John Priest Lecture Series

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Established by a generous gift from Gloria Priest, the John Priest Lecture honors the life and work of John Priest (1929-1998). John served as Professor in the Department of Religion at Florida State from 1968 until his retirement in 1996, at which time he was named Professor Emeritus. While at FSU, John also served as Director of the Graduate Humanities Program (1969-1976) and Chair of the Department of Religion (1978-1984.) John was a founding member of the American Academy of Religion, which he served as national secretary, vice president, president (in 1967), and executive director and treasurer (1967-1978.) Professor Priest received his AB from Asbury College in 1949, his BD (1955) and Ph.D. (1960) from Drew, and was honored with a variety of fellowships including the Kent, Fulbright, Dempster, and Lilly Fellowships. Prior to coming to FSU, John served on the faculty at Ohio Wesleyan, the Hartford Seminary Foundation, and was Academic Dean at Hartford from 1966-1968. He was a long-time member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Schools of Oriental Research. The following publications are representative of John's research:

• "Mebaqqer, Paqid, and the Messiah," Journal of Biblical Literature, 81 (1962): 55-61.
• "The Messiah and the Meal in 1QSa," Journal of Biblical Literature, 82 (1963): 95-100.
• "Amos 1:9 and the Covenant of Brothers," Journal of Biblical Literature, 84 (1964): 400-406.
• "Job and J.B.; The Goodness of God or the Godness of Good," Horizons, 12 (1985): 265-283.
• "Testament of Moses," in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, v. 4 (1992): 920-924.

Future Lectures

To be announced.

Past Lectures

January 28, 2008

Martin S. Jaffee, University of Washington, Seattle

"1000 Words: The Newspaper Column as a Site for Religious Studies Discourse"

January 28, 2007

George Nickelsburg, University of Iowa

"A Priest, a King, or a Prophet: Were the Jews Expecting the Messiah, and Did the Early Christians Think He Had Come?"

January 27, 2006

Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

"Historical Jesus/Literary Jesus: Some Unanswered Questions"

January 28, 2005

Carol A. Newsom, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

"Wings of Desire: Two Myths of Origin and Their Ethical Implications"
[download essay]

January, 2004

John Collins, Yale Divinity School

"The Bible and the Legitimation of Violence"

 

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