The 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature is fast approaching (Nov. 17–20). To help prepare for the event, we have compiled all of the presentations focusing on Christian Apocrypha. As usual, NASSCAL is well-represented.
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”