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A Conference Exploring Hermeneutics, Text and Culture
READING
TWO
TEXTS
June 9-10, 2026
WHEN /
June 9-10, 2026
Join us for an insightful conference focused on the connections between God's Word and our local contexts in God's World.
This event is designed to explore edgy topics, deepen our understandings, and foster open, safe, and meaningful discussions.
About the Conference /
WHERE /
Ventura, CA
Details /
Spend a week on the coast of Southern California, enjoying great conversation, ocean breezes, sunshine, local food and wine. Conference is hosted at Grace Lutheran, Ventura. TRAVEL & HOTEL INFO HERE
Dr. Gary Phillips
Featured Guest Speaker
Gary A. Phillips is the Edgar H. Evans Professor of Religion emeritus and Dean of the College emeritus at Wabash College. His scholarship centers on ethics of interpretation and the Bible’s relationship to Western aesthetics, particularly the artwork of Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak.
TUESDAY / JUNE 9
8:30am Registration
with Breakfast Buffet
9am Welcome
9:30am
Gary Phillips
Who is My Neighbor? What Do I Read Here? (Luke 10)
Emmanuel Levinas, Limitless Responsibility, and the Ethical Reading of Scripture
11:00am
Nadine Grayl
Reading the Text of Scripture
and the Text of the Life of my Clients
11:30am
Discussion and Podcast
12pm LUNCH BREAK
1:00pm
Philip Brandt
Intertextuality in James’s Speech in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council
1:30pm
Dr. Michael Middendorf
Are We Using Words the Way the Bible Does?
Semantic Issues with Theological Vocabulary
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Discussion/ Podcast
5:00pm
James Voelz
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:
Challenges of Oral Performance and the Interpretation of Written Scripture
6:00pm Happy Hour
and
DINNER
WEDNESDAY / JUNE 10
8:30am
Welcome
with Breakfast Buffet
9:00am
Gary Phllips
Scriptural Mosaics and Innocent Sufferings (Matthew 2)
The Postmodern Ethical Challenge to Author-Centered Views of Intertextuality
10:30am
William Carr
Intertextuality Happens in the Hebrew Bible… in Isaiah, Too
11:00am
David Duke
Difficulties in Interfacing Texts of Scripture with Difficult Pre-texts in Pastoral Care.”
11:30am
Discussion and Podcast
12pm LUNCH BREAK
1:00 - 3:00pm
Open Papers
3:00 - 3:30pm
Discussion/ Podcast
5:00pm
Dr. Andrew H. Bartelt
Isaiah 7:14 in its Context and Translations in Their Contexts
5:30pm
Dr. Paul Raabe
Hermeneutics for the Song of Songs
6pm Happy Hour
and
DINNER
THURSDAY / JUNE 11
OPTIONAL
Southern California
Excursion
Our Team
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