Day Two of the St Andrews Atonement Symposium included plenary addresses by David Moffitt (University of St Andrews), David Wright (Brandeis University), and Martha Himmelfarb (Princeton University). Attendees were treated to a delicious lunch—including salmon cakes—but the most anticipated event, as in previous years, was the Symposium Dinner hosted by St. Andrews Brewing Co. What good would a conference on the atonement be without handcrafted local brews, Aberdeen beef burgers, and single malt bonne bouche?
Scheduled between the plenaries were two sets of four parallel sessions with four papers each, for a total of 32 papers (not counting the three plenaries). These parallel sessions included: “Theologies of Second Temple Judaism,” “Synoptic Gospels: Mark,” “Pauline Literature: Romans and Galatians,” and “Reception of Biblical Atonement: Patristics.” Later sessions included: “Hebrew Bible: Psalms and Prophets,” Johannine Literature,” “Pauline Literature: Ephesians,” and “Reception of Biblical Atonement: Rabbinics and Biblical Theology.” I spent my time in the Paul sessions (because I gave a paper in one) and unfortunately was unable to capture images from the other sessions. But the Pauline Literature papers were great!
David Moffitt delivers a Tuesday morning plenary address on “Covenant Renewal and the Non-Sacrificial Death of the Martyrs in 2 Maccabees 7.”David Moffitt takes questions from the floor following his plenary.Christian Eberhart poses a challenge to David Moffitt’s paper during Q&A.David Moffitt takes more questions from the floor, probably concerning Hebrews.Bruce Longenecker (Baylor University) asks a question of David M. Westfall (University of St Andrews) concerning his paper in the second Pauline Literature session, “Thine Be the Glory: Christ the Mercy Seat in Romans 3:25.”David Worsley (University of York) responds to a question regarding his paper, “‘Cursed Is the One Who Hangs on a Tree Alive’: Galatians 3:10–14 and the Commentary on Nahum.”Logan Williams (University of Durham) responds to a question from Matthew Novenson (University of Edinburgh) concerning his paper, “Atonement in Galatians as the Self-Gift of Jesus Christ.”David Westfall (University of St Andrews) engages Logan Williams (University of Durham) on the issue of gift giving in the ancient world.The weather in St Andrews during the second day of the conference was exceptionally good. The building in the background in Lower College Hall, where the plenary addresses took place.Every year, the organizers of the St Andrews Symposium go out of their way to take care of those in attendance. This year was no exception.The advantage of attending a smaller, more intimate conference such as this one is the chance to rub shoulders (and exchange ideas) with some of the most outstanding scholars in the world in the lunch line.David Wright presents a plenary paper after lunch entitled, “Holiness School Amendments to Priestly Legislation on the Sin (ḥaṭṭā’t) and Reparation (’āšām) Sacrifices.”David Wright takes questions from the floor after his plenary.T. J. Lang (University of St Andrews) delivers a paper on “The Economics of Atonement in Ephesians.”John Frederick (Trinity College, Queensland) pauses to consider a challenge from the floor concerning his paper, “The Perpetual Sacrifice of the Ecclesial Christ: Atonement as Moral Transformation in Ephesians and Second Temple Judaism.”J. LaRae Ferguson (University College, Oxford) brings a Classicist’s perspective with her paper on “Intrafamilial Atonement: A Rereading of ‘Grace’ in Ephesians 2.1–10 in Conversation with Plutarch’s De Fraterno Amore.”Kerstin Böhm ( University of Vienna) handles Q&A after her paper in the third Paul session, “’Since They Did Not Confess, the Goddess Demonstrated Her Power…’: Sin, Confession, and Atonement in the Reconciliation Inscriptions from Asia Minor.”Martha Himmelfarb (Princeton University) at the beginning of her plenary address, “What Goes On in the Heavenly Temple?”Martha Himmelfarb takes questions from the floor with her typical candour and grace.
See also Day One and Day Three of the St Andrews Atonement Symposium, only here on theLAB.
Dr. Tavis Bohlinger is the Creative Director at Reformation Heritage Books. He holds a PhD from Durham University and writes across multiple genres, including academia, poetry, and screenwriting. He lives in Grand Rapids with his wife and three children.
Tavis Bohlinger
Matthew Stanley
James-Michael Smith
Kelly Cross
Blake Adams