Associate Professor of Church History and Bible

Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary
M.Div./M.A., Abilene Christian University
B.A., Harding University

School: School of Theology and Ministry
Office: Muirhead 124
Phone: (248) 218.2408
Email: jwalters@rc.edu

COURSES TAUGHT:

HONORS AND AFFILIATIONS:

Honors

• North American Patristics Society Dissertation Final Year Award (2014-2015)
• Christian Scholarship Foundation Fellowship Recipient (2014-2015)
• Princeton Theological Seminary Doctoral Fellowship (2010-2015)
• Princeton Theological Seminary Trustees Merit Scholarship (2010-2015)

Affiliations

• Society of Biblical Literature
• American Academy of Religion
• North American Patristics Society
• American Historical Association
• American Society for Church History

PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:

• Assistant Editor, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies (2011-present)
• Adjunct Instructor, Princeton Theological Seminary (Spring 2015)
• Teaching Assistant/Lecturer, Princeton Theological Seminary (2011-2015)
• Teaching Assistant/Lecturer, Princeton University (2012-2014)

PERSONAL:

James’ primary academic interests are in the history of Christianity in late antiquity, primarily in the Eastern Mediterranean. In particular, James focuses his research on Syriac speaking Christians in the 4th-6th centuries. More broadly, James is interested in the reception, transmission, and interpretation of Scripture in various historical settings and languages.

A southerner by birth, James’ favorite pastime is watching college football (War Eagle!). He also enjoys good movies, good music, and good coffee.

PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS/PERFORMANCES:

Publications – Books

• Hebrews-Jude according to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation. With Daniel King. Antioch Bible Series. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2016.
• Galatians-Philemon according to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation. Antioch Bible Series. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2013.
• Ephrem the Syrian’s Hymns on the Unleavened Bread. Texts from Christian Late Antiquity 30. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2011.

Publications – Articles

• “Evidence for Citations of 3 Corinthians and their Influence in the Demonstrations of Aphrahat.” Vigiliae Christianae 67.3 (2013): 248-262.
• “Schøyen MS 574: Missing Pages from a Syriac Witness of the Asceticon of Abba Isaiah of Scete.” Le Museon 124:1 (2011).
• “The Philoxenian Gospels as Reconstructed from the Writings of Philoxenos of Mabbug,” Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 13:2 (2010): 177-249.
• “Son of Man, Son of God: Aphrahat’s Biblical Christology,” pages 9-19 in Vahan Hovhanessian, ed., The Old Testament as Authoritative Scripture in the Early Churches of the East. NY: Peter Lang, 2010.

Presentations

• Hugoye Symposium IV, 2015: Syriac and the Digital Humanities: “Digital Critical Editions for Syriac Texts”
• America Historical Association/American Society of Church History Annual Meeting, 2015: Respondent for panel on “Digital Humanities Resources for Late Antique Christianity”
• AAR Annual Meeting, 2014: “The Chronicle of Beit Slok: Religious Competition and Urban Space in Late Antique Persia”
• SBL Annual Meeting, 2013: “Show Me, O Sage: Aphrahat’s Rhetorical Use of a Jewish Interlocutor”
• SBL Annual Meeting, 2012: “Adhesion and Conversion: Re-Defining Categories of Religious Change in Late Antiquity”
• North American Patristics Society, 2012: “Ephrem’s Polemic of Religious Identity”
• SBL Annual Meeting, 2011: “The Living Soul: Aphrahat’s Anthropology in Context”
• SBL Annual Meeting, 2009: “Literal Translation as Doctrine: The Philoxenian New Testament”
• North American Patristics Society, 2009: “The Philoxenian Version of the New Testament”
• SBL Annual Meeting, 2008: “Son of God, Son of Man: Aphrahat’s Biblical Christology”