Off to St Louis for the Consortium of Endowed Parishes meeting

tonight! And thereafter to Philadelphia to preach the gospel on Sunday at 8.00 and 9.30am, speak at the Rector's Forum, and teach an afternoon class on Jesus' Family Values. How do the clergy do it????

David Baer on "Personalization" in Greek Isaiah

Just a follow-up to yesterday's post: the second chapter of David Baer's,"When We All Go Home: Translation and Theology in LXX Isaiah 56-66" (Sheffield 2001) notes the tendency of the Greek translator of Isaiah to turn non-imperative forms into imperatives:

Isaiah 57:1 reads in the Hebrew, "The righteous person perishes and no one take it to heart" whereas the Greek translation is, "See how the righteous person has perished, yet no one takes it to heart!" This is the only place where the imperative "See!" appears without any justification in the text (p.51).

The first of six occurrences imperativizing the verb "see" in LXX Isaiah occurs in Is 9:1, when the Hebrew, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them has light shone" is rendered in the Greek, "O people walking in darkness, see a great light! O you who dwell in a land and in a shadow of death, light shall shine upon you."

Here we see the introduction of the imperative and the personalization (discussed at further length in Baer's chapter 3). Is 9:1 now addresses contemporary listeners and the verse is deployed perhaps in a homiletical direction.

Chapter 3 calls attention to "the substitution of first and second person grammatical forms for third person forms" in the Greek translation of Isaiah (p.52). The translator thus creates a text speaking to "you"and "us" i.e. the audience including the author. Isaiah 26:16: "O Lord, in distress they sought thee, they poured out a prayer when your chastening was upon them" becomes, "Lord, in distress I remembered thee, in slight affliction was thy correction upon us." Chapter 26 is introduced as a song sung in the land of Judah.

Here's a 2003 review of Baer's book from RBL. Perhaps these changes are features of oral delivery. Could these examples be a reflection of a preacher in 2nd C BCE Alexandria speaking to diaspora Jews?

When the Library is in Storage

Our library is relocated to another building and the librarians have done a fantastic job of relocation and getting a temporary library into shape before the start of the new semester. In a few years, we'll have a new library in the front building on 9th Avenue.

In the meantime, I've been able to find a number of new books happily. But today, I hit a brick wall.

Preparing for a class on the LXX translation of Is 52:13-53:12, who could fail to notice the remarkable change from the Hebrew third person e.g. in Is 53:14 "his appearance and his semblance" to the second person, "Your form and your glory" (to eidos sou kai he doxa sou)?

The person who seems to have observed and made sense of this is David Bauer, "When We All Go Home Together: Translation and Theology in Isaiah 56-66 (Continuum 2001) in chapter three, "Personalization in the LXX". He writes that LXX Isaiah has added second and first person references to the text which has often a "homiletical and contemporizing" motivation. Wanting to consult his book, I go to the library catalogue and read:-

Database: St. Mark's Library
Main Author: Baer, David A.
Title: When we all go home : translation and theology in LXX Isaiah 56-66 /
Primary Material: Book
Publisher: Sheffield : Sheffield Academic Press, 2001.

Location: Main Stacks - In Storage

(Loud cry of anguish follows)...Google book search can only take me so far.

This week the life’s work of Buddhist Great Master Shinjo Ito will be honored with the US debut of Centennial Exhibition: The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito at Milk Gallery in New York City from February 21 to March 30, 2008. The exhibition, which is part of a world tour that celebrates the 100th anniversary of Shinjo’s birth, will showcase over one hundred pieces of his work and will be marked by an exclusive preview on February 20, 2008.

The Centennial Exhibition was first unveiled in Shinjo’s home of Japan, and visited five cities throughout 2006 and 2007, receiving over 300,000 visitors during its brief 54 day run. Throughout 2008, the exhibition will continue to the United States, traveling to New York City, Chicago (April 8 - May 1) and Los Angeles (May 9 – June 29). The collection will be brought to the US by an esteemed international committee that includes Shinjo’s daughter Shinso Ito, Donald Keene and Robert Thurman of Columbia University, Yasuaki Nara of Komazawa University, Margaret R. Miles of The Graduate Theological Union, Masahiro Shimoda of Tokyo University, and Hiroko Sakomura, Executive Producer of the exhibition.

Address: Milk Gallery
450 W 15th St
New York (Chelsea)
NY, 10011
United States
Phone 212-645-2797

Crux Fidelis

Crux fidelis, inter omnes, arbor una nobilis.
Nulla silva talem profert fronde, flore, germine.
Dulce lignum, dulces clavos, dulce pondus sustinet.

Flecte ramos, arbor alta, tensa laxa viscera
Et rigor lentescat ille, quem dedit nativitas
Et superni membra Regis tende miti stipite.

Sola digna tu fuisti ferre mundi victimam,
Atque portum praeparare arca mundo naufrago
Quam sacer cruor perunxit, fusus Agni corpore.

Sempiterna sit beatae Trintiati gloria
Aequa Patri Filoque, par decus Parcalito;
Unjus Trinique nomen laudet universitas.

Faithful cross, noblest of all trees,
No forest ever produced your like in leaf, in flower, in seed.
Sweet wood to hold sweet nails and bear sweet weight.

Bend your branches, tall tree, relax your tense muscles
And may your native stiffness be softened.
Extend the limbs of the supreme King with your gentle trunk.

You alone have been worthy to bear the world's sacrifice
and anointed with holy blood, shed from the body of the Lamb,
Like the ark to furnish a harbour for a shipwrecked world.

Eternal glory be to the blessed trinity;
Equal glory to the Father and the Son, equal honour to the Comforter;
May the universe praise the name of the one and the three.

Meditation for Good Friday of Holy Week. I'm listening to it on the new King's Singer's CD "The Golden Age" in which the setting is attributed to King John IV of Portugal (1604-56). Breathtaking.

Sermon for the life and work of The Revd Prof C.F.D.Moule by the Archbishop of Canterbury (thanks to Thinking Anglicans) is here.

Centre for Reception History of the Bible
Biblical Women and their Afterlives: New Testament Characters
Trinity College, Oxford
16-18th March 2008

This interdisciplinary conference is part of an AHRC-funded project, in collaboration with Boston University, exploring the reception history of biblical women.

Following on from the successful conference in Boston in 2007, which examined the afterlives of women from the Hebrew Bible, our 2008 conference will focus on the afterlives of New Testament characters in art, music, literature and theology.

Speakers include:

Prof Heidi Hornik (art history)
Prof Diane Apostolos-Cappadona (art history)
Prof Ruth Steiner (music)
Prof Peter Loewen (music)
Fiona Maddocks (music)
Prof Christopher Rowland (theology)
Dr Sarah Jane Boss (theology)

The programme also includes the specially commissioned poem ‘To cast a stone’ by the acclaimed Irish poet John F. Deane.

Today's WSJ contains a report by Andrew Losowsky on Bible Illuminated:

The Swedish-language Bible marries the standard text to glossy magazine-style design. Full-color pages are illustrated with a striking combination of news and dramatized photographs: a homeless child wrapped in a sweater on the streets of Bogotá, Colombia, illustrates the book of Job; a man who drowned trying to enter Europe, for Deuteronomy; and models posing in stylized scenes convey joy or despair. Bible passages are pulled out as captions.

The Old Testament was published last spring and the New Testament, last Christmas. An English-language version is planned for the U.S. in spring 2009.

Förlaget Illuminated says so far it has sold 30,000 copies of the Old and New Testaments. In Sweden annual Bible sales are usually 60,000 copies. The company says they are selling to an audience that doesn't usually buy Bibles: One sales point for the magazines is Sweden's convenience-store chain, Pressbyran.

The only criticism seems to be the magazines' selling price, as much as 349 Swedish kronor, or about €37, each. "I'm not a fan of religion, and I think it's too expensive," says Johanna Ögren, a 32-year-old who runs her own PR company and writes for Sweden's most popular literature blog, Bokhora. "That said, the pictures are beautiful, and the layout is just fantastic. The whole idea really appeals to me a lot."

African Bible Study

Last night I facilitated a Lenten Bible Study for a group of Episcopalian laity and clergy using an adapted version of African Bible Study. The topic was "How Anglicans Read the Bible" with the stipulation that people wanted to work in groups. I gave the group of about thirty five people a handout with the method and three different translations of Matthew 4:1-11 (New KJV, The Message and the NRSV with notes on textual variants and the Greek text).

AFRICAN BIBLE STUDY
(Should take 30-40 minutes)
This Bible Study method was introduced by the African Delegation to the Lambeth Conference. It is known by both names: "Lambeth" and "African."

Opening Prayer: O Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

1 One individual reads passages slowly.

2 Each person identifies the word or phrase that catches their attention. (1 minute)

3 Each shares the word or phrase around the group. (3-5 minutes, NO DISCUSSION)

4 Another person reads the passage slowly (from a different translation, if possible.)

5 Each person identifies where this passage touches their life today. (1 minute)

6 Each shares. (3-5 minutes, NO DISCUSSION)

7 Passage is read a third time (another reader and translation, if possible.)

8 Each person names or writes: "From what I've heard and shared, what do I believe God wants me to do or be? Is God inviting me to change in any way? (5 minutes)

9 Each shares their answer. (5-10 minutes, NO DISCUSSION)

10 Each prays for the person on their right, naming what was shared in other steps. (5 minutes)

Close with the Lord's Prayer and SILENCE

I tweaked #5 by inviting consideration of other matters around the passage: context supplying meaning; other applications of the passage with which they might be familiar. And in my introductory remarks I stressed #8, the application, as the most important part of the whole approach.

Five groups of seven people worked diligently side by side out loud in a church hall for about 45 minutes. And at the end two people asked for extra handouts to take back to their parishes.

If someone came for a lecture they would be disappointed. In that case, I defer to the stipulation. The benefits of this approach are group ownership of the process and the absence of experts (me) except for the introduction. Individuals and groups own the exercise and hear each others' voices doing Anglican Bible Study.

Interfaith Feminisms at WFU March 4&5

The Sixth Annual Phyllis Trible Lecture Series at Wake Forest University will explore “Interfaith Feminisms” March 4 and 5 in Brendle Recital Hall. This year’s series assembles an interfaith group of female scholars of religion to debate and discuss issues ranging from Islamic and Christian feminism to race and gender theology. The theme of “Interfaith Feminisms” promises a fresh look at some provocative questions and new perspectives on the impact of religion in the 21st Century.

The lecture series is named in honor of Phyllis Trible, internationally-known biblical scholar and University Professor of Biblical Studies at the Wake Forest Divinity School. The annual event brings together a wide-ranging audience of Wake Forest students and faculty members, clergy and individuals from across the nation interested in feminist theology. True to the Trible tradition, this year’s scholars will explore feminist and womanist historical and religious perspectives. The two-day event wraps up with a panel discussion with the scholars, moderated by Trible herself.

This year’s speakers include Mary Boys, the Skinner and McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary, New York. Her lecture, titled “Christian Feminist Theology: Learning in the Presence of the Other” draws on her study of Christian and Jewish dialogue. Hibba Abugideiri, assistant professor of history at Villanova University, will explore the role of the modern Islamic woman in “Speaking from Behind the Veil: Does Islamic Feminism Exist?” Abugideiri specializes in modern Middle East history, women in the Middle East and North Africa. Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies in the department of religion at Dartmouth College, will address “Strange Affinities: Biblical Scholarship and the Rise of Racism.” Yvonne Haddad, professor of the history of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, will build on the interfaith feminisms theme when she lectures on “Negotiating Gender through the Qur’an.”

Phyllis Trible, in whose honor the series is held, will open and close the series and be present throughout. She is the author of several books, including “God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality” and “Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives.” Previous lecture series themes focused on “Gender, Sexuality and Faith,” “Miriam, Mary and Mary Magdalene in Art, Literature and Music: Feminist Perspectives,” “The Children of Hagar and Sarah: Feminist Perspectives in Judaism, Christianity and Islam” and “Feminist and Womanist Religious Perspectives.”

Registration for the lecture series begins at noon March 4. Admission is $35 for each individual lecture or $100 for all four lectures. There is an additional charge for the closing luncheon on March 5. The series is free to Wake Forest students, faculty and staff; students from other schools may also attend free by showing their student identification. A complete schedule of events is available online at http://divinity.wfu.edu/trible-lectures.html. For additional information, call 336-758-3522.

Editors note: Dr. Trible is available for advance and in-person interviews. Interviews with other scholars may also be arranged. Call 336-758-4393 to schedule an interview.

Press Contacts:

Audrey Fannin
(336) 758-5237
fannin@wfu.edu

Kevin Cox
(336) 758-5237
coxkp@wfu.edu

Link to the Archbishop's talk added!

It certainly makes a change from the usual focus! Memo to NY Times: there are lay women in the General Synod! As Aunty Beeb notes, there are 482 members divided into three houses: bishops, clergy, laity. Lay members are the largest element and are elected by dioceses.

Here's a take from Andrew Brown at the Guardian who appears to have been at the Synod along with the rest of the press. Picture courtesy of Father Rose.

Now to substance: Abdul Hakim Murad posted a reasoned assessment on yesterday's Thought for the Day, arguing:

It is now clear to most that Dr Williams, far from recommending some kind of parallel law for Muslims, was pointing out that informal religious tribunals which already adjudicate on a limited number of civil - never criminal - matters, in a way which is entirely legal under arbitration laws, should be more systematically brought under the regulation of the legal system. He was not commending greater separateness, or an expansion of Muslim courts - quite the opposite.

Although his prose is sometimes dense, I know he thinks this because a few weeks ago I was with him in Singapore, where we were shown how many of the city's religious minorities, including the Muslims, have their own courts to deal with civil matters such as marriage and divorce. He is interested in the challenge that religious diversity poses to a secular legal system. But he is sure that social cohesion is best served when there is a mechanism by which arbitration conducted within communities can be formally related to national law.

And yet the issue seems a bit more complicated. Shari'a law is revealed truth to which individuals in a religious community (representing a religious minority in the wider society) agree to submit themselves. However, the ABC proposes "transformative jurisdiction in which individuals retain the liberty to choose the jurisdiction under which they will seek to resolve certain carefully specified matters." But can the legal system of the land, for example, allow particular religious courts to take away rights that individuals enjoy in their larger context as citizens of the society in which they live? So far, I have more questions than answers.

Here's a link to a video of the speech.