fall—four major academic lectures in September and October.) Among the many things I find inviting are the following (must-hears in bold italics; may require some bi-location!):
Theological Hermeneutics of Christian Scripture
11/20/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Theme: History, Historicisms, and Theological Interpretation
Michael Gorman, Saint Mary’s Seminary and University, Presiding (5 min)
Raymond C. Van Leeuwen, Eastern University
The Quest for the Historical Leviathan: Truth and Method in Biblical Studies (30 min)
Joel B. Green, Fuller Theological Seminary
Rethinking “History” for Theological Interpretation (30 min)
Matthew Levering, University of Dayton
Augustine’s Theology of History (30 min)
Jeannine Brown, Bethel Theological Seminary (St. Paul, MN), Respondent (15 min)
I will also attend the session of the Gospel and our Culture Network, Missional Hermeneutics Forum, on whose steering committee I serve as well:
GOCN Forum on Missional Hermeneutics
11/20/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Theme: Exile, Identity, and Mission: Interpreting Biblical Texts
Michael Barram, Saint Mary’s College of California, presiding
Bo H. Lim, Seattle Pacific University
From Servant to Servants: Continuing the Legacy of the Exile in the Post-Exilic Era (20 min)
Andrew D. Rowell, Duke University
John Howard Yoder’s Missional Exiles and Jeremiah 29: A Case Study for Missional Hermeneutics (20 min)
Aaron Kuecker, Trinity Christian College
As He Who Called You is Holy: Missional Holiness and the People of God in 1 Peter (20 min)
Suzanne Watts Henderson, Queens University of Charlotte, Respondent (15 min)
George Hunsberger, Western Theological Seminary, Respondent (15 min)
Also of great interest to me are the following book-review sessions, which are becoming quite popular at SBL:
Book Review: Joseph Mangina, Revelation, in Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2010)
11/20/2010
4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Ryan Hansen, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Presiding
Kathryn Greene-McCreight, St John’s Episcopal Church, New Haven, CT 06511, Panelist (15 min)
Richard B. Hays, Duke University, Panelist (15 min)
Nathan Kerr, Trevecca Nazarene Universit, Panelist (15 min)
Joseph Mangina, Wycliffe College, Respondent (20 min)
Christian Theology and the Bible
11/21/2010
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Theme: Book Review Panel of C. Kavin Rowe’s “World Upside Down: Reading Acts in the Graeco-Roman Age”
Stephen Fowl, Loyola College in Maryland, Presiding (10 min)
Beverly Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary, Panelist (25 min)
Robert Wall, Seattle Pacific University, Panelist (25 min)
Douglas Harink, Panelist (25 min)
Stephen Fowl, Loyola College in Maryland, Panelist (25 min)
Kavin Rowe, Duke University, Respondent (25 min)
As for “regular” sessions, there will be plenty of good ones. Starting with “non-Paul”:
Book of Acts
11/20/2010
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Theme: SECOND THOUGHTS ON A HYPHEN: RECONSIDERING THE UNITY OF LUKE’S GOSPEL AND ACTS
Loveday Alexander, University of Chester, Presiding
Patricia Walters, Rockford College
Irreconcilable Distances: A Challenge to the Assumed Authorial Unity of Luke and Acts (30 min)
Mikeal Parsons, Baylor University, Respondent (12 min)
Heather Gorman, Baylor University, Respondent (12 min)
Kavin Rowe, Duke University
The Return of Allegory: Scholarly Exegesis and the Literal Sense of Luke-Acts (30 min)
Steve Walton, London School of Theology, Respondent (25 min)
Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity
11/20/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Theme: Use of Scripture in the Gospel of Luke
Bruce Fisk, Westmont College, Presiding
Craig A. Evans, Acadia Divinity College
Luke’s Good Samaritan and the Chronicler’s Good Samaritans (30 min)
Richard B. Hays, Duke University
Intimations of Divine Identity Christology in Luke’s Reading of Scripture (30 min)
R. Steven Notley, Nyack College NYC
The Hebrew Scriptures in the Third Gospel (30 min)
Discussion (60 min)
Some of the good Paul sessions:
Pauline Epistles
11/20/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Terence Donaldson, Wycliffe College, Presiding
M. David Litwa, University of Virginia
Transformation through a Mirror: Moses in 2 Cor 3:18 (30 min)
NOTE: I directed David’s ThM thesis at Duke.
Jonathan A. Linebaugh, Durham University
Announcing the Human: Rethinking the Relationship Between Romans 1.18-32 and Wisdom of Solomon 13-15 (30 min)
Christopher R. Bruno, Wheaton College
Eyewitness Testimony and the Jesus Tradition in Paul: The Sermon on the Mount as the Background to Philippians (30 min)
Tom McGlothlin, Duke University
Patristic Rhetorical Analyses of Romans 3:1-8/9 (30 min)
David Briones, Durham University
Does Obligation Corrupt the ‘Purity’ of the Gift?: Comparing Seneca’s De Beneficiis with Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (30 min)
Romans through History and Cultures
11/20/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Theme: Reconciliation and Peace in Romans
Kathy Ehrensperger, University of Wales, Lampeter (Trinity St.David), Presiding
Jason A. Whitlark, Baylor University
Peace with God and the Pax Deorum: Hearing Romans 5:1 in Rome (25 min)
Matthew W. Bates, University of Notre Dame
The Proto-Creed in Rom 1:3-4—A tool of reconciliation?: Evaluating the Proposal of Robert Jewett (25 min)
Ralph J. Korner, McMaster University
Making Room for Sacred Space in Jewish – Christian Reconciliation (25 min)
Soham Al-Suadi, University of Basel
Placing Christian Origins into the Ordinary – The Hellenistic Meal and the „Birth of Christianity“ (25 min)
Edward Pillar, University of Wale, Lampeter (Trinity St David)
“The Reconciliation of the World”: Exploring how Paul’s Expansive Vision for Israel and the Gentiles Counters and Subverts Pretensions of the Empire (25 min)
Second Corinthians: Pauline Theology in the Making
11/20/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Theme: 2 Corinthians in general
Edith M. Humphrey, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Presiding
B. J. Oropeza, Azusa Pacific University
Saved by Benefaction, Judged by Works? The Paradox of Rejecting Grace in 2 Corinthians (20 min)
Ryan S. Schellenberg, University of St. Michael’s College
Beyond Rhetoric: Self-Praise in Plutarch, Paul, and Red Jacket (20 min)
Hermut Loehr, University of Munster
Stone Tablets. Torah Traditions in 2Cor 3 (20 min)
James Buchanan Wallace, Christian Brothers University
Paul’s Catalogues of Suffering in 2 Corinthians as Ascetic Performances (20 min)
Christopher R. Bruno, Wheaton College
Carrying in the Body the Death of Jesus: The Passion Narratives as Paul’s Model for his Apostolic Self-Understanding in 2 Corinthians (20 min)
Second Corinthians: Pauline Theology in the Making
11/20/2010
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Theme: 2 Corinthians 4
Thomas Schmeller, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Presiding
Dustin W. Ellington, World Mission, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Revisiting Paul’s “We” in 2 Corinthians 4: A Shared Vocation through Participation in Christ (20 min)
Robin Griffith-Jones, King’s College London / Temple Church
‘We’, ‘You’, ‘All’: Respecting Paul’s Distinctions in 2 Corinthians 1-5 (20 min)
Timothy Luckritz Marquis, Moravian Theological Seminary
Apostolic Travels as ‘Carrying around the Death of Jesus’ in 2 Corinthians 4:10 (20 min)
Ma. Marilou S. Ibita, Catholic University of Leuven-Belgium
Episteusa dio elalesa (2 Cor 4:13): Paul and the Psalmist (20 min)
Edith Humphrey, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Respondent (10 min)
Paul and Scripture
11/21/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Theme: The Place of Scripture in Paul’s Theology
G. K. Beale, Westminster Theological Seminary, Presiding
Matthew Bates, University of Notre Dame
How Do We Judge What Role Scripture Played in Paul’s Theology? (10 min)
Linda Belleville, Bethel College
Scripture and Other Voices in Paul’s Theology (10 min)
Roy E. Ciampa, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Approaching Paul’s Use of Scripture in Light of Translation Studies (10 min)
Papers will be summarized, not read. Papers will be available for download in early November on the seminar’s Web page at http://paulandscripture.blogspot.com.
Pauline Epistles
11/21/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Theme: Paul and Cosmology
Emma Wasserman, Rutgers University, Presiding
Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Copenhagen University
Which Cosmology? And How Important? (30 min)
Stanley Stowers, Brown University
Theorizing Paul’s Cosmology (30 min)
Edward Adams, King’s College - London
“Things that are” and “things that are not:” Cosmological Rhetoric in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (30 min)
Pauline Soteriology
11/21/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Theme: The “Cosmos” in Paul’s Soteriology
Susan Eastman, Duke University, Presiding
Martin de Boer, Vrije Universiteit-Amsterdam
The Cross and The Cosmos in Galatians (40 min)
Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary
Neither Height nor Depth: Discerning the Cosmology of Romans (40 min)
Edward Adams, King’s College - London, Respondent (20 min)
Cross, Resurrection, and Diversity in Earliest Christianity
11/21/2010
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Theme: Jesus’ Resurrection in the Pauline Evidence
Papers will be available by November 1 at http://austingrad.edu/sbl.html
Elaine Pagels, Princeton University, Presiding
Todd Still, Baylor University
“Since We Believe that Jesus Died and Rose Again”: The Death and Resurrection of Jesus in 1 Thessalonians (25 min)
E. Johnson, Columbia Theological Seminary, Respondent (15 min)
James Ware, University of Evansville
Paul’s Gospel of the Empty Tomb: The Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 (25 min)
Dale Martin, Yale University, Respondent (15 min)
Pauline Soteriology
11/21/2010
4:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Theme: The Social Embodiment of Pauline Theology
Douglas Campbell, Duke University, Presiding
Jim Harrison, Wesley Institute
Augustan Rome and the Body of Christ: A Comparison of the Social Vision of the Res Gestae and Paul’s Letter to the Romans (35 min)
David Horrell, University of Exeter
Embodied Theology: Soma as Soteriological and Social Category in Paul (35 min)
Larry Welborn, Fordham University
The Kairos, The Awakening: Pauline Soteriology in Nero’s Rome (35 min)
New Unit Planning Session: Paul and Judaism
11/22/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Theme: What Does it Mean to Approach Paul as Practicing First-Century Judaism?
Kathy Ehrensperger, University of Wales Lampeter, Presiding
Magnus Zetterholm, Lund University
Paul as a First-Century Jew: The State of the Question (20 min)
Anders Runesson, McMaster University
Paul and Jewish-Christianity: Terminological and Conceptual Issues (20 min)
Pamela Eisenbaum, Iliff School of Theology
Paul and Christianity: Was Paul a Christian? (20 min)
Mark D. Nanos, Rockhurst University
Locating Paul on a Map of First Century Judaism (20 min)
Paula Fredriksen, Boston University
A Way Forward for Research and Discussion of “Paul and Judaism” (20 min)
Pauline Epistles
11/22/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
David Horrell, University of Exeter, Presiding
Bradley R. Trick, Duke University
The Singular Abrahamic Seed and the Law’s Supplementing of the Promise in Gal 3:15-20 (30 min)
K.B. Neutel, University of Groningen
Were You a Slave When You Were Called?: Questioning Paul’s Social Conservatism (30 min)
John Goodrich, Moody Bible Institute
Compelled to Preach: Retaining Paul’s Apostolic Right in 1 Corinthians 9.17 (30 min)
Kevin Scull, University of California-Los Angeles
Paul’s Use of Self-Presentation as a Defense of His Oratorical Abilities in 1 Corinthians 1:10-4:21 (30 min)
John Paul Dickson, Macquarie University
Did Paul expect his converts to further the gospel? (30 min)
Disputed Paulines
11/22/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Theme: Colossians and Ephesians
Daniel Darko, University of Scranton, Presiding
Matthew E. Gordley, Regent University
Reading the Household Code of Colossians in its Contexts: A Critique and Proposal (30 min)
Ben C. Blackwell, Durham University
Deification and Colossians 2.10 (30 min)
April Favara, Iliff School of Theology/University of Denver
The Stoic Ethic of Perfect Manhood in Ephesians 4:13 (30 min)
Aaron Sherwood, Durham University
A Discourse Analysis of Ephesians 3:1–13 (30 min)
Additional meetings this year include the big N.T. Wright lecture:
Institute for Biblical Research
11/19/2010
6:45 PM to 10:00 PM
Theme: Annual Lecture and Reception
Annual Lecture: N. T. Wright
N. T. Wright, University of St. Andrews
The Kingdom and the Cross (45 min)
Michael Bird, Crossway College, Respondent (20 min)
N. T. Wright, Church of England, Respondent (5 min)
Also:
Society of Christian Ethics
11/22/2010
9:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Theme: What Biblical Scholars Wish Christian Ethicists Would Start/Stop Doing with Scripture
Scholarship exploring the context, meaning, and reception of Scripture makes a foundational contribution to Christian ethics, but in this session, Scripture scholars have been invited to advise ethicists not just about how to read texts but about how to do ethics. Terence Fretheim and Stephen Fowl will offer their manifestos, to which Stanley Hauerwas will respond. Their ensuing dialogue will invite additional contributions from those attending.
Michael Cartwright, University of Indianapolis, Presiding (5 min)
Terence Fretheim, Luther Seminary, Panelist (30 min)
Stephen Fowl, Loyola College in Maryland, Panelist (30 min)
Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University, Panelist (30 min)
More to come!
