Monday, June 15, 2009

Goodbye, blogger.

I am making the move to Wordpress. My new blog can be found here.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

John Anderson is a real Blogger now

Though no longer on Blogger.com, John Anderson is now a real blogger. He is this month's featured biblioblogger. Congrats!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Esteban's Covenantal Blessings Book Giveaway

In honor of his moving to Wordpress (something I'm contemplating myself...and would most undoubtedly do if I won this book give away...), Esteban is giving away a copy of Peter Flint's, "The Bible at Qumran: Text, Shape, and Interpretation". In order to be eligible for this, you have to follow his simple rules:

1. First, that you announce my change of address and this giveway on your own blog, and provide a link to your announcement in the comments to this post. (Note that WordPress blogs generate automatic pingbacks, and therefore you don’t need to provide if a link if you blog on WordPress.)

2. Second, that in your comment you provide your most creative theory regarding the identity of the Qumran community (if there was one, according to your theoretical construct). Obvious things like the Essenes and the Golbian Hasmonean fortress are out of the question. I, for instance, hold that Qumran housed the easternmost (and most learned) first-century outpost of the KISS Army.


I have already announced Esteban's move to Wordpress earlier, but I will remind you that his new link is in my blogroll and can also be found here: http://www.voxstefani.wordpress.com

As to the second requirement: contrary to the nonsense being propagated by so-called "Experts" on Qumran (with their fancy book-larnin') like Robert Cargill, I know very well that Qumran was originally Superman's summer Fortress of Solitude. Everyone knows Superman was wildly religious. In fact, I think Superman is probably the key to unlocking Daniel 7.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A Question about Ph.D Programs

Is it okay to apply to a Ph.D program at a school that isn't exactly well-known for your field to study with a professor who is very well known in your field? When one goes to apply for jobs, will it be, "He studied under...." or, "He went to X school"?

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Another Blog goes to Wordpress

Indeed, Nick Norelli over at Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth announces that Esteban Vázquez has moved over to Wordpress. I'm really beginning to wonder if I should convert.

Here are Esteban's new digs: http://www.voxstefani.wordpress.com

Monday, June 8, 2009

Reading: Daniel Kirk's "Unlocking Romans"

I was surprised our library actually has his book, but lo and behold, ECU is redeemed. I'm really looking forward to reading through this over the next week.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

"Saul who is also called Paul" - Michael Compton and the Patristic interpretation of "Paul"


I'm currently reading through different essays in "In Dominico Eloquio: In Lordly Eloquence: Essays on Patristic Exegesis in Honor of Robert Louis Wilken." Recently I read through Michael Compton's essay on the Patristic interpretation of the names of the Apostle Paul. He writes:

What is the relationship between these two names? To many Christians (and non-Christians as well), the answer to the question has been and continues to be quite obvious. For them there is, in fact, no problem at all: Saul the persecuting Pharisee received the name Paul when he converted to Christianity. I confess that this is the answer I was first taught, and I have met many who were taught likewise.

Indeed, this was something I had always assumed as well. Saul isn't used anywhere in the Epistles and when one reads Acts, Luke phases out using Saul in favor of using Paul. Thus, it was natural to assume some kind of a name change had occurred. Compton's article focuses on a few ancient interpreters who shared this view - Jerome, Augustine, etc. Though Origen had already stated that no name change had taken place. Compton focuses especially on Chrysostom, whom Compton believes is responding to the "triumphalist" view of Jerome. Essentially, Jerome's view was that because Sergius Paulus was Paul's first convert (Acts 13:7), Saul took Paul's name.(cf. De Viris Illustribus 5 (PL 23:615) quoted on pg 58). Kind of an odd interpretation, but there you have it.

The article also mentions G.A. Harrer who espoused the theory that Paul was "the Apostle's cognomen while 'Saul' was his signum."(pg 53) I wonder if anyone has anything to say about that, because it seems like a convincing theory to me.

New Blogs added to the Blogroll

Neither blog is "new", but new to my blogroll. One is John Anderson's "Hesed we 'emet" (which I believe is: steadfast love/loyalty and faithfulness). John is a Ph.D student at Baylor working in Biblical studies, focusing on Hebrew Bible. His "blog" (though he has just switched to Wordpress*) is very interesting.

The other blog is by my friend, Danny Garland. Danny is a recent graduate from Franciscan University of Steubenville with an MA in Theology (2008). He teaches theology at a Catholic high school up North. Danny and I lived together when I was up north. He's an exceptionally nice guy and was actually my sponsor when I came into the Church (being a convert himself). His blog is "Irish Catholic and Dangerous" - he is both.



*I've seen several people lately make the switch to Wordpress. Should I? Is there something amazing about Wordpress that I'm missing out on?

Saturday, June 6, 2009

A bit of trivia

Who wrote in their journal, "quippe dormire nefas videbatur" after studying a very important manuscript through the night?

Friday, June 5, 2009

Brandon Wason returns to blogging

After closing down his blog Novum Testamentum, he has finally returned to blogging. Go see his new site here.

Friday is for funny words - οἰνοβαρείων


This week's funny word comes to us from Homer. Every other week I attend an "Ancient Greek Reading Group" and we're working our way through Book IX of Homer's Odyssey (one of my favorite parts). Our word this week is: οἰνοβαρείων - to be "wine heavy" or drunk. This word is used to describe the Cyclops after Odysseus has gotten the Cyclops drunk off of the wine on his ship. Immediately thereafter, Odysseus and crew shove a red-hot log into the Cyclops' eye.



At any rate, because I'm taking Latin all summer, I'm giving you a double-whammy. Not only is οἰνοβαρείων interesting/funny in its own right, but the Latin equivalent is: crapulatus.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

My Latin textbook makes no sense

I realize that writing a new grammar for a language that has been taught for thousands of years requires a bit of confidence. It says, "The other ways in which this language is taught are not good enough, but my ideas are the bee's knees."

However, the grammar I'm using (Latin for Reading) makes no sense when it comes to listing the cases of nouns and adjectives. Instead of the standard Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Ablative, and perhaps the Vocative, this text lists them as: Nominative, Accusative, Ablative, Dative, Genitive.

So, if I memorize the paradigm for a noun using this order, I'm imagining that I'll run into problems if I continue studying Latin elsewhere and they use a different grammar. It won't be that much of an inconvenience, but it seems like such an arbitrary change that has no benefits.