Last Saturday I delivered last-ever Seminary Project Labs workshops. For those who might be interested, the attendance and web traffic statistics are posted below.
Seminary Project Labs Final Report (2011-02-21)
Last hurrah for the Seminary Project Labs
I probably should have written a post about this earlier this week, but here it is now in hopes that it reaches someone who is interested.
This Saturday (Feb. 12) and the next (Feb. 19) I’ll be giving the last-ever offering of the Seminary Project Labs workshops in the ML 3 Technology Classroom at the Mack Library.
Each workshop will be webcasted live, and I’ll take questions from web viewers on the twitter hashtag #semlabs.
What is this all about? Here is a little bit about each workshop:
- Greek & Hebrew fonts: Learn about the latest technology for using Greek and Hebrew text in your documents. Explains the basics using of Unicode text, the international standard for writing with non-English scripts such as Greek and Hebrew.
- Turabian: Learn basic Turabian style and set up a blank Turabian document with the Turabian Wizard used at the Bob Jones University Seminary.
- Zotero: Zotero makes individual and collaborative research easier. It allows you to easily gather and share reference information, and to incorporate that information into your footnotes and bibliographies. It is also completely free, and developed by an international community of developers and scholars which shapes its future roadmap.
You can find out more on the dedicated website for the Seminary Project Labs. If you’re in Greenville, SC on Feb. 12 or Feb. 19, I’d love to see you. Otherwise, tune in for the webcast.
Schedule
Saturday, Feb 12
- Greek & Hebrew fonts 9:00-9:45 AM
- Turabian 10-11 AM
- Zotero 11 AM – 12:30 PM
Saturday, Feb 19
- Zotero 10:00-11:30 AM
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Religious resources at the Mack Library
I’ve been involved in two major projects at my workplace this year. This post is just to summarize everything and put all the links in one place.
First, I taught the Seminary Project Labs, a workshop series covering basic computer skills for seminary level research and writing. (Psst! Sign up now for sessions next February!)
Second, I’ve written a number of online subject guides on religious topics (see below). Hopefully these will point people to the right sources as they plan research projects.
- Biblical Commentaries (Technical)–Lists technical, conservative commentaries for the books of the Bible.
- Biblical Exegesis–Software and online resources for studying the biblical text.
- Biblical Greek–Resources for Greek students at all levels.
- Biblical Hebrew–Resources for Hebrew (and Aramaic) students at all levels.
- New Testament Greco-Roman Backgrounds–Introductory material on the Greco-Roman world, including its history, society, culture, religion, and literature, in relation to the expansion of early Christianity and the New Testament documents.
- Seminary Project Labs – Greek & Hebrew fonts, Turabian, Zotero–Guides you through the installation and configuration of Greek and Hebrew fonts, the use of the BJU Seminary Turabian wizard, and Zotero.
- Sermon Index–Indexes sermons in books at the Mack Library by preacher and Scripture passage. Includes call numbers and page references.
Bible reading videos
Yesterday my friend John Bensley and I recorded some videos for the YouTube Bible project that I wrote about the other day. I don’t know if these will be included on the website for the project or not, but I thought I’d post them here anyway fwiw.
Richard Dawkins, the YouTube Bible, and me
A lot of hoopla is building up to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the KJV, primarily through the sponsorship of the King James Bible Trust in England.
One of the coolest projects sponsored by the trust is The YouTube Bible, an ambitious attempt to collect video footage of people like you and me reading chapters from the KJV.
Submitting a video for the collection is pretty simple. Upload a video to YouTube of yourself reading a chapter that isn’t already in their collection, and email them a link to it.
The project has already taken one fascinating twist with noted atheist Richard Dawkins contributing this reading of Song of Songs 2. The video is fascinating on a number of levels. I disagree with almost everything Dawkins says before he begins reading, yet find blessing in his expressive reading of the text.
Naturally, a lot of people wonder why Dawkins would even care to take part in this project, so the KJB Trust posted this interview where he explains why he is excited about it.
I want to challenge all my Christian friends (and anyone else who reads this) to consider reading a chapter or two (or ten!) for this project. Far from subverting a cultural event, I think Christians can actually contribute something uniquely valuable to this project by reading the text with humble faith and vigorous expression. Of course, we’ll need to keep Colossians 4:6 in mind—I suspect that if we editorialize like Dawkins in our videos, they might not get included in the project.
And while we’re at it, let’s pray that Dawkins and others who do not believe the Bible will be spurred by this project to read the Scriptures in a new light, the light of faith that brings real fellowship with God (1 John 1:7).
