I’m in two reading groups this fall. One has just begun reading Unprotected Texts by Jennifer Wright Knust, an attempt to push Hebrew and Christian scholarship on desire, human sexuality, and the body out of biblical studies journals and into the church library.
The tone of the book is much lighter than you might expect! I think our group will make quick work of the book itself, but we’ll spend much more time on questions that arise as we compare our experience and previous teaching with the material.
The second group is gathering around James D. Tabor’s lifelong study of the Christian apostle Paul. In Paul and Jesus: How the apostle transformed Christianity, Tabor explains Paul’s primary teachings, outlines ways they differed from the teachings of early church leaders who’d had personal friendships with Jesus before his death, and explores how Pauline Christianity has dominated modern understandings of the Christian faith.
If you’d like to engage either of these books with me before the end of the year, contact me and let me know. I’ll post my questions as we progress.