>I have finally finished reading this quarter’s research papers and grading the final exams. Guess what: no one failed this quarter. I do not know what this says about me as a teacher. Either I am getting softer in my old age, or I am becoming a better teacher, or else, I have a good group of students this quarter. I believe that the latter is a better reason why everyone did so well in my courses this quarter.

While I was busy reading papers and grading exams, I did not blog much. Grading is one of the hardest things professors do, but if we take time to reflect a little on our work in the classroom, we have to confess that teaching is a great pleasure and a great responsibility.

One thing I enjoy the most is when students come to the end of the quarter and share in class how much they have learned about the Old Testament. To most of my students, this is the first time they have really studied the Old Testament in depth, and in the process they discovered how rich the Hebrew Bible is in what it teaches and in what it reveals about God’s relationship with his people.

Even while I was reading papers and grading exams, I was also faithful in keeping up with my reading schedule. Sir Francis Bacon said, “Reading maketh a full man.” Although many other things may demand my time, I tried to read every day and keep up, as much as possible, with areas of interest. In the past few weeks, I have read the following books:

Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith. New York: Hyperion, 2009. Late this week I will write a post and review Albom’s latest book.

John N. Oswalt, The Bible among the Myths. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009. My review of this book will be published next year in the Review of Biblical Literature.

Eric A. Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behavior. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009. The premise of this book is very interesting. The author deals with several problematic passages in the Old Testament where God is depicted as acting violently and ruthlessly. Because the issues addressed by Seibert are crucial for the proper understanding of God, in the near future, I will dedicate several posts to reviewing Seibert’s proposal for dealing with some of the troubling texts of the Old Testament.

William Hasker, The Triumph of God over Evil: Theodicy for a World of Suffering. Downers Grove, IVP Academic, 2008. Hasker’s book deals with the problem of evil. His conclusion is that the reality of evil in the world does not provide evidence of a moral fault in God. I have almost finished reading this book. After I finish reading it, I will consider whether to write a post on the book.

I have two other books I want to read before the end of the year. Now, that my grades are in, I will return to blogging on a regular basis.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Blogging

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Mitch Albom, Have a Little Faith.

John N. Oswalt, The Bible among the Myths

Eric A. Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behavior

William Hasker, The Triumph of God over Evil: Theodicy for a World of Suffering