It is with a sense of gratitude for his considerable academic contribution that this special issue is dedicated to the founding editor of the Journal of Beliefs and Values, Bill Campbell, who for 37 years has overseen this journal to its established position as one of the leading international journals in the field. As former students and colleagues of Bill we take enormous pleasure in editing this special issue in his honour.
Two of the editors have their own recollections of Bill’s part in their lives and careers. They were at separate times Bill’s students in the 1980s and 1990s, whilst he was head of Religious and Theological Studies (RTS) at Westhill College, Birmingham. They well remember his pastoral care, teaching and personal generosity to them individually and generally to undergraduates in RTS. The intimate college environment at Westhill permitted students and staff to get to know one another well, but Bill fostered this in his department to particularly good effect, leading residential trips to the Lake District and to Northern Ireland, opening his home to students, and even taking groups to restaurants for meals. Having a holistic view of his students’ education, Bill took genuine pleasure in all this, and as a result he commanded respect, loyalty, and fondness from cohorts of students over the decades of his leadership.
What follows is a combination of scholarly reflections, specially dedicated pieces, and personal tributes from former students and colleagues of Bill. Each piece is either reflective of Bill’s scholarly contribution to Pauline Studies, his personal contribution to inter-religious relations (especially Jewish–Christian relations), and his academic leadership.
Separate articles by Brian Tucker and Kathy Ehrensperger provide scholarly context to Bill’s contribution to Pauline Studies. By their analysis, Bill’s interpretation of the Apostle Paul’s self-understanding and mission, as particularly demonstrated by his letter to the Romans, was ahead of its time. Eventually Bill’s thesis has found worthy appreciation and traction. The article by Anders Runesson offers a new reading of the archaeological sources on synagogues. Runesson makes the point that Christians readings of Judaism are often overlaid with a sense of textual and theological superiority, blurring the historical picture of Judaism. Taking these things into account enables a truer picture of early century Jewish religious life to emerge. Larry Welborn provides a hermeneutical reading on ‘jealousy’, ‘envy’ and ‘strife’ of one of the oldest non-canonical Christian writings, 1 Clement, addressed to the Corinthian Christians. Welborn sets 1 Clement in dialogue with a range of contemporaneous sources to reveal some fascinating things about perspectives on moral motivation in antiquity. Walter Homolka contributes a reflection from a Jewish perspective on the nature of human being and on notions of truth and falsehood as something to be committed to and to be trained in. In his contribution, Leslie J. Francis examines research on how the Lucan call of the disciples is read by sensing and intuitive personality types, raising the intriguing possibility that who we are affects how we read sacred texts. In a penultimate contribution to this special issue Michael Snape and Victoria Henshaw recount research on the role of British armed forces chaplains and the religious responses of British soldiers during the First World War and more recent conflicts in Afghanistan. The comparative dis/continuities in attitudes, beliefs and behaviours in each setting make for a fascinating piece. Finally, a long-standing colleague and close friend of Bill, Marius Felderhof, and Bill’s daughter, Alison Dunne, offer an affectionate and appreciative biography of Bill’s personal and scholarly life. A list of Bill’s many academic publications is appended.
The Journal of Beliefs and Values all too rarely publishes research in biblical studies, or research which utilises historical methodologies. Perhaps this is reflective of current disciplinary priorities, and the content of the British school curriculum which popularises other approaches and aspects of the field. Even so, what the articles published here in Bill’s honour demonstrate is how illuminating of contemporary concerns such scholarship can be. Bill’s contribution to scholarship, his personal involvement in inter-faith relations and religious education, and his support of students over several decades, are marked in the contributions to this issue. Bill’s legacy is epitomised by the health and strength of this journal.
University of Worcester
[email protected]
Imran Mogra
Birmingham City University
Leslie J. Francis
University of Warwick