Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!*

* Void in Canada and elsewhere as prohibited by law. The above saying is not intended as a form of coercion to happiness or to the celebration of a holiday from which one wishes to abstain. If you found this post offensive, please accept the author's sincere apologies, and please be informed of his request that in the future you refrain from reading any posts on this blog the title of which begin with "Happy" or "Merry."

SBL (Secret Bibliobloggers' League): A Top Secret Debriefing on the 2009 Annual Meeting in New Orleans

I am now ready to file my TOP SECRET report on my undercover operation as part of the Secret Bibliobloggers' League, the shadow organization that has infiltrated and taken control of that other organization which also has the abbreviation SBL.

I met my contacts in Atlanta. One of them I had never met face to face, and the other had not previously revealed himself to be part of the League. But they slipped the code-word ("chiasmus") into their conversation so that I could identify them. They turned out to be Mark Goodacre (whom I hadn't met in person before) and Stephen Carlson (whom I had previously met). Mark is well known in the League as the author of Q, while Stephen is the author of a work known as the Secret Gospel of Mark. Each hides his true identity by publicly arguing against the existence of Q and that someone else wrote the Secret Gospel of Mark, respectively. I gave them my own code word, and we began to chat.

Once we reached New Orleans, we began our work of infiltrating various sessions. My own paper was in a meeting of the "Intertextuality in the New Testament" consultation. The final session of that consultation on Tuesday was really fantastic, with lots of interesting connections related to monotheism and Christology in Philippians. Although I was not present at his paper, I learned from sources that James Crossley continued his work as double agent, publicly condemning "conservative" biblioblogs while secretly arguing that Mark's Gospel be dated in the 40s, an extraordinarily conservative position. The session I was most sorry to miss featured two papers on the Mandaeans. But everyone missed things that interested them. This evil plot to torture scholars by holding equally-fascinating sessions simultaneously is one reason why our own plot to infiltrate must succeed!

There were also wonderful dinners, including the annual reunion of Jimmy Dunn and his students at The Melting Pot (where, under the pretense of needing to use the restroom, I slipped out under the table and sent a communique to the League). The food was delicious. I also went to Cafe Giovanni twice, once for the bibliobloggers' dinner and then again for a dinner for people interested in the new monotheism program unit. The former was a delightful opportunity to catch up with people as well as put faces to names (of blogs, as well as of people); the latter was a great opportunity to discover just how much interest there is in the topic of monotheism. In addition, Nathan MacDonald's Goettingen initiative on Early Jewish Monotheisms was launched with a reception, nearby the Sheffield reception, allowing one to make an appearance at both. Egged on by a Genesis fan, and by no means due to the consumption of beverages at the two receptions, I played the piano briefly, but there weren't enough bibliobloggers around for us to sing our song to Jim West. Although those who didn't make the bibliobloggers' dinner were missed, the truth is that there were so many of us (take heed!) that I didn't get to talk to everyone.

Two other food-related items deserve a mention, particularly for those who are still graduate students at league institutions and thus carrying out their mischief on a limited budget. Directly out of the side entrance of the Marriott is a small restaurant called Daisy Duke, which had a $3.99 breakfast special which was far more filling than the danish I could get for a penny more inside the hotel. And the muffaletta (purchased at Central Grocery, the place where this local speciality was first invented) was well worth the walk a number of blocks down Decatur street.

My failure to make contact with Jim Linville is a testimony to his excellence as an agent of the League. He was undercover, and having trimmed his beard and removed the horns from his Viking hat, I found him impossible to identify, so perfectly did he blend into the sea of scholars. I did meet John Loftus, however, who needs to work on his disguise, his black cowboy hat feeding into two many classic stereotypes. That said, it was delightful to meet him in person. Michael Holcomb, also a master of disguise (as anyone will know who has compared the impression of his dimensions given on his biblioblog with the experience of meeting him in person), I am beginning to suspect may be a double agent working against the League, since he has developed an app that seems able to track us. I won't try to mention all the many people whom I met for the first time, or with whom I had interacted electronically but had the opportunity to meet in person (although presumably those who fall into the category of "godfathers of biblioblogging and their henchmen" - including Jim Davila, Jim West, and Chris Tilling - must be singled out for mention). That's in addition to the chance to meet with old friends (sorry, that should - at least in most cases - be people I have been friends with for a long time) and get to know better various people whom I had previously met. But there are many people I would have liked to have met or seen but didn't, and wish us all better luck next year. Oh, also apparently there was some twittering.

I purchased a number of League-related books and manuals for dastardly operations:



Finally, I think I forgot to mention this, but if you've been reading and you are not a league insider, our agents will have to track you down and wipe your memory. They act fast, and so I'll bet you've begun to forget the contents of the post already...

Completed Review of John Walton, The Lost World Of Genesis One

I've been blogging through the chapters of John Walton's book The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate for several months, and now that I've finished, here are links to all the posts in the series:

Introduction/Proposition One
Proposition Two
Proposition Three
Proposition Four
Proposition Five
Proposition Six
Proposition Seven
Proposition Eight
Proposition Nine
Proposition Ten
Proposition Eleven
Proposition Twelve
Proposition Thirteen
Proposition Fourteen
Proposition Fifteen
Proposition Sixteen
Proposition Seventeen
Proposition Eighteen
Conclusion

Early Christian Monotheism with James McGrath: Homebrewed Christianity 68

Over at Homebrewed Christianity they've posted an interview I did about my book The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context. Click through and listen to the podcast (my part is about a minute and a half into the show):

Early Christian Monotheism with James McGrath: Homebrewed Christianity 68

In other news, I'm back from the Society of Biblical Literature conference in New Orleans. Having failed to blog about it while away (it was incredibly busy in a wonderful if tiring sort of way), I'll do some sort of recap soon. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends, and put faces to blogs and names that were already familiar but to finally meet them in person.

Review of The Lost World Of Genesis One: Conclusion

John H. Walton's The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate provides a very helpful overview of issues related to the study of the creation account in Genesis 1, its historical and cultural background, and its relationship (or lack thereof) to the theory of evolution and modern science education. Walton's non-committal stance on evolution is probably a good thing considering his audience. While he emphasizes that he is not "promoting evolution" (p.165), he also emphasizes that "Biological evolution is not the enemy of the Bible and theology; it is superfluous to the Bible and theology. The same could be said for the big bang and the fossil record" (p.166). Walton's final summary and conclusion ends by emphasizing the importance of being open to revise our views and interpretations of Scripture.

I was left, however, with a question after reading his final sentence. While his book has adequately made the case that scientific discoveries may lead us to rethink our views, he gives the impression that we can be sure it will never "cause us to question the intrinsic authority or nature of Scripture" (p.168). But perhaps, given his aims, his wording puts it best after all: it "need never" do so - although the possibility that it may in some of our cases lead us to do so cannot be entirely excluded.

The book concludes with an FAQ, in which, among other things, Walton emphasizes that he is persuaded that his understanding of Genesis 1 in terms of cosmic temple inauguration is a "literal" understanding of the text. He also answers those who are puzzled that the meaning of God's word would be so hard to grasp, writing that "God is not superficial, and we should expect that knowledge of him and his Word would be mined rather than simply absorbed" (p.172).

On the whole this is an excellent book, which contributes to our understanding of Genesis in a historical contextual manner, as well as to making voices heard within Evangelicalism that are not setting themselves in opposition to mainstream science. For having tackled difficult subjects in a manner that is serious and thoughtful while at the same time readable and accessible, Walton's contribution is to be greatly appreciated.

Mandaeans in the News

Jim Davila shared recent news about Mandaean refugees:

http://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2009_11_15_archive.html#3691037173885699200

Review of The Lost World Of Genesis One, Part Eighteen

Proposition eighteen of John Walton's The Lost World of Genesis One takes the stance that science education should be neutral when it comes to questions of purpose. A science course should by its very definition "discuss material origins from the perspective of a material ontology" and thus "there is no point at which the Genesis account becomes relevant, because Genesis does not concern material origins and does not have a material ontology" (p.152). What he does consider incompatible and in conflict are "biblical theology" and "metaphysical naturalism" to the extent that the latter is "committed to refusing any consideration of purpose (dysteleological)" (p.153).

Walton opposes the teaching of intelligent design in science classes not on a priori grounds, but because by its own admission it does not have an alternative theory of material origins to offer (pp.157-158). However, if one were to allow metaphysical naturalism to be taught in science classrooms, then that too would represent an inappropriate incursion of philosophy and matters of teleology into the science class (pp.159-160). Science ought to be allowed to pursue its aims using its own methods, without interference from those with particular religious or philosophical views who might seek to use or abuse science to justify and promote them.

This is the last of the "propositions" in the book. What follows are a summary and conclusion plus an FAQ. As this is in essence the "final chapter," Walton appropriately reiterates one of his most important points: "For those concerned about the Bible and the integrity of their theology, the descriptive mechanisms that compose the evolutionary model need not be any more problematic for theology than the descriptive disciplines of meteorology or embryology. These descriptive mechanisms can operate within either a teleological or dysteleological system. If all parties were willing to agree to similar teleological neutrality in the classrooms dedicated to instruction in empirical science, the present conflict could move easily toward resolution" (p.158).

Will There Be Tweckling At SBL?

I know that plans are afoot to tweet SBL. But will it degenerate into tweckling? This recent article in the Chronicle may serve as a cautionary note...

Review of The Lost World Of Genesis One, Part Seventeen

Proposition seventeen in John Walton's book The Lost World of Genesis One emphasizes that the theology of creation that one can elaborate on the basis of his understanding of Genesis 1 is stronger rather than weaker. In support of his point, Walton appeals to an Orson Scott Card novel, Prentice Alvin, which features a dialogue about the nature of reality and the fact that most "things" are mostly empty space. The point is that most things are mostly nothing as far as matter is concerned, and so what gives them their distinctive attributes is the arrangement of the atoms, molecules, and so on of which they consist.

Walton writes, "The Bible considers it much more important to say that God has made everything work rather than being content to say that God made the physical stuff. The purpose, the teleology (which is the most important part), is located and observed in the functional, not the material" (p.144).

Walton also emphasizes the important status this theological viewpoint gives to humans. "He has tailored the world to our needs, not to his (for he has no needs)" (p.149). I suspect it might not be inaccurate to summarize Walton's point in the following way: From the standpoint of material, human beings are a tiny, almost unnoticeable speck in the universe; but if we ask about the purpose of creation, then humans and their relationship to God can and should be thought of as central. And so that's just one more reason why a theology of creation ought to focus more on questions of purpose rather than mere material origins.

In related news, I'm happy to say that John Walton will be speaking at Butler in the Spring!

Freethinkers Are Finally Being Organized

(HT Karyn Traphagen)

There's also a provocative video aimed at young-earth creationists and their ilk (with entertaining images accompanying its challenge):

(HT AIGBusted).

Palin 2012 Jokes

Having posted on Sarah Palin's views on evolution (the plural "views" seems particularly appropriate), I realized that, if she does run for president in 2012, Saturday Night Live will be able to reuse some material from its 2004 presidential bash with only minor changes.

Palin: "I have not flip-flopped. I have consistently upheld evolution to pro-evolution audiences, and I have consistently rejected evolution when addressing anti-evolution audiences. That is not flip-flopping, it's pandering, and the American people deserve a president who knows the difference."

I'm also still waiting for someone to make a cartoon with two Mayans creating the Mayan calendar, with the caption indicating that one of them said "So, if we end the calendar in 2012, you really think that will prevent a Palin presidency?"

SBL Candle In The Wind Sing-Along

Scott's suggestion (in the comment section on an earlier post) that we have a "Candle In The Wind" sing-along at SBL got me thinking. Will there be a piano at the bibliobloggers' dinner? I'll gladly provide accompaniment, but we're going to have to move fast if we want to revise the lyrics so that they're appropriate.

Obviously the first line has to be "Goodbye Jimmy West." And the chorus could be:

Seems to me you lived your life
Like a friggin' Zwinglian
Never knowing who to cling to -
They're depraved in sin.
I would've liked to know you
but I was just a kid
Your blog posts ran out long before
the bibliobloggers' din(ner).

Anyone able to come up with the verses in time to sing them at dinner?

On a more serious note, Jim was kind enough to provide a floor plan of the New Orleans Sheraton:

sheratonfloorplan

All the more reason to sing to him in New Orleans!