Online Resource: The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (Open Access)

Your trip to Israel is just around the corner, so if—by some slim chance—you have time to do some extra reading before you go, check out the Journal of Hebrew Scripture.

Access the journal’s articles here: http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/index.html

It is open access, and while the search features are not advanced, you search full-text or through the xml files. The journal is also peer-reviewed. You can also sort the list of browsable articles by author, title, volume, or year. Click the down arrow button next to the title to view the abstract.

Here’s a sampling of articles: 

• The Shattered Dream. The Prophecies of Joel: A Bridge between Ezekiel and Haggai?
• “Some Worthless and Reckless Fellows”: Landlessness and Parasocial Leadership in Judges 
• To Create, to Separate or to Construct: An Alternative for a Recent Proposal as to the Interpretation of ברא in Gen 1:1–2:4a 
• Observations on Judah's Social and Economic History and the Dating of the Laws in Deuteronomy
• Mary Douglas and Anthropological Modernism
• The Noun אִישׁ ('îš) in Biblical Hebrew: A Term of Affiliation
• Keeping It Literal: The Economy of the Song of Songs
• Why Does Eleazar Sprinkle the Red Cow Blood? Making Sense of a Biblical Ritual

Enjoy!  

Online Resource: Kerux Theological Journal

Kerux is the Journal of Northwest Theological Seminary. It has been publishing works in the Reformed/Calvinistic tradition three times a year since 1986.

All issues of Kerux are now freely available online at www.kerux.com. You can also do a full-text search of their archives, or a more refined search of sermons, expositions, and book reviews.


Here are a few interesting articles that look interesting:

"A Sermon on I Peter 1:3-5" by Vos Geerhardus.

"Biblical Theology and the Culture War" by David Van Drunen.

"The Redemptive-Historical Hermeneutic and Preaching" by William D. Dennison, Ph. D. 

"Covenant Theology and Old Testament Ethics: Meredith G. Kline's Intrusion Ethics" by Jeong Koo Jeon.

Old Testament Books Cataloged and Classified

Hey guys. In honor of today's orientation to the Old Testament module, I'd like to announce that all of the OT books have been cataloged and classified. So, they (should) be in the correct order on the shelf.

Again, you all have access to the library catalog at http://www.librarything.com/catalog/mapkc
In the top left corner there is a box with the words "Your Library." Click the down arrow in that box and select "Old Testament" to browse. Or, simple use the search box if you're looking for a specific title.

There's also a gray box above the list of books that says,"mapkc has a suggested style for viewing this library." Please click "use it."

Let me know if you have any questions! 

"Organic Church" blurb in Psychology Today

I just happened to be skimming through the most recent issue of Psychology Today when I noticed the subtitle, "Organic Church."

Here are the words that followed:

"Organic churches, also called home churches, are small groups of Christians in the evangelical vein that meet weekly at a a neighbor's place to discuss the Bible without a fixed leader, or the bells and whistles of Christian 'megachurches.' It's hard to say exactly how many exist in the U.S., but religious scholars agree that they are on the rise. Allan Karr, a professor a Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Rocky Mountain, Tennessee, has said that 3 out of 10 churches founded today are home-based.

Frank Viola, founder of a website that supports organic churches, describes the movement as a return to the focus on Jesus Christ, rather than on a particular denomination's rituals and beliefs--or a particular pastor's agenda" (p. 74,  Psychology Today, vol. 44, no. 2, March/April 2011).

This blurb was a part of the article, "The American Nightmare," under a section/mini article by Carlin Flora titled, "Stay-at-home nation: Is public life moving indoors?" Also mentioned in this section was homeschooling and working from home, suggesting that the loss of a public square has negative effects on our happiness.

I'd also like to point out that an entire page was dedicated to the psychological evils of the suburbs, where (apparently) the quality of life really isn't all that great...

I'll post a link to the article as soon as it's live.

Online Resource Feature: The Jerusalem Archaeological Park

 

In preparation for the upcoming trip and studies, check out the Jerusalem Archaeological Park's website, including the interactive time line. Ranging in time from the Pre First Temple Period to the Late Islamic Period, the time line  displays photos, events, and archaeological remains.

Also check out the Virtual Model Panoramas of the temple, the plaza, etc. There are also several informative historical notes, resources, and maps. 

This is a well constructed online resource; I hope it will be helpful in your studies.

An Update and Things to Come

It's been sometime since my latest entry. I apologize; turns out, Christmas break did not grant me many extra hours for work on the library. 


This semester is technically the beginning of my independent study, "Establishing a Theological Library for a Local Seminary." I will now have the next 17 weeks to catalog, classify, and label all of the books, write policies, and do a couple of instruction sessions with you guys. 


Also, I'll likely be asking for your input (via an online survey) sometime in the near future, so holster your ideas and suggestions. 


In other news, I did a week long practicum at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Library. It was a great opportunity for me to be immersed in a specialized library with supportive professionals to encourage me. I have lots of new ideas for integrating online resources as well as a few periodicals. I also learned quite a bit about the interlibrary loan process and resource sharing; so if you're in need of a specific book, journal, or database, let me know....chances are that we can get our hands on it. 


While at MBTS I also got to spend time doing some original cataloging on their newly acquired Charles Spurgeon collection. This means that I spent hours trying to decipher and describe books from the 16oo's written in Middle English, as well as document the notes and autographs in the books from Spurgeon himself. It's quite a collection and will be a great resource for a research project and our cultural heritage in general.