Click here to RSVP: https://riceconnect.rice.edu/fondren/BTSMW-020624 William Martin, Ph.D., is a nonresident fellow in Religion and Public Policy at the Baker Institute and the Chavanne Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Rice University. He also directs the institute’s Drug Policy Program. His areas of research and writing focus on two major sets of issues: 1) the political implications of religion, particularly fundamentalist religions and the importance of the separation of religion and government, or “church and state”; and 2) ways to reduce the harms associated with both drug abuse and drug policy. His articles, most of which deal with aspects of religion, have appeared in such publications as Texas Monthly, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s and Esquire, as well as in professional journals. His book “A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story” (William Morrow, 1991; updated Zondervan, 2018) is regarded as the authoritative biography of Billy Graham. Another of his books, “With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America” (Broadway Books 1996; updated 2005), was the companion volume to a six-hour documentary PBS miniseries of the same name. Another book, “My Prostate and Me,” (1994) tells the story of his battle with prostate cancer. In earlier years, he was a frequent guest on national and local news and discussion programs, but that has slowed down as he has. He received a B.A. (1958) and M.A. (1960) degrees in Biblical Studies from Abilene Christian University. He then attended and received the B.D. from Harvard Divinity School in 1963 and his Ph.D. from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1969. During his 55 years at Rice, which began in 1968, Dr. Martin received numerous teaching awards, including a Lifetime Award for Excellence in Teaching. From 1976-1981, Bill and his wife Patricia served as co-masters (now co-magisters) of Sid Richardson College. Dr. Patricia Martin, who earned her Ph.D. in History at Rice in 1982, was so inspired by her experience with students that she worked in and soon became Director of the Rice Office of Academic Advising, later becoming Dean of Undergraduate Students, and retiring in 1999 as Associate Vice-President of Student Affairs. Their daughter Dale Thomas served for several years as Coordinator of Will Rice College and now works in the Office of Academic Advising. BOOK: The Bible Bill Martin recognizes that choosing the Bible as the book he wants to talk about is an unconventional and, to some, a possibly disappointing choice for this series. Despite those misgivings, he thinks it will serve as the basis of some interesting stories about his and Patricia’s personal and professional lives that are not mentioned in the bio he provided for this program. He will not be “giving his testimony” or offering an invitation at the end of his talk. Neither will he engage in more than minimal Biblical criticism or apologetics. He will talk about 1) how his five summers of selling Bibles in five states during his undergraduate graduate and graduate years broadened his understanding of religious diversity and impacted the path he took as a sociology professor; 2) how he and Patricia each came to write two books about the Bible that had combined sales of well over a million hardback copies; and 3) how writing those books led to his unconventional career of publishing almost entirely in high-quality magazines, including an article in The Atlantic that played a decisive role in his coming to Rice, and another, in Texas Monthly, that led to his two most significant books, noted above. Bill is also aware that this may well be placing far more attention to himself than to the Bible, but he has been involved this year in the Storyworth Project, a kind of guided memoir based on questions asked by his family, daughter Dale in particular, so he has been even more self-absorbed than usual. He has cleared his plans for the talk with management and hopes people will find it interesting, perhaps even amusing at some points. To RSVP, visit https://riceconnect.rice.edu/fondren/BTSMW-020624 This event is free and open to the public. Guests are welcome. |
