The Scripture&Theology Forum

In 2024, the Scripture & Theology panel will reconvene again as part of the annual conference European Academy of Religion (EuARe). Since 2019, this study group has been active at the EuARe meetings, engaging with a wide range of topics touching on the relationship between Scripture and theology, including Scripture, theology and science (2021), the diversity of hermeneutical approaches (2022) and Just Peace (2023). This year, we invite contributions in response to the following call for papers.

Scripture, Theology and their Future

Biblical Studies and Christian Theology have had productive and tense relationships throughout their shared history. They are ultimately predicated on Scripture which provides the possibility for mutual understanding and cooperation, even though they approach the biblical text with different purposes, questions and presuppositions. Whether or not their future is a shared one, however, is far from clear – at least one beyond sharing a space in an institution. There can be quite often a regionalizing of each discipline so that their insights are rarely engaged with by thinkers in other disciplines. This call for papers looks to identify some of the current trajectories these studies are on, consider how (if at all) they can have a shared future that might be mutually beneficial, and what some of the barriers might be to that future together. It also looks more broadly at insights that have recently been developed within the respective fields that may have yet to be engaged with by their counterparts. Along these lines, S&T maintains a robust commitment to dialogue between various fields and areas of research as a means of spurring constructive and critical engagement for mutually beneficial development. Along with what has already been mentioned, we invite papers which address one or more of the following subsections.

1. Looking to the past: How do historical examples of the ways scripture and theology have been related inform how we might conceive of their future relationship? Papers may wish to focus on ways they have diverged or converged with one another in, for instance, their presentations of God or Jesus.
2. Looking to the present: What is the current state of the disciplines of Biblical Studies and Theology. Papers may wish to focus on exploring recent developments in either or both disciplines and reflect on the impact they might have on the other discipline.
3. Looking to the future academia: What are probable and desirable trajectories of how scripture and theology will interact together as academic disciplines? Papers may wish to include developments in other academic disciplines and reflect on their significance for Biblical Studies and/or Theology. For instance, what scientific or philosophical developments have occurred that deserve serious reflection? Papers may also wish to reflect on how far confessional approaches to theology and scripture are suited to a predominantly secularised academy, what challenges this situation presents and what opportunities for each discipline it might offer.
4. Looking to the future in the church: How can insights from Biblical Studies and Theology be used in pastoral ministry? How might they be used together to foster church communities?
5. Looking to the future in society: In what ways might biblical studies and theology cooperate together in addressing current ethical/moral, political or social challenges raised by our (post)modern setting? Papers may wish to include reflection on the basic relationship biblical studies and theology could have with wider society, investigating whether they should be predominantly focused on internal questions within religious communities or external questions in society.
6. Looking to the future with technology: How does the rapid expansion of technology, most notably in AI, impact the disciplines of Biblical Studies and Theology? What responses do Biblical Studies and Theology have to technology, particularly in light of the series of ethical questions they raise? Are their fruitful ways they can relate together? Are there certain developments that should be criticised or resisted?

The panel welcomes contributions from all theological traditions and academic fields. We encourage in particular contributions from all Christian traditions from all over Europe and beyond.

Formal Requirements for proposals

Please email the following information in the form of a single PDF document to Jacob Astudillo jacob.astudillo@umu.se by February 4, 2024:

1. an abstract of no more than 250 words, including your name, institutional affiliation (university, church, if you have one), and contact details (email),
2. an indication to which of the six sections mentioned above your submission hopes to contribute.

In general, oral presentations should take 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Discussion segments may also be devoted to related presentations.

Important Dates

• February 4, 2024: Deadline for submissions of abstracts
• February 28, 2024: latest Acceptance notification (Proposal will be accepted on a rolling basis)
• May 20 – 23, 2024: EuARe 2024 in Palermo, Sicily

Registration

For registration and other organizational matters regarding the conference of the European

Academy of Religion, and for information about the academy itself, please refer to: https://www.europeanacademyofreligion.org/euare2024

You do need to register for the annual meeting of the European Academy of Religion!

Further information

We intend to publish a selection of the papers together with other contributions in a collected volume edited by the study group.

Updates on the S&T panel are posted on https://scriptureandtheology.home.blog

Organizational Team for the S&T 2024

• Nikolaos Asproulis (Volos Academy for Theological Studies, Greece)
• Jacob Astudillo (Umeå University, Sweden)
• Michael Borowski (Free University Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
• David Stuart (University of St Andrews, UK)

S&T Advisory Board

• Nikolaos Asproulis (Volos Academy for Theological Studies, Greece)
• Gijsbert van den Brink (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
• Tomas Bokedal (NLA Bergen, Norway & University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom)
• Hans Burger (Researchgroup BEST, Theologische Universiteit Kampen, The Netherlands)
• Mark Elliott (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom)
• Georg Fischer (Universtiy of Innsbruck, Austria)
• Benedikt Paul Göcke (Ruhr-Universität-Bochum, Germany)
• Arnold Huijgen (Protestant Theological University Amsterdam/Groningen, The Netherlands)
• Ludger Jansen (PTH Brixen, Bressanone, Italy; University of Rostock, Germany)
• Elisabeth Maikranz (Universität Heidelberg, Germany)
• John Milbank (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom)
• Frederike van Oorschot (Universität Heidelberg, Germany)
• Lluis Oviedo (Pontificia Universita Antonianum Roma, Italy)
• Thomas Söding (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)
• Brandon Watson (Universität Heidelberg, Germany)
• Donald Wood (University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom)

Please direct all questions Jacob Astudillo jacob.astudillo@umu.se