Thursday, July 9, 2009

Humor in the Bible, Doug Adams


Walking across the Pacific School of Religion campus, I almost always think of the late Professor Doug Adams (1945-2007). I took a few art and religion classes from him in 2004-2005. He always knew how to grab an audience's attention. His way of distributing handouts was to throw them up in the air. Some of his most eloquent speeches were on how the cheese and wine that would be served at break were based on the speaker"s preference or on the topic. He always made sure that guest speakers would address what he expected them to talk about. He would also be very serious, saying that late papers were unacceptable, because how could you be late to the pulpit?

Here is an interview on Al Kresta Show Live that took place in September 11, 1997. The topic is his book,
The prostitute in the family tree : discovering humor and irony in the Bible.




Permission to reproduce this broadcast courtesy of Ave Maria Radio and the Al Kresta Show.

For more memories of Adams, see the PSR site. Special Collections is in the midst of processing the Doug Adams Collection. There are a few of these priceless talks within these materials, including his magical rendition of Henry Ward Beecher. The library has this and other books by Adams.