Christian Apocrypha at SBL 2018
The 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature is fast approaching (Nov. 17–20). To help prepare for the event, I have compiled all of the presentations focusing on Christian Apocrypha. See you in Denver.
Christian Apocrypha Section sessions:
S17-116 Christian Apocrypha (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Theme: New and Neglected Christian Apocryphal Texts
Tobias Nicklas, Universität Regensburg, Presiding
Chance Bonar, Harvard University: “An Introduction to 3 Apocryphal Apocalypse of John”
Florentina Badalanova Geller, Freie Universität Berlin: “Apocryphal Gospels and the Folk Bible”
Tony Burke, York University: “Opera Evangelica: The Discovery of a Lost Collection of Christian Apocrypha”
Bradley Rice, McGill University: “The Suspension of Time in the Book of the Nativity of the Savior”
James E. Walters, Rochester College: “The (Syriac) Exhortation of Peter: A New Addition to the Petrine Apocryphal Tradition”
Business Meeting
S17-309 Christian Apocrypha (4:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
Theme: Connecting Gospels
Sandra Huebenthal, University of Passau, Presiding
Tobias Nicklas, Universität Regensburg: “Water into Beer! Transformations of Biblical Miracles in Late Antique and Early Medieval Traditions”
Janet Spittler, University of Virginia: “The Minor Acts of Thomas and John 20:24–29”
Francis Watson, University of Durham: “‘Inasmuch as Many Have Attempted…’: The Apocryphon of James and the Problem of Gospel Plurality”
J.R.C. (Rob) Cousland, University of British Columbia: “Rereading the Christology of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas: The Rewriting of Luke 2:41-52 in Paidika 17”
Julia Snyder, Universität Regensburg, Respondent
S19-138 Joint Session: Religious Competition in Late Antiquity; Christian Apocrypha (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Theme: Religious Competition in the Christian Apocrypha
Arthur Urbano, Providence College (Rhode Island), Presiding
Jacob A. Lollar, Florida State University: “What Has Ephesus to Do with Edessa?: The Syriac History of John, the Cult of the Dea Syria, and Religious Competition in Fourth-Century Syria “
Jung Choi, North Carolina Wesleyan College: “Two Bodily Practices in the Acts of Peter”
Shaily Shashikant Patel, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: “Magic and Polysemy: The Case of the Pseudo-Clementines”
Christopher A. Frilingos, Michigan State University: “Blood into Stone: Violence, Sanctuary, and ‘Jewish Christianity’ in the Protevangelium Jacobi“
Lily Vuong, Central Washington University, Respondent
S19-308 Christian Apocrypha (4:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
Theme: Sex and Violence in the Christian Apocrypha
Janet Spittler, University of Virginia, Presiding
Catherine Playoust, University of Divinity: “‘And Still He Won’t Leave Me Alone’ (Acts Thom. 43.11): A Toxic Masculine Demon in the Acts of Thomas”
Michael Whitenton, Baylor University: “Subversive (E)masculation: A Medical Perspective on Paul’s Baldness in Acts of Thecla”
Andrew R. Guffey, McCormick Theological Seminary: “Toxic Femininity? Enkrateia and Gender in Christian Apocryphal Literature”
Jennifer Hunter, Northern Arizona University: “Perfection and the Ritual Reunification of Male and Female in the Gospel of Philip”
Eric Vanden Eykel, Ferrum College: “Faithfulness or a Flamethrower? The Judgment and Redemption of Salome in the Protevangelium of James”
Additional Christian apocrypha papers in Nag Hammadi and Gnosticism Section sessions:
S19-231 Nag Hammadi and Gnosticism (1:00 PM to 3:30 PM)
Theme: Recent Research in Nag Hammadi and Gnosticism
Nicola Lewis, Claremont Graduate University, Presiding
Eric Crégheur, Université d’Ottawa – University of Ottawa: “Toll Collectors and Gate Guardians: A Typical Gnostic Motif?“
Eunice Villaneda, Claremont School of Theology: “Trading Gender for Redemption: A Look into the Suppression of the Valentinian Feminist”
Michael Beshay, Ohio State University: “The Gnostic Roots of Marian Devotion in Late Antiquity”
Of interest also is a session on canon formation:
S19-112a Development of Early Christian Theology (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Theme: Canonical Texts Across the Ancient Mediterranean World, Year 1: What is a Canon and How is it Formed?
Matthew Crawford, Presiding
Fritz Graf, The Ohio State University: “Canonical Texts in Greek Religion: From Orpheus to Homer”
Hindy Najman, University of Oxford: “Between Canons and Margins: Rethinking Pseudepigraphy and Biblical Composition”
Jens Schroeter, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin – Humboldt University of Berlin: “The Canon of the New Testament: Some Observations concerning Its Origin and Meaning”
Lewis Ayres, Durham University & Australian Catholic University: “Inevitability, Literary Critical Practices, and the Development of the Canon”
And there are a variety of additional papers on apocryphal texts in other sessions:
S17-107 Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies (9:00 AM to 11:00 AM)
Theme: Ten-Minute Teaching Tips for Teaching Biblical Studies
Brent Landau, University of Texas at Austin: “Telling the Difference between Canonical and Apocryphal Sayings of Jesus: It’s Harder than You Think”
S17-147 Speech and Talk in the Ancient Mediterranean World; Ancient Fiction and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Patricia Duncan, Texas Christian University: “Speech, Characterization, and Intertextuality in the Pseudo-Clementine Novel”
S17-214 Construction of Christian Identities (1:00 PM to 3:30 PM)
Julia Kelto Lillis, University of Virginia: “Virgin Categories in the Protevangelium of James and Histories of Sexuality in Antiquity”
S18-118 Corpus Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Outi Lehtipuu, University of Helsinki: “Hello from the Other Side: Women and Resurrection in Apocryphal Acts”
Laura Carnevale, University of Aldo Moro: “Women’s Authority in the First Century: The Daughters of Philip, the Daughters of Job, and the Therapeutae”
S18-124 Ethiopic Bible and Literature (9:00 AM to 12:00 PM)
Fanos W. Tsegaye, University of St. Andrews: “Testament of the Lord: Its Countenance in the Ethiopic Eucharistic Prayers”
Meron Gebreananaye, University of Durham: “The Reception of Non-Canonical Gospels in Ethiopic Tradition: A Brief Look at ?the Tam?ra Iyesus”
S18-134 Jewish Christianity / Christian Judaism (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Antti Vanhoja, University of Helsinki: “Bearer of Heresies: Simon Magus in the Pseudo-Clementine Basic Writing from the Perspective of Identity Construction”
Warren C. Campbell, University of Notre Dame: “From Jewish-Christian Counter-History to Ecclesial Normativity: The Epistula Clementis in the Archival History of the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions”
S19-132 New Testament Textual Criticism (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Ian N. Mills, Duke University: “‘Unripe Figs’: Isho’dad’s Diatessaron and the Original Language of Tatian’s Gospel”
S19-107 Book History and Biblical Literatures (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Julian V. Hills, Marquette University: “The Apocryphal New Testament as ‘Bound-With’ Volume: Collection, Dissemination, Interpretation”
Olivia Stewart Lester, Oxford University: “Prophecy, Pseudepigraphy, and Collection: The Making of the Sibylline Oracles”
S19-111 Children in the Biblical World; Psychology and Biblical Studies (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Michael Whitenton, Baylor University: “Humor in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas”
S19-206 Bible and Visual Art; Exile (Forced Migrations) in Biblical Literature (1:00 PM to 3:30 PM)
Ian Boxall, The Catholic University of America: “Visualizing the Flight into Egypt”
S19-220 Healthcare and Disability in the Ancient World (1:00 PM to 3:30 PM)
Pieter Botha, University of South Africa: “Disabling Romanticism: The Body in New Testament Apocrypha”
S20-102 Ancient Fiction and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Timothy P. Hein, University of Edinburgh: “Birth Pains: What Can (Re)Producing Jesus’ Birth Narrative (Re)Produce?”
S20-112 Early Jewish Christian Relations (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Jennifer R Hunter, Northern Arizona University: “From Hebrews to Christians: Religious Identity and Competition within the Gospel of Philip”
S20-135 Slavery, Resistance, and Freedom (9:00 AM to 11:30 AM)
Joseph E. Brito, Concordia University – Université Concordia: “Appropriating the Title of ‘Servant of God’ in the Second Century CE: Slavery and Identity in the Acts of Paul and Thecla”