Sparks, Kenton L. 1963- (Kenton Lane Sparks)

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Sparks, Kenton L. 1963- (Kenton Lane Sparks)

PERSONAL:

Born July 11, 1963 (one source lists June 11), in Flemingsburg, KY; married; children: two. Education: Johnson Bible College, B.A. (cum laude), 1985; Kennesaw State University, M.B.A., 1987; Columbia Bible Seminary, M.A., 1990; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ph.D., 1996.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NC. Office—Eastern University, 1300 Eagle Road, St. Davids, PA 19087.

CAREER:

North Carolina Wesleyan College, Rocky Mount, instructor of religion, 1992-94; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, teaching fellow, 1993-95; Providence Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC, resident scholar and special assistant to senior pastor, 1993-2000; Eastern University, St. Davids, PA, professor of biblical studies, 2000—.

MEMBER:

Society of Bible Literature, Institute for Bible Research, Catholic Bible Association, Evangelical Theological Society, Eta Beta Rho.

WRITINGS:

Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel: Prolegomena to the Study of Ethnic Sentiments and Their Expression in the Hebrew Bible, Eisenbrauns (Winona Lake, IN), 1998.

The Pentateuch: An Annotated Bibliography, Baker Books (Grand Rapids, MI), 2002.

Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature, Hendrickson Publishers (Peabody, MA), 2005.

God's Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of Critical Biblical Scholarship, Baker Academic (Grand Rapids, MI), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Kenton L. Sparks was born July 11, 1963 (one source lists June 11), in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. He received a diverse education, earning his undergraduate degree from Johnson Bible College, and then continuing on to earn his M.B.A. at Kennesaw State University, a master's degree from Columbia Bible Seminary, and finally a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has taught religion at a number of institutions of higher learning, including the Providence Baptist Church, where he is a resident scholar and special assistant to the senior pastor. Sparks's primary areas of research and academic interest include Hebrew law, ethnicity, historiography, and language. Aside from his academic endeavors, Sparks has written a number of books, including Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel: Prolegomena to the Study of Ethnic Sentiments and Their Expression in the Hebrew Bible, The Pentateuch: An Annotated Bibliography, Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature, and God's Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of Critical Biblical Scholarship.

In Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel, Sparks looks at the way in which certain thoughts and ideas are expressed in the Hebrew Bible regarding ethnic beliefs. There are judgments regarding the different people who dwelled in proximity to Israel, including the Assyrians, Greeks, and Egyptians. Sparks also at- tempts to track what appears to be an early, if not the earliest, settlement of Jews in a type of homogeneous community. F.V. Greifenhagen, in a review for Interpretation, noted that "this work is a welcome contribution to the growing interest in reading biblical texts from the perspective of ethnicity."

The Pentateuch is one of a series of annotated bibliographies published by Baker Books. In this, Sparks includes approximately seven hundred titles for reference that discuss the Torah, either in its entirety or focusing on one or more sections. Frank H. Gorman, Jr., writing for the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, commented that "the author has put considerable effort into providing the reader with useful information. Each chapter or section is preceded by a brief introduction to its subject, giving the reader a preliminary account." Reviewing for the Evangelical Quarterly, I. Howard Marshall concluded that "the presentations are clear and attractive, and this series promises to be a useful tool."

Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible offers readers a thorough and lengthy overview of the Hebrew Bible, relating it to the literary context of the Near East. The project stemmed from Sparks's own frustration with the limited resources available to him when he was working on his graduate school assignments. Mark W. Chavalas, in a review for the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, pointed out that the author's "extensive background in ancient Near Eastern civilizations, which makes him well suited to write a book such as this." According to Sparks, it is vitally important for a clear understanding of the Bible to be familiar with the times in which the characters lived, the socio-economic issues of the day, as well as the literature and the history. He also discusses the underlying religious beliefs that can be pertinent regardless of a reader's own belief system. John L. McLaughlin, writing for the Review of Biblical Literature, commented that "this volume fills an important gap in the existing resources for understanding the Hebrew Bible in its ancient Near Eastern context." He went on to conclude: "This book is essential for everyone dealing with the Hebrew Bible in its ancient context (its scholarly value is undoubtedly reflected in the fact that it received a second printing the year after its initial appearance). Taken as a whole, it is a thorough introduction to the variety of genres in ancient Near Eastern literature and their relevance for the Hebrew Bible."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, April 1, 2000, Leslie J. Hoppe, review of Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel: Prolegomena to the Study of Ethnic Sentiments and Their Expression in the Hebrew Bible, p. 341; January 1, 2004, Frank H. Gorman, Jr., review of The Pentateuch: An Annotated Bibliography, p. 141; October 1, 2006, Mark W. Chavalas, review of Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature, p. 743.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, January 1, 2006, C.C. Smith, review of Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible, p. 871.

Currents in Theology and Mission, February 1, 2003, Ralph W. Klein, review of The Pentateuch, p. 64.

Evangelical Quarterly, January, 2005, I. Howard Marshall, review of The Pentateuch, p. 74.

Interpretation, April 1, 2000, F.V. Greifenhagen, review of Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel, p. 210; January 1, 2006, review of Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible, p. 127.

Journal of Near Eastern Studies, April 1, 2003, Alexander H. Joffe, review of Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel, p. 137.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, January 1, 2001, Nili S. Fox, review of Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel.

Reference & Research Book News, November 1, 2005, review of Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible.

Review of Biblical Literature, Volume 9, 2007, John L. McLaughlin, review of Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible, pp. 112-114.

Theological Studies, March 1, 2007, Sharon Pace, review of Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible, p. 211.