Illinois Wesleyan University
I am en route to Bloomington, IL this morning, to do a reading, book signing, and lecture on The Jesus Dynasty at Illinois Wesleyan University. This highly rated and venerable University, founded in 1850, has quite an illustrious history with a Who’s Who’s of famous alumni. It is located in the heart of “Lincoln Country” and both Lincoln and Grant were from this area.
I go at the invitation of Dennis Groh, a notable scholar and professor of Early Christianity, and retiring University Chaplain. Denny and I go back a long way, first during my Chicago days when he was at Northwestern and I was finishing up at the University of Chicago and later teaching at Notre Dame. In the 1990s we dug together at Sepphoris and Denny has served as a an associate director of that excavation along with Tom Longstaff (retired from Colby College) and Tom McCollough (Centre College), under the supervision of Jim Strange (University of South Florida).
This is not my first visit to Illinois Wesleyan, nor my only contact with students and faculty there. In fact my associations there are thick and rich. I did a lecture there back in Y2K days, mostly summarized now in my published article: Why 2K? The Biblical Roots of Millennialism, published in Bible Review. I also met many Illinois Wesleyan students who came with Dr. Groh to dig at Sepphoris and some of them have kept up with me over the years, as well as with some of my UNC Charlotte students. April DeConick, with whom I have done two Biblical Archaeology Society Seminars now on “Lost Christianities,” was formerly at Illinois Wesleyan and Denny Groh is the one who first put me in touch with her. She now holds the Chair of Early Christianity at Rice University. Carol Myscofski, who was a fellow student of Jonathan Z. Smith during my University of Chicago days is also at Illinois Wesleyan, serving as Chair of the Religion Department.
BTW, April DeConick is the one who has just published a very important book, Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, arguing that in its original form, before subsequent development, this important work reaches back to the Jerusalem Jesus movement led by James the Just, brother of Jesus. I hope to write more on this when I finish reading her book.
What I think is rather notable about this particular trip/lecture is that I will address the Thursday morning Chapel Service at the University speaking about the “historical Jesus” as I understand him, and his relevance for Christian faith today. It is surely a credit to Dr. Groh, who does not agree with all my conclusions in The Jesus Dynasty, to invite me to initiate such a dialogue. Dr. Groh is a church historian, an archaeologist, and a Christian theologian, so I could hardly ask for a richer context in which to explore some of the key ideas in my book. I am arriving with a fair amount of publicity, in that the local NPR station has carried an interview with me and Dr. Groh has done a good deal of promotion himself, including a nicely done critical review of my book which he privately circulated among his students. I am looking forward to a very stimulating time and I relish the opportunity to get into some of the issues that I anticipate this sharp and keen group of faculty and students will raise with me.