Letter Carriers in Marburg

Just got back from attending the Facharbeitsgruppe Neues Testament in Marburg. This is a research seminar/conference associated with the Arbeitskreis für evangelikale Theologie (seems basically like an equivalent to the Tyndale Fellowship Study Groups). Anyway I presented a paper on: The Ancient Letter Carriers and their Relevance for the Study of the New Testament. This seemed to be well received and provoked some interesting questions and discussion. In this paper I offered a general overview of the evidence as I see it, and some reflections on the relevance for Romans, Philippians, and Colossians (with briefer comments on some other texts). The trip was too quick, I don't really cope with one hour lectures in German (except with a full script - that was really helpful), and my travel arrangements meant I didn't get to do much sightseeing. But I met up with some good people (old friends and new), and have plenty to think about.