Once again it is carnival time in the land of biblical studies! This month, Lindsay Kennedy does the honours by hosting the July Biblical Studies Carnival on his My Digital Seminary blog.

I’ve been particularly busy during the past month (yes, I do have to actually do some work from time to time) and this is when the carnivals really come into their own. Lindsay has divided the post into three subsections: News and Events, Reviews and Posts and Media/Podcasts. Each section offers a wide selection of offerings. As might be expected the responses to the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife makes an appearance as well as a link to the New Testament Studies special issue which was devoted to it.

One issue that I think will be receiving greater attention over the coming months/years relates to the question of a (very) early high Christology. Larry Hurtado’s work (a summary of his work can be found in his How on Earth did Jesus become a God?) in this area has prompted a number of us to reconsider our existing models (that a high Christology was introduced by later non-Jewish Christians). As significant as a number of Hurtado’s arguments are, important questions remain about how such an understanding of Jesus could be framed and developed within a distinctly Jewish environment. This month’s carnival includes an exchange between Mike Kok and Larry Hurtado – I think it would be fair to say that not only is this an important issue, Mike and Larry’s response to it demonstrate scholarly debate at its best; rigorous, courteous and robust.

Summer Greek participants might like to follow the link to the Exegetical Tools site!

The Avignonian Carnival

Zwinglius Redivivus‘ non-fattening and (74.23%) snark free Avignonian Carnival,  springs, panther-like, onto an unsuspecting world. With sections on Archaeology, Hebrew Bible, New Testament and General, it is, as always, a thumping good read.

Please do have a look and please also follow the link to sign the petition for Zurich Central Library to allow internet access and use of their archive materials. As Jim argues, even if you are not interested in Reformation Studies, signing the petition demonstrates an international concern relating to issues of access to this archive…. I’ll even provide a link to it here (so no excuses!!)… online petition.