The Addenda Needs your Help!
Happy New Year!
The Addenda is our most important publication, providing Society members with updates on what is happening in the Society around the world. The Addenda continues to grow, and part of that growth involves providing space for our members to share thoughts, devotionals, and insights into life as a Christian scholar.
This year in particular, I invite you to join us in this growth. I am looking for pieces about the ways in which you, as a Christian, integrate your faith with your scholarship. What does it look like in your own life to live as a Christian scholar? How have you developed to this point? What would you encourage a younger Christian scholar to do in order to faithfully fulfill the call of Christ in academia?
To contribute, please email me at jfoster@SocietyofChristianScholars.org. I look forward to serving you this year!
Jeff Foster
Society Acquisitions Editor
2024 Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant Opens Friday, 19 January
Available to scholars in the U.S. and Canada
Global Scholars, one of the principal partners of the Society of Christian Scholars, will again award one Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant in 2024. The grant will be awarded to a junior faculty member in the U.S. or Canada. The purpose of this grant is to advance Christian scholarship, encourage Christian scholars who are seeking to integrate Christian faith with their academic endeavors, and nurture Christian faculty as they strive for wider recognition in and beyond the academy.
Applicants are required to be members of the Society of Christian Scholars and the Emerging Scholars Network. The 2024 Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant will be $11,000. More details and the grant application are available at the Society of Christian Scholars member site.
Questions concerning the grant may be sent to Dr. Hannah Eagleson, Christian Scholars Foundation Legacy Grant Director, here. You may read testimonials from past recipients here and interviews with several recent recipients on the Emerging Scholars Network Blog: Carrie Bredow (2016), Jill Ellenbarger (2017), Eleanor McGlinchey (2017), Jennifer Hawk (2018), and Derek Thompson (2019).
Upcoming Opportunities
EBSCO Databases
The Society’s annual EBSCO database usage survey is now closed. Many thanks to all who participated in the survey. Based on those results, usage data from EBSCO, and cost analysis, the Society will no longer offer access to EBSCO databases. We encourage you to take advantage of your institution’s databases and to review the Society’s suggested free databases that can help enhance your teaching and research. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Dr Stephen Garrett at sgarrett@global-scholars.org.
Call for Book Reviewers
Many thanks to those who recently volunteered to review previous selected books for the Society. Much appreciation for your service to your colleagues!
If you would like to write a 1,000-word review on the following book, please contact Dr Ron Lindo at rlindo@SocietyofChristianScholars.org for further details. Reviews will be highlighted and published in a special section of our Society member site.
Society’s Bi-Monthly Reading Group
Join the Society’s bi-monthly reading group on Friday, 2 February 2024 at 1400 UTC. We will continue discussing ‘A Case for Cooperation between Evangelical Christians and Humanitarian Islam’ by Thomas Johnson, which can be found in the Society’s Library. Be sure to check www.worldtimebuddy.com for your local time. We look forward to having you join the conversation!
Be sure to check the Webinars Page for third-party webinars that are often added on short notice and for updated presenters and topics that may be helpful in equipping you to bring the gospel to bear in your university context.
Upcoming Webinars
Eyes of the Heart: Towards a Biblical Theology of the Imagination by Ted Turnau – Thursday, 18 January 2024 at 1400 UTC
What does the imagination have to do with being human? What does it mean to be made in the image of the Creator? Is the imagination an ‘idol-making faculty’ designed for us to live in false realities of our own making? Or might the imagination have a more substantive role in figuring out ‘the good life’, or what it means to be human?
On Thursday, 18 January 2024 at 1400 UTC, Dr Ted Turnau, Chair of Journalism and Media Studies at the Anglo-American University in Prague, Czech Republic, will take a deep dive into what the imagination is, what it is for, and what it has to do with living a full human life. He will argue that a life of faith depends on the imagination, on the ‘eyes of the heart’ (Eph. 1:18) being able to see and feel differently. He will draw on both the Bible and resources from literary theory and neuroscience to support his argument.
This talk is a continuation of his June webinar titled ‘Oases of the Imagination and Being Human‘. In preparation, take some time to view the previous conversation and register today!
Panel Discussion of ‘The Biblical Story and the Story of Academic Disciplines’ – Thursday, 15 February 2024 at 1400 UTC
Everyone loves a good story. It’s how we connect with one another and the world around us. When told well, stories can invoke laughter, tears, anger, empathy, sorrow, joy – the whole range of human emotion. They are part of the existential fabric of human existence. What are we to make, though, of the story Christians tell through the Scriptures, church practices, and traditions? And how might we relate the Christian story to the stories that our academic disciplines tell?
On Thursday, 15 February 2024 at 1400 UTC, a panel of scholars from different regions and disciplines will engage with the first issue of the Society’s SOPHIA study guide series, titled ‘The Biblical Story and the Stories of Academic Disciplines’. The main presentation will be by one of the authors, Dr Rolex Cailing, a biblical scholar from the Philippines.
In preparation for this panel discussion, take some time to read the study guide posted in the Curricula section of the Society’s website. It has been translated into French, Spanish, and both traditional and simplified Chinese. This study guide is also available to non-members, so register today and feel free to invite your colleagues for what will be a robust discussion of the topic.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the Addenda are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Society of Christian Scholars.
