The Christian Century

In my capacity as an editor for Baker Aca­demic and Brazos Press, I annually attend the meetings of the American Academy of Reli­gion and the Society of Bib­lical Litera­ture. These conferences al­ways provide occasion for reflection on current trends in theology and biblical studies. My major impression after the meetings held this past November was that there is a lack of any large-scale movements or trends in the theological academy. Begin­ning in the 1980s, biblical studies saw a massive output of work on Jesus of Nazareth—what is known as the Third Quest for the Historical Jesus. And in the late 1990s, Radical Ortho­doxy enlivened several packed sessions at the AAR. But nothing that is happening now is remotely on the scale of  those developments.