Kind Words & an Explanation

Tim has some very kind words.  I do want to get into a blogging groove (if there is such a thing!). 

Things have been incredibly busy, but I'll make an election '08 style pledge to make some changes & get to writing!

If anyone has the time, I do suggest following Tim's links to the discussion on M. Patton's page. It's a great synopsis of the problems involved in "evangelical politics." Earlier today I had the opportunity to attend an open-forum meeting held between members of the on-campus "Politics & Faith" group & the Evangelical Fellowship. The discussion centered on this year's election. The misconceptions (by both sides) were incredible. There's a lot to think through & I urge VOTERS to embrace the tensions and work through the issues with an open mind.

Getting Worked over.

My class schedule has now been finalized (sort of!), and the end result is incredibly promising yet just a bit on the pyscho side of the scale. I've added Dale Martin's doctoral seminar on the Greco-Roman environment. For those of you that have never met Dale Martin, I highly suggest trying to at some point! The class meets once a week, and it's expected that you will not be able to be fully prepared. In his words, the premise of the course is to learn how to read everything when it's impossible to read everything! In terms of content, at some point will be reading Tacitus' writing on sperm in the ancient world. So, there you go! Dr. Martin brings an incredibly interesting and energetic approach to the table, so I think this will be a great class. For the record, he's the godfather of Bart Ehrman's kids and calls Ehrman a close friend. Should be a fantastic class!

Life Repeats Itself.

It's a beautiful semi-Fall afternoon up here in New Haven. This comes on the heels of last week's rain fest featuring my ill-conceived hour long trek to New Britain in the midst of a tropical storm! So as part of the beautiful afternoon, I decided to leave class and drive out to Starbucks for an afternoon of translation (seemingly all I do these days!). On the way over I have one of those "I've done this before moments." So, without further ado, I give you the shocking parallels:

September 1995 (I was 18 - let me emphasize that again, 18!)

1. I drove a small, red Honda CRX with a sunroof. Today I drive a small, red Honda Civic with a sunroof.
2. After class I'd throw my books in the car & rock out to Led Zeppelin before long jump practice. After class today I threw the books in the car, and the first song on the radio after I hit the highway: Over the Hills and Far Away.
3. I was a poor student applying to colleges. I'm a poor graduate student getting ready to apply for doctoral programs.
4. I spent most of my evenings working on French. I'm going nuts learning Hebrew.
5. Class consisted of my 18-yr old peers. Did I mention that my last class of the day was downtown at the main campus....with 1st year undergrads?

There you go!

Funniest line of the week.

We're sitting in a classical Greek prose class. The professor asks a few of us divinity school students to give three examples of how the optative is used independently:

Gideon (knowing I'm from DTS): Quick, get Wallace on the blackberry!

Judean(s) or Jew(s)?

One of the more controversial and popular discussions in biblical studies today is a debate about the Greek term Ioudaios. Traditionally, the term has been translated as "Jew," elastically indicating identity in terms of religious practice and belief. Thus, to call someone a "Jew" in antiquity was a means for outsiders to categorize those individuals who adhered to circumcision, abstained from pork, and (repulsively) observed the Sabbath. The important thing to note is that, when employed in this manner, the term was religiously loaded. To be a "Jew" or Ioudaios, was to be one in a religious sense, much the same way as calling someone a Baptist or Mormon would carry specific connotations today.

Recently, scholars have followed the lead of Steve Mason in his work “Jews, Judaeans, Judaizing, Judaism: Problems of Categorization in Ancient History,” Journal for the Study of Judaism 38 (2007) 457-512. Mason proposes a paradigm shift, arguing that Ioudaios should be translated as "Judean," in congruence with ethnic identity. As far as I can tell, the crux of Mason's argument is that the ancients did not understand religion as we today understand religion. The lines were not as sharp, as religious affiliation intermingled with participation in associations, cultic practice, adherence to philosophical systems (often many at a time), and the use of magic/superstition. In this sense, it was nearly impossible to identify someone(s) on the basis of religious practice alone, and it was more appropriate to identify one based on their ethnic identity as it emerged in particular geographical regions.

I'll write more on this later. Right now I'm just working out the kinks and surveying the landscape. Here's something to think about, when Paul used the term, what was he referring to?

A new semester & new beginnings

So, this is the first post from New Haven (well, technically I'm sitting in a cool town named Milford at a Bucks with a fire-place!). I'm in the new apartment - part of a small area called East Rock, which is affectionately named the grad student ghetto. Life is good, scary but good! I guess that's what you hope for when moving half way across the country. I miss good friends and familiar places, and I really miss a certain someone who decorated my everyday with her presence!

I'm particularly excited to have Adela Collins as my advisor! I want to work with a female, particularly one as accomplished in NT studies as she is. On a side note, there can not possibly be a female scholar both as sweet and intellectually fierce as Adela. She's challenged me to learn un-pointed Hebrew, Attic Greek, German, and Latin in three years. We'll see how that goes. In terms of this semester, my schedule will include:

1) Hellenistic Judaism with John Collins
2) Matthew with Adela
3) Elementary Hebrew
4) Either a doctoral seminar on the Greco-Roman World or Greek prose.

PS. New Yorkers drive like bats shot out of hell.