The Society of Biblical Literature was founded in 1880 and is the pre-eminent academic organization for promoting biblical scholarship. The society has an annual meeting (usually in conjunction with the American Academy of Religion), and its website offers a range of valuable resources.

Thomas B. Slater is a professor of New Testament at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta. He has said that Family Radio’s billboards claiming that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011, were inherently misguided.

Gary DeMar is on the staff of the American Vision, a group that seeks “to restore America to its biblical foundation.” He is a biblical literalist but takes issue with those who predict a specific date for the Second Coming of Jesus and the end of the world.

Derrick P. Alridge is an associate professor in the college of education at the University of Georgia. He wrote “From Civil Rights to Hiphop: Toward a Nexus of Ideas,” an article in the 2005 Journal of African American History (Vol. 90).

The Rev. Ralph C. Watkins is the Peachtree associate professor of evangelism and church growth for Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. Watkins co-authored The Gospel Remix: Reaching the Hip Hop Generation (Judson Press, 2007). Watkins, a pastor and musician, works to resolve gaps between the hiphop generation and its elders.

Alton B. Pollard III directs the Program of Black Church Studies at Emory University, Atlanta, where he is an associate professor of religion and culture. He co-edited How Long This Road: Race, Religion and the Legacy of C. Eric Lincoln (Palgrave MacMillan, 2003).

Eric L. Goldstein is an associate professor of history and of Jewish studies at Emory University, Atlanta, and edits the quarterly journal American Jewish History. He wrote The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race and American Identity (Princeton University Press, 2006).

The Program of Black Church Studies at Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. educates men and women on the “origins, development, and contemporary diversity of the black church tradition.” The program includes the exploration of other religious traditions. Contact Dr. Andrea C. White.

Read a June 12, 2013 Huffington Post article about the discourse between religion and sexual orientation caused the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to accept homosexual scouts.