This week I went to the annual meeting of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Biblical Studies. Here Bible scholars from throughout New Zealand and a few from Australia gave presentations on various aspects of the Bible and then questioned each other about the presentation. Some of these were quite detailed, for example one presentation about “allusive soundplay in Job 9:17”, arguing that in the Hebrew this verse had a double meaning, one being the plain meaning of the words, the other due to it sounding similar to a common Hebrew phrase. Others were more general, for example a presentation on the importance of reading the “whole story” of the Bible. Another presentation was quite practical, namely the response to putting Psalm 88 into song and singing this modern song in churches. This is a lament Psalm that grieves and asks God where he is in our suffering. The presenter, who is also a musician, argued that our songs should reflect the Psalms more and include more lament, in other words allow people to be sad and grieve at times.

People from various denominations were present: Anglicans, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Baptists, Roman Catholics, but clearly most if not all were Christian. The presentations and conversations were interesting and listeners responded courteously, asking clarification, expressing support, or challenging aspects of the presentation and allowing the presenter to respond. To me it seemed that across our various traditions the Bible was a source of unity, something we could refer to together. Yes, there were no significantly controversial presentations, so that this unity was not tested, but overall there was clearly more common ground than at any clergy conference or even archdeaconry meeting I have ever been at. That was partly because people were well-informed and had something to focus on together.

Strangely—as a city vicar—my challenges often related to the concept of the city. For example, one presenter argued when discussing the book of Revelation that in the Greco-Roman world the city was viewed only positively as a beacon of civilisation and place of human creativity, ingenuity and flourishing. In response I pointed out that in the early Roman Empire there were poets such as Virgil who idealised the countryside and critiqued the city.

My presentation was entitled “Social structure, food storage and dating the books of Samuel”. I related archaeological discoveries to the text of Samuel.

Not many people in the world or the church would want to study the Bible to the detail the scholars at the conference do, and particularly just for interest’s sake rather than as a spiritual exercise. Nevertheless, I was reminded how rich and complex the Bible is and that it does give Christians direction and unity.