‘To be sure, our doctrine of Scripture must be shaped by deductive considerations arising from the theological claims of the biblical text (e.g., Jesus’ statement that “Scripture cannot be broken” in John 10:35), but we must also inductively account for the phenomena of Scripture. Deductively, we know that Scripture does not teach error; inductively, we learn the form that that inerrancy takes.’
– Bill Evans, Erskine College
I arrived in Atlanta Monday night, just in time for the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society. Thanks to my LCC colleagues, Tom and Joy Boone, my friend Ben and I have free lodging and use of a vehicle.
On Tuesday afternoon, I presented my paper, “According to Which ‘Law of Moses’? Cult Centralization in Samuel and Chronicles.” It was rather a short paper for ETS, so there was plenty of time for discussion. I was somewhat apprehensive going into the presentation, unsure of how some of my presuppositions about authorship would play at ETS. But the paper was received graciously, even by a few who I could tell disagree with me. I was particularly pleased to receive positive feedback from one very well-known scholar in Old Testament, who asked for a copy of the paper. (A note to well-known scholars: One of the nicest things you can do for a grad student or a young PhD is to ask for a copy of his/her paper, even if you’re not sure you’ll read it again. You’ll just make that presenters week–maybe month.)
My second paper was given in the first slot on Wednesday morning: “‘Final Authoritative Edition’ versus ‘Original Autographs’: Do Protestants Defend the Masoretic Text with ‘Catholic’ Arguments?” Again, I wasn’t sure how this one would play at ETS. But folks seemed to be really tracking with the argument. I presented a problem for which I didn’t really have a solution, so I was pleased that others suggested some ways forward for either me or someone else to work on. I guess that’s what conferences are for.
I told some friends last night that every time I attend ETS meetings I end up repenting afterward for (arrogantly) pigeonholing the Society and its members in my mind. It’s not easy identifying as an evangelical, let alone an inerrantist, in the wider world of biblical scholarship. I have at times been tempted to leave my ETS membership off of my CV. But ETS is a diverse place with many different views and approaches within a broadly conservative framework. There are niches that are fundamentalist, but there are also research groups and individuals who are doing very creative work that tries to take seriously the best of critical scholarship while also remaining true to the faith once-delivered to the saints. At the end of the day, this is my tribe, and I need to extend to them the grace that they have always extended to me as family.
There’s one more day of ETS, and then IBR tomorrow and SBL Saturday through Monday. Right now, I should be grading my Eastern students’ papers…
My blog posts have been rare over the last couple of months. While no one out there on the web is holding his/her breath waiting for pearls of wisdom from my lips/keyboard, I do aspire to write more frequently in the months to come. If nothing else, writing helps me process things–no offense to any of my faithful readers (luv ya, Mom!).
This semester, I have been teaching a course at Eastern University, “Nature and Meaning of the Old Testament.” I have learned a great deal–not new content from my class preparation, but about teaching. I’m trying to develop thicker skin when it comes to dealing with students, while retaining softness and compassion for them as people. I wish that I could treat each of them as individuals when I’m grading just as I do when I’m speaking with them one-on-one. That is the most difficult part for me: handing out a good grade to a smart student whose work is good but clearly didn’t try hard, while at the same time handing out a par or sub-par grade for a struggling student who is truly learning but did his best. Grrr.
The most time-consuming aspect of teaching at Eastern has been the commute: with the traffic, I drive 90 minutes to St. Davids twice a week, and then backtrack 45 minutes to ICON for a half-day. As much as I have enjoyed teaching, I may not have agreed to do it if I had known that five hours of driving time would be added onto three hours of class time each week (to say nothing of prep and grading).
Between teaching, parenting, husbanding and son-in-law-ing, I have also been able to carve out a little time for writing. Next week I will be traveling to Atlanta for the annual meetings of ETS, IBR and SBL. I will be giving two papers at ETS: one on DtrH and Chronicles that I finished back in the spring, and one on the implications of the LXX for a Protestant understanding of canon and biblical authority. The LXX paper has really been a stretch for me to familiarize myself with a new literature, but I’ve learned a ton. The DtrH/Chr paper was more fun and may turn out to be a springboard into a several-year-long research agenda.
In June, I was offered a contract to publish my dissertation with T&T Clark, and I agreed to deliver the manuscript by January 1. The revisions have been coming along slowly. Before doing all the technical stuff–footnotes, formatting, etc., which I actually enjoy–I am working on paring down the text to make it more concise and less dissertationy. I had set out to integrate into the footnotes every relevant publication that I could find on the Tribe of Benjamin, but I quickly realized that there are too many, so I’m adding primarily anything that’s been published since I finished the research two years ago. There’s a lot written on Saul and a growing literature on Benjamin, which is encouraging–it means that there will be a market for my book (est. October 2016)!
I also received word just this week that my paper, “‘Special Forces’: A Stereotype of Benjaminite Soldiers in the Deuteronomistic History and Chronicles,” will be published in SJOT in the first issue of 2016. This is very welcome news, especially the assessment that only minimal revisions are necessary. If the terms of publication allow me to do so, I will post the article here or on academia.edu once it’s published.
These little victories are God’s way of affirming my calling and reassuring me that he will use me in these ways someday. He’s not obligated to provide these assurances–I should still obey him, anyway–but they are most welcome.
Last week I received a couple of fliers in the mail on the same day. As I was sorting through the mail for the recycling (credit card offers, charity solicitations, political ads, etc.), I noticed that these two looked quite similar.
Happy, Diverse Church Family in a Sunny Neighborhood
At first glance, I thought, “Why would a church send two ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ fliers to the same address, one for the wife and one for the husband?” But upon further review, I saw that both were addressed to me.
Then I looked closer, and saw that the fliers were actually for two different churches in the area. Both had apparently used the same mailer service and the same template.
A free book, or a free coffee mug? A Charybdian dilemma if there ever were one!
You would think that this website (which shall remain hyperlink-less–you can see the name on the scan by the map) would have some automatic notification when a church orders this service: “Warning: Another church in your area has recently used the same template with the same ethnically diverse group of happy people.”
A couple of months ago, I wrote about our decision not to return to LCC International University this January, in order to continue assisting Corrie’s parents here in Pennsylvania. This semester, I have been working part-time as a contractor at ICON Clinical Research (my old job in the pharmaceutical industry) and teaching one course at Eastern University. I am pleased to be able to let you know about another opportunity to be involved with LCC’s mission, and to ask for your prayers and support.
LCC is planning to hire a full-time faculty member in Old Testament to be my replacement for Fall 2016. However, they need to offer an OT course this Spring semester. They have asked me to teach this course, Hebrew Wisdom and Poetry, online. This is a great way for us to stay involved in the important mission of LCC, and it fills a real need for the students who need to stay on track with their programs.
LCC’s funding model requires us to raise most of the funds I would receive as compensation for teaching. Because teaching the course requires foregoing income here, LCC is encouraging us to raise up to $3000 as one-time salary (which is pretty standard adjunct pay for a 3-credit course in North America). I will continue to work part-time at ICON and do projects for Corrie’s parents, so this will be a small supplement to that income.
If you would like to support this continuation of our ministry at LCC financially, you may contribute at www.lcc.lt/giving-north-america, or by sending a check to:
LCC International Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 4851
San Dimas, California 91773
Be sure to indicate “Faculty Support – Giffone” in the memo of the check or the comments section of the online form.
We appreciate those of you who are praying for our family through this time of transition, tumult, and difficulty. God continues to be faithful.
My review of Charlie Trimm, “YHWH Fights for Them!”: The Divine Warrior in the Exodus Narrative, has been recently published in the Review of Biblical Literature.
(Disclosure statement: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher through RBL, but was not otherwise compensated for this review.)
More Titillated Than Thou – The Baffler – An excellent takedown of so-called “bonnet-rippers”–Amish romance novels popular among evangelical women. What does our fascination with this genre say about our values and sub-culture?
New Parents: Your Sex Lives Are Going to Change | Her.meneutics | Christianitytoday.com – How healthier expectations for marriage might keep us away from Ashley Madison.
The Death of the Parish | David T. Koyzis | First Things – What has “consumer choice” in the market for churchgoers done for our religious lives and our churches?
5 Trends Christians Millennials MUST STOP Doing | John Wesley Reid.
Editorial: Liberty U. gives other universities a lesson in tolerance – Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The U.S. Can Handle Much More Than 10,000 Syrian Refugees | TIME.
I have one of the best jobs in academia. Here’s why I’m walking away. – Vox
This link deserves its own post. The latest in a growing “quit lit” genre, Bateman identifies the primary solution to the ailments of North American academe:
When I started out, I believed that government regulation could solve every problem with relatively simple intervention. But after four years of wading though this morass, I’m convinced these solutions should be reevaluated constantly. If they’re not achieving their objectives, or if they’re producing too much waste in the process, they ought to be scrapped. We can start with federal funding for higher education.
“Why not an even 40 percent?”
The quickest and most painful solution to the crisis would involve greatly reducing the amount of money that students can borrow to attend college. Such reductions could be phased in over a span of years to alleviate their harshness, but the goal would remain the same: to force underperforming private and public universities out of business. For-profit universities — notorious for their lack of anything resembling good academic intention — should be barred altogether from accessing these programs; let them charge only what consumers in a genuinely free market can afford to pay for their questionable services.
Without the carrot of easy access to student loans, enrollments would shrink. Universities would be forced to compete on a cost-per-student basis, and those students still paying to attend college would likely focus their studies on subjects with an immediate return on investment. Lower tuition costs, perhaps dramatically lower at some institutions, would still enable impoverished students eligible for Pell Grant assistance to attend college. Vocational education programs, which would likely expand in the wake of such a massive adjustment, would offer inexpensive skills training for others. The liberal arts wouldn’t necessarily die out — they’d remain on the Ivy League prix-fixe menu, to be sure, and curious minds of all sorts would continue to seek them out — but they’d no longer serve as a final destination for unenthusiastic credential seekers.
I’ve written on this subject here.
Today is the twenty-first anniversary of my baptism. I was baptized on September 9, 1994, at Light of Israel Congregation in Yonkers, NY.
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4)
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’m come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
think hard, think well 