My third day at Franciscan University of Steubenville is winding down, and I can give an enthusiastic endorsement to the Applied Biblical Studies Conference. Most of the attendees are laity, but many clergy are here. Of the laity, I sense that a lot are not "church professionals," but fired-up faithful. So this mix presents a challenge for the organizers; if it is too scholarly, a lot of the laity might stay away; if, however, it's pitched too much to non-professional laity, the clergy might not come. I'd say they strike a good balance.
So what scholars are here? Well, as I write, Scott Hahn is introducing Edward Sri; earlier, we heard from Lawrence Feingold, Michael Barber, Matt Leonard, Brant Pitri, Taylor Marshall,and Jeffrey Morrow. These folks are associated with the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theolgy and the Sacred Page website. This is good stuff.
Well, here is Dr. Sri, so I'll post this...
1 comment:
I am very interested in how they bridge the gap for rigor. I prefer the rigor, but can understand why they would soften it. In my case, I really like, love, this sort of thing, but am sort of private about it unless I am around professionals who can share understanding. Growing up I was sort of put off Bible study by folks who read without any background and interpreted personally. I never could see, even academically, how someone could equate the Whore of Babylon to the Church and it made me disrespect those sorts of Bible Study. So I over compensated with rigor and privacy. Some years ago I met a man who had spent many years as a POW and he spoke of how much his Faith supported him during that time. He also commented how the Protestants were much more familiar with the Bible, at least as literature, than Catholics and how he wished he had that same level of familiarity. The first stop, for me, was the Missal and the lessons each day. They are related although they often seem not to be so. That intrigues me and those difficult lessons call to me very strongly. The Catholic guided study of the Liturgy is very helpful as a starting point for me.
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