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:

  • Biblical Interpretation
  • Biblical Study Tools
  • History of the Early Church
  • Old Testament Prophets
  • Survey of Biblical Literature
  

 

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”