Sometimes I’ve wondered if I’ll end up as a scholar. Today I discovered the answer. I won’t. Let’s see if you can figure out the answer as I did. This came to me when I was reading a book edited by Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson. Then I thought of William
G. Dever and Kathleen M. Kenyon. There’s William H. Hallo, Anson F. Rainey, William F. Albright, G. Ernest Wright, P. Kyle McCarter Jr, D. Noel Freedman, N. T. Wright, and of course, R. A. S. Macalister. So you see why I can never belong. I’m just Todd Bolen. I do have a middle name (and even an initial), but I don’t want to use it because of what I perceive to be the motivation of some who use theirs: pride. You see, you’re just a common person if you don’t have an initial. The initial sets you apart, distinguishes you. This is especially true, it seems to me, if the initial is for your first name. Somebody probably has a broader view of the professional world; I’m just making an observation from the world of biblical and ANE studies.
In an unrelated note, some in my circle may have seen the evolution in the name of my school’s president. Originally books had his name as “John F. MacArthur, Jr.” Then it became “John MacArthur, Jr.” Today of course it is just “John MacArthur.” If I tried the shortening route, I suppose it go something like this, from “Todd Bolen” to “Odd Bole” to “Od Ole.”
Now I’ve given away all my good pseudonyms.
Todd, if you change your name to Od Ole you could market pictures to the Danes!
Todd, you’ve been reading the wrong scholars! Try David Ussishkin, Amihai Mazar, Aren Maier, Yohanan Aharoni, Nahman Avigad, Gabriel Barkay, Charles Clermont-Ganneau, David Diringer, Olga Tufnell, Trude Dothan, Yosef Garfinkel, Othmar Keel, Christoph Uehlinger, Andre Lemaire, Ephraim Stern, Orna Zimhoni, … Common people?
Instead of 2 names, maybe you could combine different parts of your names and create only one name. Here are some great ideas: Tool, Den, Dole, Obe.
I don’t have any clue what I should do with my name. Should I make up something that it stands for? Or should I drop one letter? I’m in a real pickle–I don’t want to come across as snooty but I don’t have much to work with.
A.D.
well, I have to sign my name C. Rhea. Not because I’m proud to have a C. Just because that’s my LEGAL name, and not the name everyone KNOWS. However, doctors, the IRS, the department of public safety (i.e. all the legal people that don’t know me), know the “C” so it has to be there. Maybe they are not proud. Maybe they are the victims of an unfortunate joke by their parents. Maybe…they can only drop the initial after more people know who they are ???
Todd: What do you think of the unwritten (or maybe written?) policy that some schools have of calling professors “Professor Bolen” or those with doctorates “Dr. Whoever”? Obviously you’ve always chosen to go with “Todd,” but do you see a problem with the more technical titles?
You could always try Pele-joez-el-gibbor
A.D. – you are just doomed to a life of misperceptions!
G.M. – we have to take out all of the Israeli scholars, as they usually don’t have middle names here. (That caused me quite a hassle with the birth certificate of one of our kids here.)
All – the intent of this post was to be humorous. There may be a kernel of truth in the pride part, but I really don’t know. With the exception of Dever, I haven’t observed pride in any of those listed. And as Rhea and A.D. point out, there can be many other reasons. But if I got you to think…
Gunner – you have raised a very good question, but I don’t feel qualified to answer it. Certainly much of it is cultural. Some insist on titles because of pride; others have other reasons or no choice. Yes, my students call me Todd, but that’s just the culture here. My first grade boys call their teachers by their first names.
todd, i would happily shoot anyone who called me L.A. sadly most of society frowns upon that sort of rash behavior.
I’m a bit late to add a comment, but Gunner and Professor Bolen, I mean ‘Todd’, raised some good points about titles. In other cultural settings (i’m thinking of the UK and US) it is a sign of respect to call a teacher by a title. Some teachers, however, buck the system in order to relate to students better: they encourage students to call them by their first names. I would lean more towards the latter, not only to relate to students, but also in light of the scathing rebuke by Jesus in Matt 23.6-12. But will this lend to disrespect among the students? My gut feeling is ‘no’, or at least ‘not necessarily’.
quick example. I’ve known Proffesor I. Howard Marshall (how’s that for a name, Todd!) for 2 years now and can say that he is one of the most humble men I’ve ever met (up there with Jim [or, Dr?] Rosscup). And my respect for him grew abundantly the day when he said: ‘Preston, please stop “titeling” me, it’s just “Howard”‘. Perhaps it is the character of the teacher that elicits respect, not the demand for titles.
ps
PS – I completely agree with your last sentence. I’ve had the experience of someone demanding to be called by a title (in a less than typical setting – not teacher to student) and it didn’t do anything to increase my respect. On the other hand, there are some who say to call them by their first name, but because of a certain method I have adopted, I do not. As far as what others call me, I am quite mindful of the danger that Jesus refers to. I know that you can follow the letter and not the spirit (i.e., not be ‘honored’ with a title but to still harbor feelings of pride and superiority), but I see some value in following the letter in order to not create additional temptation to pride in the spirit.
Good point, Todd, regarding the letter/spirit aspect. And thanks for blog!
p.s. one of my favourite NT scholars has the coolest name of all: Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis. That name’s bound to earn him a noble prize!
ps
Oh, no! Apparently my parents doomed me to a life of misperceptions as well by insisting that I be called by my middle as well as first name. I particularly remember one certain IBEX professor recounting how his first impression of me was that I must be stuck up because I was “Jennie KAY, not just Jennie.” :-)
jks
It’s interesting and convicting how at the end of the day it comes down to motivations. You can have a title and ask people not to refer to it because you’re humble. Or you can have a title and ask people not to refer to it because you’re falsely humble. You can have a title and have people refer to it because it’s best (or required) for everyone involved. Or you can have a title and have people refer to it because you’re narcissistic and condescending.
I like titles sometimes because in the U.S. we’ve lost a lot of respect for the elderly and for our authorities and teachers. As a kid I learned a lot about respect by simply having to call adults “Mr. Deevers” or “Mrs. Selby.” And now as an adult it’s still good for me (and enjoyable) to say “Dr. Varner.” It reminds me that there’s a separation between us and that that should guide how I think and act and speak.
When the titles are ignored I think it can sometimes help to show that there’s a real relationship there. But when a professor or an authority is down-to-earth and is relationally involved in the lives of those “beneath” them (institutionally speaking), the title doesn’t seem to get in the way of having an authentic relationship. Then again, a professor-student relationship in which there’s distance because of a title or because of respect isn’t a less-genuine relationship. It’s just different.
With all that being said, do you think “T-Bone” is too informal? :)
– D. A. Gunner Gundersen I
Gunner – wise thoughts. I think the bottom line is that there are different cultures and we have to evaluate what we do ourselves (in addressing or being addressed) personally and not insist that others follow our own convictions.
Yesterday a student in my office called me “Toddy.” I thought that was a bit too much and suggested he change his convictions.
I remember in the pre-Bon Appetit days in the the Mustang Grill … the burger … the Big Johnny Mac. MacArthur needs to use that on the cover of a book. “Biblical View of Fast Food” by Big Johnny Mac. :) Hehehe.