About Fr. Bill
I am Fr. Bill Burton, OFM, a Roman Catholic Franciscan priest of the Sacred Heart Province. I live at our friary (called Antonianum in honor of St. Anthony of Padua, the great preacher and contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi) in Chicago with three other friars: Fr. Chuck Faso, OFM, Bro. Clarence Klingert, OFM and Bro. Jack Carneghi, OFM.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a biblicist is an expert on the bible. Im a little wary of using this term as a self-description. However, my understanding of the term includes those people with advanced training in biblical research who also dedicate themselves to on-going scripture study. Given that expanded definition, I certainly qualify as a biblicist. I have spent years in formal study of the Bible and have continued to study and pore over these ancient and sacred texts.
I have an MDiv. from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and an MA in Theology, also from Catholic Theological Union. I received my Licentiate in Sacred Scripture (SSL) from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (The SSL from the Biblical Institute is a Roman degree that is the equivalent of a doctorate without dissertation.) and a doctorate (STD) from the Pontifical Gregorian University, also in Rome. In 2002 I received my MEd in Higher Education Administration from Loyola University, Chicago.
I taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Biblical Studies at Quincy University, Quincy, Illinois and undergraduate courses at DePaul University in Chicago.
I am a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the College Theology Society and the Catholic Biblical Association. Ive delivered several academic papers at the College Theology Society and have recently published an article in The Bible Today (July/August, 2006). I am currently researching and writing other articles as well as a book. I have traveled extensively and studied arduously through Israel/Palestine, Turkey, Egypt, Greece and Italy where I lived for almost 7 years. Thanks to my education I am able to work with the biblical texts in their original languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and thanks to my travels I have a first hand experience of the environments from which the biblical texts emerged.
No matter where I have been studying or teaching, Ive always included adult bible study as part of my ministry; holding weekly or bi-weekly sessions with adults interested in learning more about Sacred Scripture. It is in this context that I feel most at home and most energized. Besides the years of sessions in Quincy Illinois, Ive guided adult Biblical Study sessions at St. Peters-in-the-Loop in Chicago, in St. Louis, Palm Springs, Rome and Philadelphia.
Ive always been inspired by a thought from the Churchs Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum, paragraph, 26) which Ive paraphrased below:
So may it come that, by the study of the sacred books, the treasure of Revelation may more and more fill human hearts.
To this end I have studied, written and prayed.
It is in the scriptures that we learn the story of our salvation and pondering that ancient story we become aware of Gods saving love in our lives today. I can think of nothing more satisfying or fulfilling than a spiritual life enriched by study of the Sacred Scriptures. This is what our Church calls each of us to. Id welcome the opportunity to help a parish or bible study group by offering a scripture-based parish mission, a workshop or a seminar.
Topics of Expertise
I. Introductory Material:
- Essential Background for Understanding the Bible
- Linguistic Challenges of the Bible
- Textual Transmission and the Bible (Manuscripts and Codices)
- The world of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament - OT)
- The World of the New Testament (NT)
- Formation of the Hebrew Scriptures
- Formation of the Gospels
II. Old Testament:
- The Torah
- The Prophets
- The Temple and Cult of Sacrifice
- Three Great Crises of the Old Testament
o The Assyrian Crisis
o The Babylonian Crisis
o The Crisis of Return
- Alexander the Great and the Bible
- Talks on almost each specific book of the OT
III. New Testament:
- Paul and His Writings
- Development of the Gospel
- The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke)
- The Gospel of John
- The 2 volume work the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles
- At Table in the NT; the message of the meal
o Eucharist in the NT
- The Book of Revelation
- The Christmas Narrative
- The Quest for the "Historical" Jesus
- Talks on each specific book of the NT
IV. Related Biblical Topics:
- The Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran
- Sacrificial Cult and Table Practice in the Bible
- The Roman Catholic Approach to the Bible
- Baptism
- Apocalyptic Literature and the Bible
- Lent: Season of Hunger/Season of Food
- Advent: Season of Light/Season of Darkness
- Biblical Fundamentalism: Worshiping the word or Worshiping the Word
- Biblical Anthropology - the Worldview of the OT and the NT
- What do Jesus Table Manners Teach Us?
