Fall 2006

Faculty highlight

Name:
Thomas Bolin

Discipline:
Religious Studies

Classes currently teaching:
Introduction to the Bible, Origins of Monotheism, Biblical Hebrew

Originally from:
We were a military family and lived in several different places, eventually settling down in central Texas by the time I started school. Most of my family still lives in Texas.

Colleges/universities attended:

• St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas; B.A. in religious studies with philosophy minor (1988);
• University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind.; graduate coursework in New Testament and classical Greek (1988-1989);
• Marquette University, Milwaukee; M.A. in theology, specializing in the New Testament (1991); Ph.D. in religious studies, specializing in the Hebrew Bible (1995).

Favorite books:

• "The Plague," by Albert Camus
• "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," by Salman Rushdie

Favorite movies:

• The Princess Bride
• The Mission

Areas of interest:

• Work: My research is focused on intellectual developments in thinking about religion and the divine in ancient Greece, Mesopotamia and Israel. I’m currently researching material for my third book.
• Leisure: My wife and I have two daughters (ages 6 and 3) and I love playing with them. I also enjoy reading, doing crossword puzzles, singing and playing piano and guitar.

People don’t know that I …
Can make a lot of different silly voices from movies and cartoons.

What is your most interesting experience with a student at St. Norbert?
I am always struck whenever I take a group of my biblical Hebrew students to the local synagogue for Friday night services and see them encounter Hebrew in its natural context.

What would you most like students to learn from your classes?
I would most like them to learn that religion and reason not only can coexist, but must do so.

What would you most like students to gain through their years at St. Norbert?
I wish for all of our students, during their time at St. Norbert, to articulate their vocations, not only in regards to their career choices, but also in their roles as future spouses, parents and citizens.

What book from your classes would you recommend to parents so they can learn as their student learns and have something to discuss with him or her?
"Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures Through the Ages," by Jaroslav Pelikan.