The first four profiles and topics for the upcoming Naked Bible Conference (Dallas, August 18) were:
- Dr. Bill Arnold: “Israel in, among, or against Its Neighbors? A Singular Israel in a Pluralistic World“
- Dr. Archie Wright: “The Reception of the Satan Tradition in Second Temple Judaism and the Gospels“
- Dr. John Hilber: “Since When Is Literal Interpretation “Normal”?—Reconsidering a Popular Assumption“
- Dr. William (“Rusty”) Osborne: “Reaching for the Heavens: Tree Imagery and Kingship in the Bible and the Ancient Near East“
I’m also speaking, but you all know me (my topic is described on the conference website with the rest). Our final speaker and topic profiles is Dr. Daniel Streett whose session is entitled, “Flood, Fire, and Festival: How the Nephilim and Noah’s Flood Unlock the Mystery of Yom Kippur and the Final Judgment.”
How awesome is that? A real scholar (not a Christian Middle Earth personality) talking about the nephilim and end times? Honestly, when is the last time you had that opportunity?!
Truth be told, this last topic is illustrative of what I’m trying to do with this conference. A lot of folks who listen to the podcast found it compelling because of their prior exposure to these sorts of things in the wild worlds of YouTube and Google search results — what I affectionately refer to as Christian Middle Earth. But MANY of those folks have told me they suspected (or discovered) that a lot of what they found online really wasn’t academically (or theologically) sound. Well, now is your chance to get some trustworthy information on topics that most of the church consider fringe-worthy, but which Dr. Streett will show were an important part of the intellectual context of Israel and Second Temple Judaism.
It’s no exaggeration to say (again) that you won’t find another conference like this one (until next year’s). Register now while there is still space!
