Curriculum Vitae of THE AUTHOR
James Reilly has been immersed in the field of mathematics and physics for upwards of forty years, beginning with a combined degree in Mathematics and Physics at the University of British Columbia (B.Sc. 1964), the teaching of those same subjects at the high school level for 25 years (1965-74; 1989-2006), and years keeping abreast of the massive developments in multiple fields of science over the past half century.
Regarding the “textual” and “historical” aspects of this website the author has sound credentials, arguably unique among commentators. In 1974, four years after his conversion to the Christian faith, he left his teaching job to embark on an intensive program of training in the languages of the Bible and of the Ancient Near East, beginning with four years at Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M 1979) where he was immersed in the study of the Bible, and in intensive study of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, the three languages of the biblical text. At Dallas Seminary he also received his introduction to the study of Akkadian, the earliest of the known Semitic dialects, which not only enhanced his understanding of the Hebrew text, but prepared him for the analysis of the neo-Assyrian and Babylonian cuneiform texts that assisted his later revisions to the history of the Ancient Near East (see the website displaceddynasties.com).
From 1979 to 1982 the author’s focus was concentrated on the biblical text, as he pastored churches in Western Canada, almost exclusively on a part time basis, allowing for a continuation of his private study. In 1982-83 he completed course work at the University of Calgary, studying Hebrew under Dr. Peter Craigie, a prolific and well respected writer of biblical commentaries, and there as well began a lifelong study of the middle Egyptian hieroglyphic text, and ancient Near Eastern history, with course work supervised by Emeritus Professor Peter Shinnie, long time linguist, historian, and archaeologist, at times an associate of the famed archaeologists Sir Mortimer Wheeler and Sir Leonard Wooley.
From 1983 through 1989 the author, on the recommendation of Peter Craigie, moved to engage in post-graduate work at McMaster University in the “Hebrew Bible” division of the Religious Studies Department, where he was employed as a Teaching Assistant, and in addition to studies in the Hebrew Bible and world religions was supervised by the well-known and highly respected Hebrew scholar Dr. Alan Cooper. At McMaster the author completed two years of course work, including thesis (M.A. 1985), and four years toward his Ph.D. when in 1989, absent his concluding thesis, the Hebrew Bible program disbanded with the early retirement of one professor and the exit of Dr. Cooper for a prestigious appointment at Hebrew Union College in the U.S.A. Needing finances to support a young family the author immediately returned to teaching mathematics, a fortuitous change of fortune as things turned out, since the altered routine allowed him to return to the subject for which he is uniquely qualified, the subject which now absorbs our interest on this website – biblical apologetics, the defense of the integrity of the biblical text.
Curriculum Vitae of THE AUTHOR
James Reilly has been immersed in the field of mathematics and physics for upwards of forty years, beginning with a combined degree in Mathematics and Physics at the University of British Columbia (B.Sc. 1964), the teaching of those same subjects at the high school level for 25 years (1965-74; 1989-2006), and years keeping abreast of the massive developments in multiple fields of science over the past half century.
Regarding the “textual” and “historical” aspects of this website the author has sound credentials, arguably unique among commentators. In 1974, four years after his conversion to the Christian faith, he left his teaching job to embark on an intensive program of training in the languages of the Bible and of the Ancient Near East, beginning with four years at Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M 1979) where he was immersed in the study of the Bible, and in intensive study of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, the three languages of the biblical text. At Dallas Seminary he also received his introduction to the study of Akkadian, the earliest of the known Semitic dialects, which not only enhanced his understanding of the Hebrew text, but prepared him for the analysis of the neo-Assyrian and Babylonian cuneiform texts that assisted his later revisions to the history of the Ancient Near East (see the website displaceddynasties.com).
From 1979 to 1982 the author’s focus was concentrated on the biblical text, as he pastored churches in Western Canada, almost exclusively on a part time basis, allowing for a continuation of his private study. In 1982-83 he completed course work at the University of Calgary, studying Hebrew under Dr. Peter Craigie, a prolific and well respected writer of biblical commentaries, and there as well began a lifelong study of the middle Egyptian hieroglyphic text, and ancient Near Eastern history, with course work supervised by Emeritus Professor Peter Shinnie, long time linguist, historian, and archaeologist, at times an associate of the famed archaeologists Sir Mortimer Wheeler and Sir Leonard Wooley.
From 1983 through 1989 the author, on the recommendation of Peter Craigie, moved to engage in post-graduate work at McMaster University in the “Hebrew Bible” division of the Religious Studies Department, where he was employed as a Teaching Assistant, and in addition to studies in the Hebrew Bible and world religions was supervised by the well-known and highly respected Hebrew scholar Dr. Alan Cooper. At McMaster the author completed two years of course work, including thesis (M.A. 1985), and four years toward his Ph.D. when in 1989, absent his concluding thesis, the Hebrew Bible program disbanded with the early retirement of one professor and the exit of Dr. Cooper for a prestigious appointment at Hebrew Union College in the U.S.A. Needing finances to support a young family the author immediately returned to teaching mathematics, a fortuitous change of fortune as things turned out, since the altered routine allowed him to return to the subject for which he is uniquely qualified, the subject which now absorbs our interest on this website – biblical apologetics, the defense of the integrity of the biblical text.
