Violence of God in the Old Testament

The 20th annual SCJ conference will be Friday-Saturday, April 16-17, 2021, with student paper competition presentations the evening of Thursday, April 15. Sponsored by Lincoln Christian University, the conference has been moved to a virtual format as in 2020. The schedule for the conference, all on central time, is anticipated to be approximately 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. CST on Friday and 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST on Saturday.

The theme is Violence of God in the Old Testament. Featured speakers include:

Eric Seibert
Professor of Old Testament, Messiah University
"Solving the Problem of God's Violent Behavior in the Old Testament: Is Jesus the Answer?" and "Preaching and Teaching from Violent Old Testament Texts: Pitfalls and Possibilities"

Michelle Knight
Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
"Sexual Violence at Gibeah (Judges 19);"

Mark Hamilton
Onstead Professor of Biblical Studies, Abilene Christian University
"No Shalom for the Wicked? Peace after War in the Book of Isaiah."

Related papers or papers on other biblical, theological, or historical topics for parallel sessions were sought from experienced scholars as well as from student scholars. As of February 15, a few slots were still open. Send your paper title (no abstract needed) to Jeff Painter, Conference Parallel Paper Coordinator, at jeff.painter@scinternational.org. The first 35 paper topics submitted are guaranteed a slot.

These study groups still plan to meet as of February 15. For more information, contact leaders listed below:

• Acts and the Early Church (Judith.Odor@gmail.com)
• Biblical Teaching on Women (jdmiller@milligan.com)
• Christian Education (jimestep@cccb.edu)
• Christian Leadership (cbeard@johnsonu.edu)
• Ecclesiology & Social Ethics (shauncbrown@yahoo.com)
• History and Theology of Stone-Campbell Movement (jgorman@johnsonu.edu)
• Jewish Scripture as Christian Scripture (dstark@faulkner.edu.com)
• Life, Letters, and Legacy of Paul (jordan.stanley@asburyseminary.edu)
• Old Testament in Ancient Near Eastern Context (jabembry@milligan.edu)
• Race and Social Justice (paul.axton@gmail.com)
• Synoptic Gospels (danny.yencich@gmail.com)
• Theological Reflection (stephen.lawson@slu.edu)

Inquiries regarding study groups may be directed to the coordinator of the study groups: toddwuske@scinternational.org.

Student paper competitions will occur in three categories: Junior/Senior; M.A./M.Div., and Restoration (Isaac Errett Award from the Disciples Historical Society). Paper submission deadlines were in January. For more information contact Les Hardin (lhardin@johnsonu.edu) regarding the undergrad and grad competition, and Doug Foster (fosterd@acu.edu) for the Isaac Errett competition.

The student paper presentations will be made on Thursday evening, April 15.

Watch here for further updates as plans firm up for this virtual-only conference.