Talks&Writings

By Laurence H. Kant

1a) “Some Restorative Thoughts on an Agonizing Text: Abraham’s Binding of Isaac and the Horror on Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22)”: “Part 1,” Lexington Theological Quarterly 38 (2003) 77-109; “Part 2, Lexington Theological Quarterly 38 (2003) 161- 94: AqedahPart1a and AqedahPart2a
1b) “Arguing with God and Tiqqun Olam: A Response to Andre LaCocque on the Aqedah,” Lexington Theological Quarterly 40 (2005) 203-19 (this was a response to an article by André Lacocque, “About the ‘Akedah’ in Genesis 22: A Response to Laurence H. Kant,”Lexington Theological Quarterly 40 (2005) 191-201): AqedahResponseToLacocque
2) Dianne M. Bazell and Laurence H. Kant, “First-Century Christians in the Twenty-First Century: Does Evidence Matter?”, in The Restoration of the Church in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by Hans Rollman and Warren Lewis. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2005: Haymes
3a) Final Draft before publication of “The Earliest Christian Inscription: Bishop Avercius’ Last Words Document the Emergence of the Church,” in Bible Review 17.1, February, 2001, pp. 10-19, 47: AverciusBAS1
3b) Here is my most up-to-date edition of the text: AverciusText
4) Here is my dissertation: “The Interpretation of Religious Symbols in the Graeco-Roman World: A Case Study of Early Christian Fish Symbolism” (3 vols): Yale University, 1993. Please note that the pagination in the PDF files, though close, is not exactly the same as in my original dissertation (due to formatting issues).
I originally intended this as part of a comparative study of ancient symbols, including the menorah for Jews. Given the length of the project, this was not practical. However, I regard my dissertation as comparative project whose goal is to understand the nature of religious symbolism.
There are many things that I would now change, including writing style. Of note is the Avercius (Abercius) inscription text, which has several errors; for a correct edition, see above. I also wish that I had included a section on the use of fish and fishing symbolism in the gospels. If interested, take a look at the text of a talk I gave on this topic in “Essays and Talks” in “Larry Kant.”
I have also somewhat changed my views of Freud and Jung. I always appreciated them, but my dissertation is more critical of them than I would be now.
Diss1; Diss2; Diss3; Diss4; Diss5; Diss6
5) “Jewish Inscriptions in Greek and Latin,” in Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt, 2.20.2:671-713. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1987: JewishInscriptions1; JewishInscriptions2