The Conservative-Liberal Continuum of Blogging (Again)
A while back, NT Wrong created a big list categorizing all blogs (s)he could find as some point within the continuum between “Very Conservative” and “Very Liberal.” I was originally labeled as “very conservative,” but upon protest, I was “upgraded” to “fairly conservative.” Even though Wrong gave some vague explanations of these categories, the problem of definition remained. When the list appeared a little over  a year ago, I registered my complaint about how the continuum blurred the lines between things like theology and methodo

SBL 2: My First Performance at the Big Show
Giving my first paper presentation at the national meeting for SBL, I felt a bit like Napoleon Dynamite trying to work out at Muscle Beach. After going through with the presentation, I now understand the shocked stares I got from some people when they heard I would be giving a paper at SBL as a mere second year Ph.D. student. My paper was accepted into the Construction of Christian Identities program unit, which has been around for six years. I had never attended the group’s sessions in the past, but it seemed perhaps the most appropriate one for the paper I hoped to submit last winter. As it happens, my paper was good, but not exactly the sort of thing they usually d

SBL New Orleans Part One: Friday
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” I sang this to a friend of mine, half-joking about how much I love attending SBL. Thus far, the conference has not disappointed. There are generally two major goals that I have at the conference each year. First, catch up with friends and meet new people. And second, be engaged by multiple angles of scholarship. The latter occurs for me in attending sessions and checking out books in the exhibition. Both goals have been successful thus far. The fun typically begins at the airport of my departure, this year LAX. I saw one distinguished Old Testament scholar, in fact, on the FlyAway shuttle from Union Station t

Looking for a Biblical Studies Survey Textbook?
If you’re at or heading to SBL, and still checking your blog reader, I have a booth for you to check out in the book exhibition. Be on the lookout for Stony Run Publishing, who just came out with their first textbook, Interpreting Biblical Literature: an Introduction to Biblical Studies by Michael R. Cosby. For more on the book a

The Pacific Coast is in My Hands
You have been warned! I learned today that I have been selected to be the new Pacific Coast Regional Representative for the Student Advisory Group (SAG) for the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). As I understand it, I now serve as a kind of imperator of the entire pacific coast, and all of its inhabitants serve at the mercy of my every whim. Kidding aside, I am very enthusiastic about this opportunity. I look forward to serving as a member of SAG and interacting with student members of my region. According to the description of the position, I am “cha