Beyond the Renaissance: Critical Texts and Bible Translation

David Lyle Jeffrey is Distinguished Professor of Literature and Humanities at Baylor University; Senior Fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR), and is in international demand as a speaker on English Literature, the Biblical Tradition, and related cultural implications. He has written widely in these areas and others; and was three times the recipient of the CCL Book of the Year Award, and also recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Conference on Christianity and Literature. His books include A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature; The Early English Lyric and Franciscan Spirituality; Chaucer and Scriptural Tradition; English Spirituality in the Age of Wesley; The Law of Love: English Spirituality in the Age of Wyclif; People of the Book: Christian Identity and Literary Culture, and; Houses of the Interpreter: Reading Scripture, Reading Culture. He has edited William Cowper: Selected Poetry and Prose and co-authored book on The Bible and the University. Most recently he has published Christianity and Literature: Philosophical Foundations and Critical Practice (IVP, 2011), co-authored by Gregory Maillet, and The King James Bible and the World it Made (2011) and Luke: a Theological Commentary (Brazos Press, forthcoming). He serves as the ISR Director of Manuscript Research in Scripture and Tradition, which involves professors and their students in the research of rare items from the Green Collection.

* Response by Dr. Christopher Hutson, Abilene Christian University

The Contents and Challenges of the Dead Sea Biblical Scrolls

Peter Flint serves as the Canada Research Chair in Dead Sea Scrolls Studies and actively promotes Scrolls studies through sponsored symposia, teaching, writing and delivering public lectures. He is the author of numerous studies on the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the critically acclaimed The Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls and the Book of Psalms (E. J. Brill), co-author of the widely-read Dead Sea Scrolls Bible (Harper San Francisco), and editor of the major two-volume collection The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment (E. J. Brill). Dr. Flint serves as a General Editor of one series on the Old Testament: "The Formation and Interpretation of Old Testament Literature" (E. J. Brill), as well as three series on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He has also edited over 25 Dead Sea Scrolls for three volumes in the internationally acclaimed series "Discoveries in the Judaean Desert" (Oxford University Press).

* Response by Dr. Eric Niccum, Abilene Christian University

The Making of a Bible Classic: The Translation of the King James Bible

Gordon Campbell is Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Leicester, England; author of numerous books on John Milton; most recently a full-length biography of Milton (2008); a 12-volume edition of Milton’s works (2008-2010); a history of the King James Bible, The Bible: The Story of the King James Version, 1611-2011 (2011), and an edition of the 1611 KJV Bible (2011), all with Oxford University Press. Dr. Campbell keeps an active international speaking schedule, and also has decades of research and interaction with Islamic texts and cultures. He serves as Senior Scholar for the Green Scholars Initiative, KJV Project.

* Response by Dr. Lisa Wolfe, Oklahoma City University

The Greatest Archaeological Discoveries and the Old Testament

Edwin Yamauchi is Professor Emeritus of History at Miami University (OH). Over several decades he has authored scholarly articles on ancient history, and numerous books. Some of them include Africa and the Bible, Persia and the Bible, and The Stones and the Scriptures. He is co-editor of Peoples of the Old Testament World, and has appeared on a number of television documentaries. Dr. Yamauchi’s research has been cited in numerous studies, from the leading journals in ancient history to popular works such as Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ. He has served as the president of the Institute for Biblical Research, and the Near East Archaeological Society. He is a founding advisory board member of the Green Scholars Initiative.

* Response by Dr. Brad Young, Oral Roberts University

The Green Collection, Scientific Breakthroughs and Bible Translation

Scott Carroll is the founding Director of the Green Collection, Principal Investigator of the Green Scholars Initiative, and Research Professor of Manuscript Studies and the Biblical Tradition at Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion. He directed the excavation of the earliest, unoccupied monastery in the world at Wadi Natrun, Egypt, recovering important material evidence about the earliest stages of Christian monasticism. He has edited and published numerous undocumented ancient and medieval texts primarily written in Greek, Coptic, Syriac, Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic. He has won various teaching awards, and has over 30 students who have gone on to earn Ph.D.s and teach in Higher Education. His work has been featured throughout the media, including his lead role in forming the Passages Exhibition. He led the development and execution of the KJV exhibits featuring the Green Collection at the Vatican Embassy (D.C.) and Baylor University’s Armstrong Browning Library, which have garnered around 100 million views among various media channels. Dr. Carroll has done numerous documentaries, TV and radio interviews, including being featured on NPR’s Talk of the Nation. He also lectures regularly for the Asian Baptist Theological Institute throughout Asia. His Odyssey in Egypt Program garnered international acclaim, including a place in the Smithsonian for creative pedagogy.

* Response by Dr. Kyle Harper, University of Oklahoma

Manuscripts Discoveries and Bible Translation

Scot McKendrick serves as the Head of History and Classical Studies, The British Library. He has contributed to major exhibitions in several countries. He has facilitated projects for the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, acted as consultant to the Royal Academy of Arts for the exhibition “Illuminating the Renaissance,” and is a founding committee member of the Research Centre for Illuminated Manuscripts in London. He lectures widely in London and at British universities, as well as in Florence, Antwerp, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. He has a wide array of books on manuscripts, e.g., The Illuminated Manuscript: Makers and Interpreters; Bible Manuscripts: 1400 Years of Scribes and Scripture; The Bible as Book: Transmission of the Greek Text; In a Monastery Library: Preserving Codex Sinaiticus and the Greek Written Heritage, and; Flemish Illuminated Manuscripts 1400-1550. His Illuminating the Renaissance: the Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe won the Eric Mitchell Prize for the best exhibition catalogue and The Eugène Baie Prize for the best publication. In the late 1990s he assisted Drs. Carroll and Pattengale with the “The Bible as Book” conferences at Hampton Court, Herefordshire.

* Response by Dr. John Harrison, Oklahoma Christian University

Papyri Discoveries and Bible Translation

Dirk Obbink is the Lecturer in Papyrology and Greek Literature in the Faculty of Classics at Oxford University and is the head of the prestigious Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project. Obbink has achieved the rare distinction of a dual appointment as an American University Professor (Collegiate Professor of Papyrology, University of Michigan) and Fellow and Tutor in the University of Oxford (Christ Church). He is also Director of the Imaging Papyri Project at Oxford. This project is working to capture digitized images of Greek and Latin papyri held by the Ashmolean Museum (the Oxyrhynchus Papyri), and the Bodleian Library and the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples (the carbonized scrolls from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum), for the creation of an Oxford bank of digitized images of papyri. In addition to several books and many scholarly articles, he has led the publication of nearly 80 volumes on the Oxyrynchus texts. Dr. Obbink serves as Senior Scholar for the Green Scholars Initiative for both the Papyri and Climaci Rescriptus Projects.

* Response by Dr. Jeffrey Fish, Baylor University

What Do William Tyndale and C. S. Lewis have in Common?

Alister McGrath is among the most recognized authors on Christian apologetics in the English-speaking world. He was elected University Research Lecturer in Theology at Oxford University in 1993, and also served concurrently as research professor of theology at Regent College, Vancouver, from 1993-7. In 1995, he was elected Principal of Wycliffe Hall, and in 1999 was awarded a personal chair in theology at Oxford University, with the title of "Professor of Historical Theology". He earned an Oxford Doctorate of Divinity in 2001 for his research on historical and systematic theology. In September 2004, he resigned as Principal of Wycliffe Hall to become the first Director of the newly-established Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. In October 2006, he was elected to a Senior Research Fellowship at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, where he began directing a major new research project on natural theology, funded by the John Templeton Foundation, while also serving as President of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2005. In September 2008, McGrath took up the newly-established Chair of Theology, Ministry and Education in the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King's College, London. He also serves as the academic leader of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture, and is involved both in theological research and the professional development of clergy from a range of Christian denominations. He serves as Senior Scholar for the Green Scholars Initiative, King James Version Project.

* Response by Dr. Charles Bressler, Indiana Wesleyan University

Richard Rolle's Impact on the English Bible

Ralph Hanna serves as Professor of Palaeography and Tutorial Fellow, Keble College, Oxford University. He is a noted scholar on Regionalism in Middle English literature, alliterative poetry (especially Piers Plowman), and language contact in England. Among his recent publications are London Literature, 1300-1380 (Cambridge), Richard Rolle: Uncollected Verse and Prose with related Northern Texts (Oxford), The Knightly Tale of Golagros and Gawane: A Critical Edition (Woodbridge), and Speculum Vitae: A Reading Text (Oxford). He has held editorships with many of the world’s leading journals and sponsoring societies, such as Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, UCLA; Medieval Academy of America; Johns Hopkins University (ELH); Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts; The Chaucer Library Committee; Council of the Oxford Bibliographical Society, and Council of the Early English Text Society. He has served on advisory boards for many of the world’s greatest libraries and repositories of special collections, including the Huntington Library, Oxford University computing center, Cambridge University, Calgary University, Queen’s University, Belfast, and many others. Dr. Hanna serves as Senior Scholar for the Green Scholars Initiative, Richard Rolle Project.

* Response by Dr. Bobby Kelly, Oklahoma Baptist University

Answers to New Theories Regarding How We Got the Bible

Jerry Pattengale serves as Director of the Green Scholars Initiative. He also is Distinguished Senior Fellow, Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion; Senior Fellow, The Sagamore Institute; Assistant Provost, Indiana Wesleyan University; Director of National Conversations, and; Associate Publisher, Christian Scholar’s Review. He received the National Student Advocate Award (USC), two Professor of the Year Awards (APU), an NEH Award to Isthmia, Greece, and established the record viewership for the prominent Teaching Professor broadcasts (Madison, WI). He continues to speak at universities and conferences nationally. Books this year include Biblical Evidence: Logical Approaches to Objectivity (summer release); Beyond Integration (winter release); and Taking Every Thought Captive. Other recent books include Straight Talk: Clear Answers about Today’s Christianity; Why I Teach; The Purpose-guided Student; Helping Sophomores Succeed; and Visible Solutions for Invisible Students. Dr. Pattengale is one of the leaders of Purpose-Guided Education ©, an approach to student success built around life’s ultimate questions and humanities curricula. His “Accidental Author” newsprint series has run over a decade (Paxton Media) and he contributes regularly to Books & Culture. He and Scott Carroll received international acclaim for their Odyssey in Egypt initiative, attached to the excavation in Wadi Natrun, Egypt and schools in Western Michigan.

* Response by Dr. Marty Michelson, Southern Nazarene University

The Greatest Archaeological Discoveries and the New Testament

Robert E. Cooley is President Emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Seminary, and remains active in its Charlotte campus. Recognized widely for his research and writing in the field of archaeology, Dr. Cooley has overseen a number of excavation projects in the USA, and during the past fifty years he has directed excavations at locations such as Tell Dothan, Khirbet Haiyan, et'Tell, and Khirbet Raddana (Ramallah) in Palestine, and at Tell er-Retaba in Egypt. He has served as the principal investigator related to these excavations for over 100 monographs published by the Missouri State University Center for Archaeological Research. In addition to his excavation activities, Dr. Cooley has directed more than 70 study trips throughout the Middle East. As a working scholar, he has been active in a variety of professional societies, in numerous public, community and state civic activities, and served Christianity Today as a Senior Editor. Dr. Cooley is the past president of The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada; and, has served on boards of trustees at European and American institutions. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Museum of the Bible, which upon its completion will house much of the Green Collection.

* Response by Mr. Harold Smith, President, Christianity Today International