Hobbs School to Host Biblical Research Forum March 25

March 24, 2022

The Hobbs School of Theology and Ministry at OBU will showcase student research during the upcoming Biblical Research Forum, a new recurring event on campus. The inaugural forum will take place Friday, March 25, at 4 p.m. inside Tulsa Royalties Auditorium in Bailey Business Center on the OBU campus in Shawnee.

Dr. Mario Melendez, Auguie Henry Chair of Old Testament and assistant professor of Old Testament and biblical studies, organizes the Biblical Research Forum. Presenting students completed their research in fall 2021 during an Old Testament course on the Torah. Subsequent forums will be comprised of students from a rotation of three upper-level Old Testament classes on the Torah, Prophets and Writings. Melendez plans to host future forums each semester with three students presenting at each forum. Each presentation, including a question and answer time, will be no more than 20 minutes.

Students presenting during the March 25 forum include Matthew Miller, religion major, presenting on “The Ancient Cosmos as It Relates to the Third Heaven in 2 Corinthians 12;” Savannah Shoffner, mathematics major, on “Moses and Jesus as King;” and Mason Rawls, biblical studies major, on “A Tale of Two Sets of Twins.”

Melendez looks forward to his students having the opportunity to present their work.

“The papers chosen are those which offer unique ideas on the biblical text being taught that semester. The general idea of these forums is to celebrate and encourage students in biblical academic work. Most of these students found through the process of writing these papers that they desire to further their education in graduate schools.”

Melendez is encouraging students and employees from throughout the campus community to come to the forums, to both support the students in their work and learn from the insights gained during their research.

“Those that attend will find interesting new, possibly unique, perspectives to biblical topics and passages. Furthermore, those that attend will be encouraged by the level of research our students are accomplishing not just for a grade, but for the church. Our end goal in all of these papers is for hearers to learn of an academic finding which yields a message for the local church.”

Learn more about the Hobbs School of Theology and Ministry.