Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

I just got word that my second paper (which is the limit for presenters) was accepted for the 2014 annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting in San Diego. This paper will be presented in the "Applied Linguistics for Biblical Studies" section and is titled "Setting Students Up To Fail Biblical Languages: An Assessment of Assessment." My other paper, which was accepted in the Global Education & Resource Technology section, is titled "ἡ καινὴ σχολή· Communicating Ancient Greek Via Modern Technologies." The Greek here (ἡ καινὴ σχολή) means "The New School," which is actually how it will appear in the SBL program because their platform, interestingly enough, is not able to handle Greek characters. Anyway, this is good news and I look forward to participating in both of these fine sections!

This year I submitted one abstract for the annual meeting of the SBL and fortunately, that abstract was accepted. I submitted to the Performance Criticism of Biblical and Other Ancient Texts section, which I have been attending the last few years when possible. Below is the title and abstract: Title : Come On Feel the Noise: The Function of Screams in Mark and Ancient Performance Abstract : A topic that continues to scream for scholarly attention from Markan exegetes is none other than the role of screams throughout the narrative. Heeding the call, in this paper I seek to show how screaming, when situated within the context of ancient performance, sheds light on this fascinating feature of Mark. In particular, I will focus on screaming from the standpoint of the ancient performer and how it might have caused him or her to be viewed. Additionally, I will address the intended effects of screaming in relation to other aural devices. In the end, the hope is that we will not...

I just got word that my paper titled From Ancient Apocalypse to Modern Tongue-Twists: Mixing-Down Hip Hop & Christian Scripture was just accepted for the 2012 annual meeting of the Midwest Society of Biblical Literature.  Very cool.  With other stuff I have going on, this means that I'm on track to make my 40th conference appearance/paper presentation this spring!  

For me, this year's Society of Biblical Literature meeting in San Francisco was one of the best I've ever been to.  While I had to attend a lot of meetings, I also got to sit in on a number of very interesting sections and hear some intriguing papers. Unfortunately, I did not have time to blog (or really even upload pictures for that matter), which was unfortunate. Regardless, there was one presentation that I would like to comment briefly on. I'm speaking here of Bart Ehrman's paper, which he gave on Friday night. Ehrman sat on a panel with Dom Crossan, Amy-Jill Levine and N.T. Wright. The session was supposed to be on biblical scholarship within the last 200 years and the influence that certain exegetes have had on the guild/discipline. While Crossan veered somewhat off topic, ultimately, his paper was still relevant to the subject. Levine and Wright both gave excellent lectures. However, I cannot say the same for Mr. Ehrman. In so many words, I must sa...

Okay, so for a minute there, I thought that us Android users were going to be left behind when it came to the SBL/AAR app, however, I'm glad that we haven't been.  SBL has just released the annual meeting app for android users, which you can get by simply scanning the barcode to the left.  You can also see more about the app HERE .  I must say, it is pretty sweet.  You can set your schedule, review the program, contact others, follow live tweets, etc.  Pretty rad!  Get it!

This year's SBL Annual Meeting Program is now live ( HERE ). Really quickly, I just wanted to draw attention to a couple of sessions that I'll be participating in. I have added 2 snapshots of these sessions below. However, I do want to emphasize the lineup for the "Tipping Points" session I'm hosting. The panelists are: Michael Bird (Bible College of Queensland) Daniel Block (Wheaton College) Ben Witherington, III (Asbury Theological Seminary) Lynn Cohick (Wheaton College) Sandra Richter (Wesley Biblical Seminary) Marie Sabin (Bristol, ME) Like I said, you can read more about both by clicking the images below. Hope to see you there!

I just wanted to remind everyone that this week is the FINAL week to get the 1st Tier, Super-Saver registration discount for the 2011 Annual SBL meeting in San Francisco (Saturday, April 30th is the last day!). You can access the online discount registration form HERE .

So, I just did a whirlwind tour to Cleveland and back today for a regional SBL meeting, leaving at 5am, presenting at 1:30pm and 3pm, and then, driving all the way back and getting home around 10pm. Long day for SBL stuff to say the least!!! However, I just checked my email and got some more good, SBL news, here's what one email said: "Dear Michael, Congratulations, your paper, 'Decoded: Exploring Rap's Use of Biblical-Apocalyptic Rhetoric,' was accepted for the 2011 Annual Meeting program unity Bible and American Popular Culture." So, in addition to creating and hosting the session titled "Tipping Points" that has a list of stellar scholars, I now have confirmation that I'll be presenting some of my research. I'm super excited because this paper is a bit different from the types of things I usually do; I think it's going to be quite fun!!!

I just received word that my paper for the annual 2011 Central States Society of Biblical Literature conference was accepted. I believe this will be my 20th paper at a scholarly conference, which is pretty cool! Anyway, it was welcomed into the "Paul" section and is titled "'The Vacillation' as the Occasion: 2 Corinthians, Epistle of a Two-Faced Apostle?" Here's the abstract: The occasion of 2 Corinthians has been a matter of scholarly debate for centuries. Certainly, the epistle itself reveals Paul as defending himself against numerous charges, one of which is "the vacillation" (1:17). This paper argues that by situating the concepts of consistency-inconsistency in their ancient contexts, using the sociological tenets of "facework" and taking into consideration the theme of "face" throughout the letter, new light can be shed on the circumstances surrounding the occasion of 2 Corinthians."

As many of you may know, there has been considerable conversation about new policies regarding students and student paper presentations at the SBL Annual Meetings. The Student Advisory Board (SAB) has been collecting feedback for a response to be sent to the SBL Executive Council. As part of this response, we would like to include the results of a short survey gauging your responses to these new policies. This will allow us who are on the SAB to present hard data alongside written feedback. If you can, please take just a couple of minutes and fill out this survey. (Click the image-link to the left and the survey will open in a new window.)

This year looks like it will be a good conference.  I'm excited for the large student group from  Asbury that's headed down and the many from our  institution who are presenting, presiding or  paneling. If you see me around and you know me, be sure to say hello. If you see me around and don't know me, feel free to introduce yourself. Hope everyone's conferencing goes well. Safe travels to the A-T-L.

With the annual meeting of the SBL fast approaching (it starts next weekend!), the Society has decided to give away its hot-off-the-press Greek New Testament for FREE. Conveniently dubbed the SBLGNT , here are a couple of snapshots of the .xml and .txt versions: (click to zoom-in on images) You can download the SBLGNT and its apparatus as .txt, .xml, .osis, .sword and logos 4 files HERE .

Here's the list (so far...I have two more opportunities lined up but which have not been solidified just yet) of papers, presentations, etc. I'm giving or participating in this year: 02.13.10 : Valparaiso University - Midwest Region SBL: “All Things to All People: Rethinking the Social Context of a Pauline Axiom” 03.22.10 : Asbury Theological Seminary – Biblical Studies Seminar: “1 Cor. 9.19-23: A Different Point-of-View” 04.08.10 : Richfield, OH – Eastern Great Lakes Bible Society: 1) “A Martyr’s Praise: A Socio-Rhetorical Reading of Ignatius’ Letter to the Philadelphians” 2) “Getting Your First Publication: From One Student to Another” (Also chairing the panel for this session) 04.09 - 10.10 : Cincinnati Christian University – Stone-Campbell Journal Conference: 1) “Rethinking Jesus' Death: Mark's Narrative in Mediterranean Context” (Also chairing the panel for this session) 2) “An Exploration into the Aramaisms of Mark's 'Strange' Gospel...

I just got word that my paper proposal for the 2010 Midwest Region SBL was accepted. The conference is February 12-14, 2010 at Valparaiso University in (of course) Valparaiso, Indiana. The paper was accepted in the "Paul Section". This is my 2nd SBL presentation and I plan on presenting also at the EGL Regional in April, which will be my 3rd (and maybe 4th SBL presentations). The email says this: "Congratulations! I am happy to inform you that your paper has been accepted for presentation at the Midwest SBL. Time allotted for each paper is 30 minutes, which include the discussion time. Please allow at least 5 minutes of discussion time at the end of your paper. You must register to be able to present your paper." The title of my paper is: “All Things To All People”: Rethinking the Social Context of a Pauline Axiom" Here's a portion of my abstract: "Traditionally, Paul’s remarks in 1 Cor. 9.20-27 have been interpreted 1) From Paul’s point-of-view, an...

I just registered for the 2010 SBL Annual Meeting in Atlanta and since it was under the student & super saver rates, I only had to pay $65. My hotel room was rather inexpensive too. In other words, if you plan on attending next year's meeting, NOW is the time to register. If you can front the pay right now, why not ask for it as a Christmas gift? Or, consider it a gift to yourself! Either way, get registered before the end of December so you can save yourself a chunk of money!

Here are a handful of links to bloggers I ran into at SBL, whose company (even if only for a few moments in some cases) I quite enjoyed keeping. Click the image-links to go to their websites! If we met and you're not on here, let me know (it's tough remembering EVERYONE you run into at those things).

Here are some photos from this year's SBL in 'Nawlins: Some ATS PhD (biblical studies) Students Me & Andy Rowell (of www.TheologicalGerman.com) after IBR IBR Session PhD guys on the N.O. Trolley View of the Mississippi River from the French Quarter Snapshot of the French Quarter At the famous Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter Walking downtown 'Nawlins Snapshot of the street sign of the dark and ever infamous Bourbon Street

I just got word that I was elected to be the new Eastern Great Lakes Regional Representative for the Society of Biblical Literature! This is such a great opportunity and I'm looking forward to serving in this capacity. The EGLR meeting is April 8-9 this year in Akron, Ohio. You can click the first image-link below to visit the EGLR homepage. Click the second image-link to find out more about the SAG and its role within SBL.

Jesus The Village Psychiatrist, A Critique and Appreciation Saturday, November 21, 2009 | 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM | Edgewood AB + Donald Capps, Princeton Theological Seminary, Panelist Jesus, the Village Psychiatrist: A Summary + + + + + The Secret Gospel of Mark, Sex, Death, and Madness: The Psychodynamics of Morton Smith's Proposal Saturday, November 21, 2009 | 4:00 PM to 6:30 PM | Bacchus Suite + The Secred Gospel of Mark Unveiled: Reviews in RBL . + Donald Capps: Review + + + + + Otherness and Motherness: Psychological Forays into the Hebrew Scriptures Monday, November 23, 2009 | 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM | La Galerie 6 + Barbara Mei Leung Lai: Total Otherness, Self-Condemnation, and "Mission Impossible": A Psycho-Dramatic Reading of Isaiah 6 + Ginny Brewer-Boydston: Overbearing Mothers and Childhood Regression: A Feminist Psychoanalytic Reading of Judges 4-5 + Adrien J. Bledstein: David's Mother

This year, a great number of the SBL forums have posted their papers online for access. To save everyone the time and hassle of hunting all of these down, I've included all of the ones not banned from distribution in one downloadable file. This file contains nearly 700 pages of scholarly research!!! Having looked at these papers, I can honestly say that I'm excited about the conference next week. To download the zipped file, click this year's logo below: