For Teachers Everywhere

I and my sons are big Golden State Warriors fans, since I was born in San Francisco, raised in the East Bay, and brainwashed my boys to love California teams over Chicago. It was a rough start for Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals but #30 helped pull out the win. Cleveland made a crucial mistake in the last seconds of play that could have ended the regular game time with their win, not Oakland's. I made a meme of the infamous episode in honor of all professors and teachers in education who know how the following feels:

Best! MJL

On the Road at Cornell University

I don't mean to stay away from blogging but I'm in New York right now, putting on my father's cap, supporting my oldest son as he explores the Cornell University campus. It's a very nice day today, and I'm enjoying my time out here at the Kungfu Tea cafe (there's one in Chicago Chinatown, and we were delighted to find one in the Collegetown area of Ithaca!) while Zach is meeting Cornell students and exploring the campus on his own before I catch up with him later.
   Also, Zach has his own literary blog "Montag's Musings" and one of his poems not only received the 2015 Special Rutledge Award but it was published in Summer/Fall 2015 issue of the Great Lakes Review, a professional writers' journal. Way to go Zach! Zach will be posting a draft version of the winning poem "Berwyn Battles" later on his blog.

Great Lakes Review, Volume 6 (SumSpr 2015)
where Zach's "Berwyn Battles" is published
(see pages 172-75)

    After our college trip is over, I'll probably post on my choices for the upcoming SBL-AAR annual meeting in Atlanta this November. Many fantastic sessions coming up, and I'm looking forward to catching up with mentors, colleagues, and friends there. Blessings! MJL

   Postscript 11/12/15: Zach just posted on his poem at Montag's Musings (here). 

Proposals, Panels, and Exams

The end of February through early March has been a tough dry spell from blogging. I have several half-finished posts in the queue but have been delayed with: 1) grading 35 undergraduate papers, 2) grading 35 undergraduate quizzes, 3) grading 30 seminary New Testament 2 midterms, 4) grading 30 seminary papers, 5) grading 20 Greek II midterms, and then 6) I flew away this weekend to sunny/rainy/humid Orlando, Florida to attend the Association of Theological Schools Roundtable events for Ethnic/Racial and Midcareer Faculty (Mar 5-8, 2015). The rountables, by the way, were fantastic. I participated in a panel on collaborative projects, but also learned much from colleagues in the area of post-tenure research, teaching, administrative service, and formation (more on this in future posts).

Screen capture of INTI paper proposal statistics (Click to enlarge)

   Now, I have to read through 34 paper proposals submitted to the the Intertextuality and New Testament Interpretation Section (I'm a co-chair) for the SBL meeting in Atlanta this November 2015. Wow! I think this year is the most proposals we have received since we first started as a consultation group back in 2008. 
   In other words, I have to finish reading the proposals and some full papers before I can get back to blogging again. Stay tuned!  

Bill Maher on the Heart of the (Christian) Liberal Arts Education

Normally I don't click anything on the tab "popular on youtube," but one feature video clip caught my eye because it highlighted my undergrad alma mater U.C. Berkeley (Go Bears!). I entered Berkeley as a pre-med English major back in 1986 and graduated with the class of 1991 (with an interm year as an English teacher and short term missionary to Japan in 1990). In 1986, it was at the peak of the Berkeley protests against Apartheid in South Africa. I remember the protests vividly and became quickly enthralled with the free speech movement, its history and practice, on the campus. 

Free Speech Demonstration in front of Sproul Hall at
the University of California, Berkeley, in the mid/late-1980's
image credit: Regional Oral History Office of UCB

Apparently the (in)famous talk show host Bill Maher of RealTime with Bill Maher was asked to be the commencement speaker for the December graduating class of 2014 at Cal Berkeley. Some have urged U.C. Berkeley officials to rescind their invitation in light of some comments he made concerning Islam that they found offensive. I can't say that I'm a big fan of Maher, and some of his caricatures of Christianity are inaccurate and hyperbolic in my opinion (though he at times does point out some real issues of hypocrisy so we can learn from the man!). I'm not a political liberal, nor am I a conservative. I vote on issues and across party lines.
   However, I did think his short 3 1/2 minute excursis on the nature and purpose of liberal arts education was a fantastic segue into a deeper conversation on the Christian liberal arts curriculum. You can watch the video below: 

   Bill's best line is: "Whoever told you that you only had to hear whatever did not upset you?!" (2:20). I showed this clip to my undergraduate Paul course before we move to the 3rd leg of the course: themes and major issues of contemporary importance in the Pauline letters. I exhorted my class to learn how to exchange ideas and hear the other person, even a person's ideas with whom we strongly disagree, and let the exchange lead to a deeper discourse so both parties can benefit and learn from each other. 
   I'm not a fan of censuring or silencing a critic. There are ways to voice disagreement that lead to further dialogue and understanding, rather than stifle them. If there are bad ideas in circulation and popularized by our North American culture, then the solution to bad ideas is not censorship. It is replacing bad ideas with better ones. That is the nature of a liberal arts education.
   For the Christian, the church needs to finds ways to enter the public forum, fight for its religious freedom, and not let itself be censured. The contribution that the church can make to public policy and programming can help our neighbors understand themselves more critically. Hearing our neighbors helps us test the basis of our convictions and see ourselves more clearly as well. Hopefully we can return to the roots of the liberal arts education and present a distinctly Christian voice and contribution to public dialogue on issues that are dear to us all. 

Déjà vu... Teaching Undergraduates Again

In case anyone is wondering why I'm adding some post-script assignments to select blog posts, well, I'm slotted to teach an undergraduate class for the Biblical and Theological Studies Department at North Park University this coming Fall. I'm still keeping my day job as full-time seminary faculty, but since Scot McKnight's departure for Northern, the undergrad wing of the university's BTS dept. has been short-staffed. I'm happy to help out and relive my days as an college professor (3 years at Wheaton College and 1 year at Westmont) here at NPU. But it has been 8 years since my undergraduate teaching experience, so hopefully I can get up to speed very quickly.

Teaching at the seminary (left photo) and
Anticipating teaching at undergrad again (right photo)

   I thought it would be good to integrate this biblioblog with my Paul course. I have set up several exegetical exercises for NPU (and may be later seminary?) students under the label/tags "exegetical exercises." My hope is that the more I blog, the more posts I can use for pedagogical purposes. And if everything goes well, my students will have a blast using the resources on Paul Redux. We shall see. 
   FYI, the above left photo is from my cozy seminary course on intercultural readings of the Bible. On the right is a photo from my days teaching at Wheaton College (I'm preaching at the senior graduation chapel). I anticipate the class size to be much larger among the undergrads. It will take an adjustment on my part but I'm eager to (re)connect with a younger generation of motivated minds and hearts. 

Why Matthew Henry Is Not a Good Go-To Commentary for Theology Students

As I am neck-deep with papers to read this entire week, I thought I would make a short remark on the commentaries that seminarians sometimes use as resources for their papers. Taken from an advertisement of the interdisciplinary conference focused on the writings and ministry of Rev. Matthew Henry by the University of Chester, England (July 14-16, 2014), here is a following description on the scope of Rev. Henry's life and work: 

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) is remembered today by two major groups of scholars: by historians as a leading figure among early eighteenth century dissenters, and brother of the diarist, Sarah Savage; and by theologians and biblical scholars for his Exposition of the Old and New Testaments. This monumental work, which had already been published in 25 different editions by 1855, is used widely even today in print and online versions. Yet Henry’s famous commentary is by no means the only expression of his engagement with the Scriptures. Amongst his 30 further publications, most of which were published in the final years of his life (and many of which were later republished with extracts from his letters and diaries by Sir John Bickerton Williams), his many sermons and works on Christian Piety (including the still popular Method for Prayer, 1710) are saturated with Henry’s peculiarly practical approach to the Bible.

Did you catch the date? Matthew Henry was a pastor in the 18th century. This fact alone should raise up some red flags for those using his commentaries on the Old and New Testament for research papers in a seminary or Bible college classroom setting. 

In my NT2 class, I often remind the students that while there might be a plain logic and meaning to Scripture, the (post-)modern reader does not necessarily have immediate access to them. We always have to "mind the gap" between the ancient author and the interpreter of the Bible today, that is, the historical-temporal, cultural, lexical, rhetorical, and experiential gap that a good historian attempts to bridge so the radical edge of the gospel does not get lost on our current generation of Christ followers. 
    Rev. Matthew Henry was a wonderful English Presbyterian pastor for his time, and certainly his insights on the word of God continue to inspire many pastors in our day and age. However, as a resource for exegetical papers, his commentaries fall short. They are simply uninformed of the many archaeological and textual break-through's which have change the way we view the New Testament world, let alone, how we interpret the New Testament text. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls alone (beginning in 1946) and how the library at Qumran changed the way we describe 2nd Temple Judaism should give us enough pause to consider sources which take this information and apply it towards reading Paul's letters and our New Testament books more precisely in their ancient contexts. 
   So always check the date for your sources, and know who your commentators are, before depending on them for your work and preaching.