2023 Spring Bible Conference
March 17-18, 2023
Our 2023 Bible conference will feature Dr. Mark Gignilliat teaching from the Book of Ecclesiastes.
Plenary Speaker
Dr. Mark Gignilliat
Professor of Divinity
Beeson Divinity School
Mark Gignilliat has taught Hebrew, Old Testament exegesis and Old Testament theology at Beeson Divinity School for the past two decades. He most recently published Reading Scripture Canonically: Theological Instincts for Old Testament Interpretation and a commentary on the book of Micah.
Parallel Sessions
Faculty from the School of Theology and Missions will lead two parallel sessions on interpreting and applying the Bible. Attendees can choose from these four.
- Dr. Brad Green
Ecclesiastes in Biblical Theology
How does the book of Ecclesiastes fit with the rest of the Bible? If accept that the Bible is a theological unity, how do we understand the place of Ecclesiastes in the totality of the Christian Bible? - Dr. Mark Catlin
The Prophet and the Preacher
What happens when we compare the hope of the prophet Isaiah with the seeming pessimism of Ecclesiastes? We might discover more in common than we expect. This session will put the prophet and preacher in conversation to see what we find. - Dr. Matthew Albanese
Patterns and Parallels in Ecclesiastes 1-3
This session will cover three crucial steps for studying the book of Ecclesiastes: words, themes, and structures. It begins with an analysis of the word-pairs in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8, and moves outward to uncover how such ideas and themes are used in the book's opening chapters. - Dr. Hal Poe
What's the Point?: Meaningless in a Static Universe
Ecclesiastes may represent the thought process of Solomon that he led him to return to God after his flirtations with the nature gods of his many wives. Nature religion with its endless cycles, and eastern religion today with its endless cycle of death and reincarnation, present a static, meaningless universe. Without a Creator God, life and the universe have no meaning. They just exist.
Schedule
Friday, March 17
- 3:30-4:30 p.m. — Q&A: Preaching & Teaching Ecclesiastes (& the rest of the Old Testament) as a Christian Text: Ray Van Neste & Mark Gignilliat
- 6:00-6:45 p.m. — Dinner
- 6:45-7:00 p.m. — Welcome, Introductions, Student interview
- 7:00 p.m. — Plenary 1: Dr. Mark Gignilliat
Saturday, March 18
- 8:00-8:30 a.m. — Continental Breakfast
- 8:30-9:30 a.m. — Plenary 2: Dr. Mark Gignilliat
- 9:30-9:40 a.m. — Break
- 9:40-10:15 a.m. — Hal Poe
- 10:15-10:50 a.m. — Brad Green
- 10:50-11:00 a.m. — Break
- 11:00-11:35 a.m. — Mark Catlin
- 11:35 a.m. - 12:10 p.m. — Matthew Albanese
- 12:20 p.m. — Lunch
- 12:50 p.m. — Plenary 3: Dr. Mark Gignilliat
REGISTRATION
Cost for the conference is $40 for those who register by March 6, and $60 March 7-13 (registration closes on March 13).
$40.00 (thru March 6)
Registration includes session, two meals and a continental breakfast.