Two GTU doctoral students in Biblical Studies were recently selected to present papers at the Graeco-Roman Society and the New Testament section of the International meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Amsterdam in late July.
Phil Erwin will address a particular passage in I Corinthians where Paul references fighting wild beasts in Ephesus. Evidence shows that the appearance in Corinth of the Roman arena, a historical paradigm which colors the reading, actually post-dates Paul’s letter. In light of this, Erwin will offer a range of interpretations which reflect situations inside and outside the deadly Roman displays.
Ashley Bacchi will examine Luke’s portrayal of Jesus and his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. She proposes that the writer of Luke was influenced by Pompeian depictions of the sleeping Ariadne. Sleep in both stories, according to Bacchi, serves as a transition between events of loss and gaining immortality.