Society of Biblical Literature Archives

I’m Headed Off to ETS and SBL–Here’s What I’ll be Up To

November 14, 2022

Today, I am headed to Denver, CO, for the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)—two of the largest gatherings for biblical scholars in the world. In addition to the normal meals, gatherings, and meeting with old friends, here’s a little preview of what I will be up to.

1. Speaking at Colorado Christian University. On Monday, I will be speaking on the topic of “Hidden Gospels: Our Culture’s Quest to Rewrite the Story of Jesus” to the staff, faculty and students of Colorado Christian. My friend Don Sweeting is the Chancellor there and was kind enough to invite me. I hope to encourage their folks that our canonical Gospels are trustworthy sources for the life of Jesus, particularly when considered in light of the so-called Lost Gospels we know about. You can watch the live stream here.

2. Time with the Executive Committee. As a former president of ETS (2019), I am still serving on the Executive Committee which now consists of Al Mohler, D.A. Carson, Timothy George, Gregg Allison, Craig Keener, David Dockery, and Karen Jobes. And I should not forget to mention our executive director, Ken Magnuson. I always enjoy time with this impressive group of scholars and we will be gathering together for dinner and business Monday night.

3. Attending presidential address. As a past president, I always try to encourage each year’s president as they give the address. This year it will be D.A. Carson who is speaking on “Trishagion: Foundation for Christian Mission.” Next year will be Timothy George, and the year after it will be Karen Jobes.

4. Giving paper and chairing session. On Wednesday morning, I will be giving a paper for the invited section of the NT Canon, Textual Criticism and Apocryphal Literature study group. My paper will be on “New Testament Manuscripts Possibly from the Second Century.” On Thursday afternoon I will be chairing the open section of the same group. There’s a great line up of papers for both groups: [Read more…]

A Preview of What I Will Be Up To at ETS and SBL

November 8, 2021

Next week I will be headed to Dallas, and then to San Antonio, for the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)—two of the largest scholarly gatherings in the world. In addition to the normal meals, gatherings, and meeting with old friends, here’s a little preview of what I will be up to.

1. Time with the Executive Committee. As a former president of ETS (2019), I am still serving on the Executive Committee which now consists of Al Mohler, D.A. Carson, Timothy George, Gregg Allison, Sam Storms, David Dockery, and Craig Keener. And I should not forget to mention our executive director, Ken Magnuson. I always enjoy time with this impressive group of scholars and we will be gathering together for dinner and business Monday night.

2. Chairing two sessions for the NT Canon, Textual Criticism and Apocryphal Literature study group. We have both an open session and an invited session this year, and the paper lineups are excellent: [Read more…]

How My Books are Being Banned at the Society of Biblical Literature

October 19, 2016

I thought book banning was supposed to be a thing of the past–particularly among the self-proclaimed liberal elites. We live in a more sophisticated time where all views are accepted. Tolerance should be our highest priority.

Or so we are told.

But, apparently book banning is back in vogue. Dr. John Kutsko, executive director of the Society of Biblical Literature, has just proposed that InterVarsity Press–one of the largest evangelical presses in the country– be suspended from having a book stall at the annual SBL meeting (starting in 2017).

The reason for this ban is the recent decision by InterVarsity to uphold the biblical view of marriage and to ask their employees to do the same (see IVP clarification on their policy here).

Since I have a current book with IVP Academic, The Question of Canon, and a forthcoming book with them on Christianity in the second century, SBL would effectively be banning my books from the annual meeting. And that would be true for hundreds and hundreds of other IVP authors.

Of course, the overt hypocrisy of this is stunning. An organization that professes to be for tolerance and for accepting all opinions, has now decided to be, in effect, a “confessional” institution where the ideologies of the ruling committee decide what people should and shouldn’t believe. [Read more…]