London School of Theology New Testament Conference

The last two days I have attended the London School of Theology New Testament Conference.
The papers were, as usual, a mixed bag. One of the better ones touched upon the Secret Gospel of Mark; another provided incisive critique of Wright’s take on Mk 13; while another drew heavily again on Wright, in relation to 2 Cor 5:21. Volker’s paper, I’m glad to say, was a real success, but his take on 2 Cor 3:18 brought me into disagreement with my Supervisor (I’m right).

Interesting also was the discussion on Marianne Thompson’s recent commentary on Colossians and Philemon in the new Two Horizons Commentary series. My first impressions is that this book is a first-rate read - highly recommended. Max, my supervisor, is co-editing this series, which was introduced by this utterly superb book, a collection of essay on the plan to bridge the gap, in a commentary series, between biblical exegesis and systematic theology. Do keep in touch with the development of this commentary series - it’s an important moment in the biblical/theological dialogue.

All in all, an OK conference, but it isn’t as much fun unless you are giving a paper, which, this time, I wasn’t. And worse still, I didn’t manage to bring a single person presenting a paper, through harsh critique, to tears. A real disappointment. I live for the moment when they break.

It hasn’t been too convenient finding a computer to use these last few days, and the one I’m presently using is not what I’m used to, but needless to say, I’ll have a little more computer access when this weekend is over.