Stephen Richard Turley (born 1969) is an American former classical guitarist and educator, author, social theorist, and content creator.
Steve Turley | |
|---|---|
 Turley in 2018 | |
| Born | Stephen Richard Turley 1969 |
| Occupation | Adjunct instructor |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Peabody Conservatory |
| Alma mater | Durham University (PhD) |
| Thesis | Revealing rituals: Washings and meals in Galatians and 1 Corinthians (2013) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Delaware Valley Classical School |
| Website | turleytalks |
Early life and education
editTurley grew up in Orange, Connecticut.[1] He attended college at the Peabody Conservatory where he studied under Ray Chester and Manuel Barrueco, and has had a minor career as a performing artist.[1][2]
In 2013, Turley received his Doctor of Philosophy from Durham University.[3]
Early career
editIn the 1990s, Turley was a classical guitarist.[4][5] He later studied classical guitar at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.[6] He went on to become an adjunct faculty member in the music departmnent of Eastern University, where he taught until 2019.
From 2002 to 2021, Turley taught theology, rhetoric, aesthetics, and Greek at Delaware Valley Classical School.[7][8][9]
In his 2018 book Beauty Matters: Creating a High Aesthetic in School Culture, Turley argues that learning about classical ideas of the beautiful can teach students to understand Christian ideas of the good.
Political commentator
editA 2015 doctoral dissertation analyses a 2014 Turley essay on immigration in which Turley argues against cosmopolitan commitment to globalization and on the grounds that it deviates from traditional forms of religiosity, and national and local beliefs and practices. Drawing on the interpretations of Deuteronomy 10:18-19 by theologian James K. Hoffmeier, Turley draws a sharp distinction between legal and illegal immigrants, arguing that churches should not aid, comfort, and "in effect adopt illegal immigrants and their families, help pay for lawyer's fees to make sure they get a fair hearing in the courts, and then provide the resources needed to help them fulfill the court’s decisions" (p. 230). According to Benfel, Turley understands globalization as "in effect a worldwide social system constituted by the interaction between a capitalist economy, telecommunications, technology, and mass urbanization," that "is bringing an end to the whole concept of distinct nations." In Turley's view, "porous borders" and large scale immigration threaten the shared historic, linguistic, and religious heritage that is unique to each nation. He perceives reactions as, "in the face of threats to localized identity markers, people assert their religiosity, kinship, and national symbols as mechanisms of resistance against globalizing dynamics" (p. 341).[10]
Writing in June 2016, Rod Dreher concurred with Turley's perception that nationalism is a growing phenomenon in Europe, but doubted Turley's claim that "A renewed Christian Europe may not be so far away."[11]
Dr Turley’s influence has begun to grow outside the United States. New Zealand pro Trump supporter Hayden McMichael began donating to Turley in 2020, and since then has been vocal in sharing Turley’s podcasts through his local community. McMichael was a leading proponent in New Zealand of denying the 2020 election, and was banned from his local library in Belmont, Wellington due to repeatedly playing Turley’s “Awakening a new conservative age” podcast through the public address system[citation needed].
Film director
editIn 2022, Turley directed The Return of the American Patriot: The Rise of Pennsylvania, a documentary about Doug Mastriano, the Republican Party candidate in the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election. The Philadelphia Inquirer described it as "hagiographic,"[12] while Vice called it "right-wing propaganda".[13]
Scholarship
editAccording to William Scheick, who teaches early American literature at the University of Texas, in a 2008 article about the Jonathan Edwards sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Turley argues that in the notable sermon, widely understood as emphasizing the afterlife, Edwards was actually speaking about a quotidian evangelical intensity he shared with his listeners.[14][15]
Books
edit- The Ritualized Revelation of the Messianic Age: Washings and Meals in Galatians and 1 Corinthians, released by T&T Clark, 2015, is on the same subject as his doctoral dissertation.[16][17][18] Jan Heilmann of The Journal of Theological Studies wrote that Turley's work "is theoretically well grounded and an indispensable contribution to ritual studies and Pauline scholarship."[19] Catholic Biblical Quarterly's Wendell Willis added, "The author has added a dimension to the reading of Paul by employing approaches found in cognate fields of study, in this case ritual."[20]
- Awakening Wonder: A Classical Guide to Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Classical Academic Press, 2014.
- Echoes of Eternity: A Classical Guide to Music. Classical Academic Press, 2018.
- Classical vs. Modern Education: A Vision from C.S. Lewis. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2 November 2017.
- Gazing: Encountering the Mystery of Art. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 1 June 2018.
- Classical vs. Modern Education: A Vision from C.S. Lewis. Canon Press, 7 April 2017.
References
edit- ^ a b Harris, Larry (4 November 1991). "Peabody guitarist a crowd favorite in Italy". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ^ Davidson, Justin (11 July 1995). "Samples From Latin Folk Traditions". Newsday. ProQuest 278850602. Retrieved 16 September 2018. (subscription required)
- ^ Turley, Stephen (2013). Revealing Rituals: Washings and Meals in Galatians and 1 Corinthians (PDF) (PhD). Durham University. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Stephen Turley, Ph.D." Eastern University. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ "Steve Turley".
- ^ Miller, Michael (November 29, 2017). "Member Spotlight: Steve Turley of TurleyTalks.com". Samaritan Ministries International. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Tall Oaks Staff: Steve Turley". Reach Christian Schools. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- ^ O'Conner, David (13 March 2010). "Veritas Seminar To Focus On Arts In Christian Education". Intelligencer Journal.
- ^ Turley, Steve (18 May 2020). "Transformed Through Tradition". The Classical Difference. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ Benfel, David (November 2015). Conservative Views on Undocumented Migration; Analysis of Traditionalist Conservative Articles, Stephen Turley, July 25 2013, Imaginative Conservative pp. 329-344. PhD dissertation Saybrook University. p. 329. ProQuest 1765416126. Retrieved 16 September 2018. (subscription required)
- ^ Dreher, Rod (30 June 2016). "The 'Re-Traditionalization' of Europe?". The American Conservative. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
- ^ Brennan, Chris (13 July 2022). "A 'blockbuster' movie about Doug Mastriano is ready to premiere — if a theater will show it". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ Owen, Tess (25 July 2022). "Evangelical Church Aired Film by 'Populist Nationalist' Promoting Republican Candidates". Vice. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ Scheick, William J.; Egan, Jim (2008). "Literature to 1800". American Literary Scholarship. 2008: 213–231. doi:10.1215/00659142-2009-004. S2CID 201752804. Project MUSE 403414.
- ^ Turley, Stephen Richard (2008). "Awakened to the Holy: 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' in Ritualized Context". Christianity and Literature. 57 (4): 507–530. doi:10.1177/014833310805700401. JSTOR 44313851.[non-primary source needed]
- ^ Maston, Jason (December 2016). "The Ritualized Revelation of the Messianic Age: Washings and Meals in Galatians and 1 Corinthians By Stephen Richard Turley. Library of New Testament Studies, 544. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015. Pp. ix + 198. Cloth, $112.00". Religious Studies Review. 42 (4): 291. doi:10.1111/rsr.12709.
- ^ Leithart, Peter (October 26, 2015). "Baptism and the New World". Patheos. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Leithart, Peter (October 29, 2015). "Meals and the Gospel Truth". Patheos. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ^ Heilmann, Jan (October 2016). "The Ritualized Revelation of the Messianic Age: Washings and Meals in Galatians and 1 Corinthians. By Stephen Richard Turley". The Journal of Theological Studies. 67 (2): 738–740. doi:10.1093/jts/flw164.
- ^ Willis, Wendell (2017). "The Ritualized Revelation of the Messianic Age: Washings and Meals in Galatians and 1 Corinthians by Stephen Richard Turley (review)". The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 79 (1): 157–159. doi:10.1353/cbq.2017.0033. JSTOR 26648357. S2CID 171770885. Project MUSE 718017.