Christian Apocrypha at the 2007 SBL Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature is fast approaching (Nov. 17-20). The Program has been posted on-line and several bloggers have been drawing attention to particular sessions (see The Forbidden Gospels on the Gospel of Judas papers). Here are the complete details of the Apocrypha sessions:

November 19, 1-3 pm

Christopher Matthews, Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Presiding Antti Marjanen, University of Helsinki
Does the Gospel of Judas Rehabilitate Judas Iscariot? (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Edward Dixon, Emory University
A Hope for Status Inversion in the Acts of Thomas (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Derek S. Dodson, Baylor University
Dream Magic: The Dream of Pilate’s Wife and the Accusation of Magic in the Acts of Pilate (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Jennifer A. Glancy, Le Moyne College
Mary in Childbirth (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Paul G. Schneider, University of South Florida
A Johannine Trajectory for the Lord's Secret Sacrament (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

November 19, 4-6:30 pm

Abraham Terian, St. Nersess' Armenian Seminary The Armenian Gospel of the Infancy (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Claire Clivaz, University of Lausanne
Madness, Philosophical, or Mystical Experiment? A Weird Text, Recognitions 2:61-69 (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Päivi Vähäkangas, University of Helsinki
The Doctrine of Creatio ex Nihilo in Pseudo-Clementine Literature (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Caleb Webster, Claremont Graduate University
Taking Over Thomas: The Subversion of Judas Didymus Thomas in the Edessene Abgar Tradition (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Business Meeting (30 min)

November 20, 9-11:30 am

Ann Graham Brock, Iliff School of Theology, Presiding Tony Burke, York University
Heresy Hunting in the New Millennium (30 min)
Pierluigi Piovanelli, University of Ottawa, Respondent (10 min)
Marvin Meyer, Chapman University, Respondent (10 min)
Discussion (10 min)
Judith Hartenstein, Philipps Universität-Marburg
Non-canonical Appearance Stories and the Development of the Resurrection Tradition (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Cornelia Horn, Saint Louis University/ Dumbarton Oaks
Qur’anic Perspectives on Jesus’ Life and Death in the Light of the Transmission and Reception History of Apocryphal Christian Literature (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Timothy P. Henderson, Marquette University
The Gospel of Peter and Early Objections to the Resurrection of Jesus (25 min)
Discussion (5 min)

Noteworthy also are two papers in the “Function of Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphical Writings in Early Judaism and Early Christianity (through 3rd to 4th centuries CE)” session (Nov. 19 4-6:30 pm):

Simon Lee, Harvard University Competition between the Holy Scriptures of the Lord and the Oral Traditions: Examination of the Transfiguration Account in Acts of Peter (Second Century CE) (20 min)
Henry Rietz, Grinnell College, Respondent (5 min)
Discussion (5 min)
Stephen J. Shoemaker, University of Oregon
Between Scripture and Tradition: The Marian Apocrypha of Early Christianity (20 min)
George Zervos, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Respondent (5 min)
Discussion (5 min)