Sean the Baptist

Colossians Remixed: Keesmaat and Walsh in Manchester

News of an interesting event planned for next month here in Manchester:

Colossians Remixed: Faithful Living in the Shadow of Empire - with Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat

Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat, authors of Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire present a day's teaching. If you haven't read the book or think that a bible commentary sounds a bit dull think again. It is one of the best books those of us involved in blah... have read for some time. Brian and Sylvia are based in Canada so this is a rare chance to hear and meet them.

The Manchester date is June 5th and you can book here:  http://colossiansmanchester.eventbrite.com/

Sylvia was finishing her DPhil with Tom Wright when I arrived in Oxford, and is a good scholar.  I have read the commentary referred to and it is certainly an innovative and creative book, although the anti-imperial reading is so dominant that other aspects of Colossians are neglected (this is not a criticism, but an observation).  I also seem to remember that using disposable nappies was understood to be a clear sign of conformity to imperial principalities and powers - oh well!

SBL: The Bad and the Good News

The bad news is that my paper proposal wasn't accepted.  The good news is that I have the funding to go to Boston anyway.  So, here's to a stress free SBL.

News from Luther King House

This is a bit of free publicity for Luther King House: a summary of various things taking place here over the next few months.

First Tuesday 4 March
The Whitley Lecture - Rev Dr Craig Gardiner speaking on,
“How shall we sing the Lord's Song?  Worship in and out of Church.”
All are welcome to attend.  Gather at 7.00 for a 7.30 start. Admission free.
Further details at www.lutherkinghouse.org.uk

2008 Open Day Saturday 19th April.
All are welcome at our academic open day this year is held Saturday 19th April from 2.00 p.m. until 4.00 p.m.  All are welcome to come and find out more about our courses.

Pastoral Care Summer School
The Luther King House Summer School from  30th June to 4th July 2008 provides an opportunity to work with Revd Dr Jan Berry and other participants on the theme of  Pastoral Liturgy.

This course looks at the way in which our liturgy can respond to human story in a way that is pastorally sensitive, and set it in the framework of faith and liturgy. It will draw on participants’ own experience in creating liturgy, and encourage discussion of case studies and scenarios from their pastoral practice.

Fee levels have been deliberately tied at a price to make this course as accessible to as many people as possible. 
Residential                    £275       
Non-Residential           £180      (includes lunch)

Degree programmes at Luther King House
We offer a full range of degree programmes from a part time Foundation Degree in Mission and Ministry or Community Work right through to work at PhD level.   Our web pages have been recently updated with more information and the 2008 price schedule.  Courses are open to people simply wanting to study in a supportive Christian environment as well as to those, sponsored by their denominations, who are undertaking training for ordained ministry.

Late Booking Deals
Late Booking Deals available on Weekend Retreats during May 2008 please enquire on 0161 249 2539 or email booking@lkh.co.uk  for further details.

Conference on the Bible and Justice

News just in about this interesting looking conference being held next year in Sheffield.  Speakers and theme look really interesting, and part of me wonders whether or not to submit a paper, but it would mean taking on another new commitment with several still unifinished and a book to write during my sabbatical. Anyway, Sheffield isn't too far away, so I may try and attend.

The 2008 Conference on the Bible and Justice

29 May - 1 June, 2008

The 2008 Conference on Bible and Justice will bring together scholars from around the world to explore how the ancient texts of the Bible can play an active role in addressing twenty-first century social concerns. The purpose of the conference is to foster discussion about the relevance of the Bible to modern social issues, and promote bridges between the academic field of biblical studies and the various endeavours for a just world.

The Conference Will Focus On Three Main Areas:

• Human Rights
• Economic Justice
• Environmental Justice

Our Keynote Speakers Are:

• Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University
• Timothy Gorringe, University of Exeter
• John Rogerson, University of Sheffield (Emeritus)

A variety of other speakers, including James Crossley, Philip Davies, David Horrell, Louise Lawrence, Mary Mills, Hugh Pyper, Christopher Rowland, Gerald West, and Keith Whitelam, will address how the Bible is able to relate to a wide variety of social issues.

                

Conference Week

Well, the new academic year has started with the usual intense feeling of 'too much to do before the students arrive'.  We have had a College staff meeting Sunday-afternoon - Monday; an examination board and ecumenical staff meeting today; but from here on the week opens out into a brief spell of conference season.

So I am back in Oxford tomorrow for the Joint Baptist College Staff Conference (we have yet to agree the correct title and thus acronym for this annual meeting).  We will be discussing issues relating to a possible Code of Ethics for ministers.

And then off to Exeter for the British NT Conference, for 3 great days of meeting friends, book buying (there are two ways in life, the way of blessing that includes an annual book allowance that kicks in on September 1st, just in time for BNTC...and the other way) and, hopefully, hearing some great papers.  Keynote speakers this year include Morna Hooker on Paul as Pastor, Larry Hurtado on NT Manuscripts as Artefacts (I note that he has spelt the word correctly on this occasion) and John Riches on Reception History (otherwise know as wirkungsgeschichte Jim) as Literary History.

In the midst of all that though, I have to summarize and enter into conversation with other members of the Paul seminar my paper on Paul's rhetorical construction of Judaism (see previous post for details).  I am in the same session as Francis Watson, who will be talking about his revised Paul, Judaism and the Gentiles.  The other sessions explore Paul in relation to environmental issues, and contemporary philosophy.  Details here.

Nervous?  Just ever so slightly!  Therefore there may be no blogging until after Friday morning, but I will try and post later that day with my initial impressions.

Oh, and the picture?  I came across it a while back and although it relates to PhD vivas, I think a lot of it is relevant to giving papers at conferences - what not to do.

July 2008 in Prague

I am in the initial phase of thinking through my sabbatical plans for next year.  There is much writing to be done (of which more in due course), and I have sadly had to turn down the chance to be with friends at Whitley College in Melbourne.  However, there are a number of interesting things happening in Prague in the latter half of that month.  The Baptist Historical Society is apparently holding a Centenary Conference to begin with (no details as yet).  Then the  Baptist World Alliance rolls into town for its annual Gathering, with the relevant Study Commissions (I last went to the BWA meetings in 2002 in Seville).  This will be followed by a meeting of CEBTS (Consortium of European Baptist Theological Seminaries) and BICTE (Baptist International Conference for Theological Educators).  The latter conference may well be around the whole issue of Baptist origins: 2009 will see the 400th year anniversary of the founding of the Smyth-Helwys congregation in Amsterdam, the first English Baptist congregation albeit on foreign soil.  Concurrently with this world Baptist jamboree, there is an International Bonhoeffer conference, also in Prague, and being sponsored by (among others) The International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague.  The Bonhoeffer conference is entitled "Dietrich  Bonhoeffer's Theology for Today's World: A Way Between Fundamentalism and Secularism?".  Details can be found here.  When marking is finished I will try and put together a proposal for this conference on Bonhoeffer's use of the Bible.

So, sounds like a good few days in a great city.  Hopefully I might get to meet one or two international readers of this blog there.

Off to Scotland

Next week I am making the long trip north, with my colleagues here at Northern Baptist College, for our annual staff retreat.  We will be staying at Gartmore House near Loch Lomond, and travelling down to Paisley to meet up with friends and colleagues from the Scottish Baptist College.  I am not sure what they have in store for us, but I am confident we are in for a good time together.

One of these Scottish friends, Jim Gordon, has a lovely post today on the subject of 'every believer is a theologian'.  I wonder if we will be spending our time together reading Tom Torrance on the trinity as we walk the streets of Glasgow / Paisley?

After this, I am staying on to give the Whitley Lecture.  Stuart Blythe, also from the Scottish College has been doing his best to drum up interest and support for the event.  See here and here.  Thanks Stuart, I am looking forward to a good few days of cross-border Baptist fellowship and collegiality.

Partnership for Theological Education: Open Day

This is just a plug for the annual Open Day at the Partnership for Theological Education in Manchester.  This year it will be held on Saturday April 21st between 2.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m.  Click on the picture for more information.

Whitley Lecture: Manchester

Last night I was able to deliver the Whitley lecture on home turf here at Luther King House.  The turnout was fantastic - about 90 people on a Tuesday evening for an academic lecture is pretty good in my view.  Yes, some of them were students (who had to be there) and friends (who felt they ought to be there), but I was especially pleased to see a number of others from local churches.  Pride of place must go to the delegation from Heywood Baptist Church (10 in all) who even hurried to finish a birthday curry to get here on time ... just.  Friends from my own church at Didsbury were also kind enough to attend, as was Richard from Sub Ratione Dei.

The lecture went well, this time accompanied by some slides to help people to follow the argument.  The key challenge was to try to deliver things in such a way that those without much formal theological training could nonetheless see the gist of the argument and, importantly, begin to think through some of the implications.  I hope I managed to to this.  The questions afterwards were interesting: what do we know about Jesus' own handling of scripture? (answer: very little in my view); can we draw a distinction between interpretations that are diverse but complementary and interpretations that are diverse but contradictory? (answer: yes we do make those distinctions, but on the basis of our location in an interpretive tradition that provides the necessary criteria); where are the boundaries for interpretation (answer: my usual answer, that we create them within a tradition, but they are always finite and partial).

There were other questions, and further discussion afterwards - but overall it was a good event.  Thanks to all who came along to listen.

Debate on Resurrection

If you can't be in Manchester this evening to listen to yours truly, then I recommend a trip to Sheffield to hear James Crossley and William Lane Craig.  Details from James' Earliest Christian History:

Was Jesus Bodily Raised from the Dead?
MAJOR DEBATE with James Crossley and William Lane Craig

7.30pm, Tuesday 6th March, SHEFFIELD
University Student Union Auditorium, Western Bank,
S10 2TN

Update 7.3.07: Loren Rosson informs us that the debate will be made available on DVD in due course.