Thursday, June 5, 2008

CSBS 2008 Review - Part 4

A week ago today, we set out for White Rock, BC, where we met up with my in-laws who were there to take my wife and daughter down to Portland, while I went on to the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies annual meeting in Vancouver. The drive through the Rockies was scenic:
It was also long: With appropriate stops along the way, it took us about 12 hours to get from Caronport to Golden the first day, and another 8 from Golden to White Rock the next.

The conference was good and long too. My Josephus paper finally came together, and was well-received by the dozen or so people who made it out to the session first thing on Tuesday morning. I expect to have more to say about the conference itself in due course (stay tuned for parts 1-3). In the meantime check out the free public lectures I listened to on the drive from Vancouver to Portland on Wednesday:
  • The first is a stimulating big-picture overview of the book of Acts given by N.T. Wright in the fall of 2007 at Asbury Theological Seminary. Click here for the mp3. As one expects from Wright, the talk is engaging and accessible, with a rich combination of really interesting and really helpful suggestions. I may give it another listen when I move into more active preparation for the Acts class I am scheduled to teach in the winter semester next year.
  • The second and third are Dale Allison's 2008 Kenneth W. Clark lectures at Duke Divinity School on the "The Historical Jesus and the Theological Jesus." Dale Allison is one of my favourite NT scholars--not least for his bracing intellectual honesty. Lots to think about. Click here for a link to the lectures on itunes.

No comments: