Interdenominational Debate at Its Finest

This has been circulating throughout cyberspace for the past couple weeks. I don't know whether it's authentic or not, but I'm choosing to suspend my disbelief for reasons of increased hilarity. ;-)

Even More New Titles from SBL

More exiting new stuff:

New Titles and Other News from SBL Publications

Experientia, Volume 1: Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Christianity
Frances Flannery, Colleen Shantz, and Rodney A. Werline, editors

This collection investigates the phenomenon of religious experience in early Judaism and early Christianity. The essays consider such diverse phenomena as scribal inspiration, possession, illness, ascent, theurgy, and spiritual transformation wrought by reading, and recognize that the texts are reflective of the lived experiences of ancient religious peoples, which they understood to be encounters with the divine. Contributors use a variety of methodologies, including medical anthropology, neurobiology, and ritual and performance studies, to move the investigation beyond traditional historical and literary methodologies and conclusions to illuminate the importance of experience in constructions of ancient religion.

Paper $32.95 — ISBN 9781589833685 — 272 pages — Symposium Series 40 — Hardback edition www.brill.nl

Writing and Reading War: Rhetoric, Gender, and Ethics in Biblical and Modern Contexts
Brad E. Kelle and Frank Ritchel Ames, editors

War is not only waged on the battlefield, but is written and read in contexts that influence meaning and reception. The essays in this collection examine how ancient Israelites wrote about war and how war-related texts in the Hebrew Bible have been read in ancient and modern contexts. They explore writing and reading war in contexts ranging from ancient Israel to early Judaism to contemporary Christianity. The contributors—both established and newer voices—apply a variety of historical, literary, and comparative methods to biblical texts and present new perspectives on the rhetoric, gender, and ethics of war. A foreword by Susan Niditch and introduction by Victor H. Matthews offer a literature review of recent major works in this field and orient readers to past research and future directions for the study of the discourse and realities of war.

Paper $34.95 — ISBN 9781589833548— 280 pages — Symposium Series 42 — Hardback edition www.brill.nl

Matthew, James, and Didache: Three Related Documents in Their Jewish and Christian Settings
Huub van de Sandt and Jürgen K. Zangenberg, editors

Sharing many traditions and characteristics, the Gospel of Matthew, the letter of James, and the Didache invite comparative study. In this volume, internationally renowned scholars consider the three writings and the complex interrelationship between first century Judaism and nascent Christianity. These texts likely reflect different aspects and emphases of a network of connected communities sharing basic theological assumptions and expressions. Of particular importance for the reconstruction of the religious and social milieu of these communities are issues such as the role of Jewish law, the development of community structures, the reception of the Jesus tradition, and conflict management. In addition to the Pauline and Johannine “schools,” Matthew, James, and the Didache may represent a third religious milieu within earliest Christianity that is especially characterized through its distinct connections to a particular ethical stream of contemporary Jewish tradition.

Paper $54.95 — ISBN 9781589833586— 488 pages — Symposium Series 45 — Hardback edition www.brill.nl

To order, go to the SBL Store or click on one of the links above.

Society of Biblical Literature — P.O. Box 2243 — Williston, VT 05495-2243 USA
Phone: 877-725-3334 (North America); 802-864-6185 (elsewhere) — Fax: 802-864-7626

_____________________

WAW Series Now Available through Logos

The first sixteen volumes of the SBL's Writings of the Ancient World series are now available through Logos Research Systems. SBLWAW provides teachers, literary critics, historians, general readers, and students direct access to key ancient Near Eastern writings that date from the beginning of the Sumerian civilization to the age of Alexander the Great. The volumes typically offer historical and literary background to the writings, the original text and an English translation, explanatory or textual notes, and a bibliography. For more information or to order your own electronic edition of SBLWAW, see http://www.logos.com/products/details/3523.

_____________________

Our Online Books offering continues to grow by ten titles each month. In September, we posted the following:

Black, Fiona C., editor. The Recycled Bible: Autobiography, Culture, and the Space Between. Semeia Studies 51. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2006.

Elledge, C. D. The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Archaeology and Biblical Studies 14. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.

Glassner, Jean-Jacques. Mesopotamian Chronicles. Writings from the Ancient World 19. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2004.

Grant, Jamie A. The King as Exemplar: The Function of Deuteronomy’s Kingship Law in the Shaping of the Book of Psalms. Academia Biblica 17. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2004.

Herzer, Jens, translator. 4 Baruch (Paraleipomena Jeremiou). Writings from the Greco-Roman World 22. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.

Hock, Ronald F. and Edward N. O’Neil, translators and editors. The Chreia and Ancient Rhetoric: Classroom Exercises. Writings from the Greco-Roman World 2. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2002.

Hull, Michael F. Baptism on Account of the Dead (1 Cor 15:29): An Act of Faith in the Resurrection. Academia Biblica 22. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.

Kennedy, George A. Progymnasmata: Greek Textbooks of Prose Composition and Rhetoric. Writings from the Greco-Roman World 10. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2003.

Roth, Martha T. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor: Second Edition. Writings from the Ancient World 6. Atlanta, Scholars Press for the Society of Biblical Literature, 1997.

Ukpong, Justin S. et al. eds. Reading the Bible in the Global Village: Cape Town. Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship 8. Atlanta, Society of Biblical Literature, 2002.

More Faith and Politics

The next installment in an ongoing series:

FAITH AND POLITICS

A Dinner & Speaker Series
@ Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church Tuesdays, October 7-28

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

OUR TOPIC FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14
6-7:30 p.m.

The View from the Pulpit... and Back

V. Rev. Robert Holet, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Charlottesville, VA Rev. Dr. James Nolan, Reveille United Methodist Church, Richmond, VA

ROBERT HOLET is Pastor at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, a Parish of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA that is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2008. Fr. Robert works with students through the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at the University of Virginia.

JAMES R. NOLAN is Senior Pastor at Reveille UMC, where he has served since 2006. He holds degrees from the University of Virginia, Southern Methodist University, and Wesley Theological Seminary and is Adjunct Faculty at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond.

These ministers will describe how they address the intersection of faith and politics with their congregations. We will also discuss what members of congregations see as appropriate boundaries for mixing faith and politics.
We welcome members of all faith traditions-along with people who do not consider themselves religious-to our discussions.

SERIES RATIONALE:
Both theology and political theory are concerned with what it means to be human and with defining and creating the conditions under which human beings can flourish. Yet the relationship between faith and politics is complicated and can be contentious. Indeed, both topics are often considered out of bounds in polite conversation. This series grows out of the belief that-especially in a university community-discussion about faith and politics can be both polite and enlightening.

Our goal is to bring together people from all faith traditions-along with people who do not consider themselves to be religious-to explore various aspects of the relationship between faith and politics. We particularly hope to engage people from the University community and to make the insights of academics accessible beyond the University's boundaries.

SPACE IS LIMITED AND REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BUT SIMPLE. Call 434-296-6976, fax 434-295-9567, or send an email message to wesleymemorial@earthlink.net. Please provide contact details and let us know about any special needs you may have. For directions to the church and other details, go to www.wesleymem.org or call the church office.