Murder in the Tidwell Building: Meet the Authors Jim Nogalski and Mark Biddle

In today’s episode, I am speaking with James "Jim" Nogalski and Mark Biddle about their book Murder in the Tidwell Building. This is a rare treat for us as one of our very own Baylor Religion professors has written a crime novel set in the Religion Department’s building.

A skeleton is found in 2020 in Waco, Texas, on the campus ofBaylor University during the renovation of the Tidwell Bible Building, which houses Baylor's Department of Religion. During demolition, workers uncover the skeleton of a man who had been murdered fifteen years earlier. Suspicionquickly falls on three members of the Department of Religion, including two who are now high-level administrators of the university. All three have something to hide. Two detectives meticulously and creatively pursue the killer, despite encountering bureaucratic resistance from the higher echelons of administrators in the Waco Police Department and Baylor University.

Jim Nogalski joined the faculty of the Religion Departmentat Baylor in the fall of 2007 after teaching at institutions in South Carolina, Kentucky, Illinois, and North Carolina. Nogalski is best known for his ongoing work in prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible, and especially in the Book of the Twelve (Hosea through Malachi). Nogalski grew up in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. After graduating Samford University he completed a Master of Divinity degree at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentuckybefore completing a Master of Theology in Old Testament at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon (a suburb of Zurich), and his doctoral degree at the University of Zurich. He publishes regularly on prophetic literature, especially the Book of the Twelve.

Dr. Biddle received his early education in the publicschools of Orlando, FL and Ft. Payne, AL. He holds a BAH from Samford University (Birmingham, AL), an MDiv from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), a ThM from Rueschlikon Baptist Theological Seminary (Rueschlikon, Switzerland), and a DrTheol from the University of Zurich(Zurich, Switzerland). Dr. Biddle began his teaching career at Carson Newman College (now University), where he also directed the Honors Program. After almost a decade, he joined the faculty of the Baptist Theological Seminary atRichmond as Professor of Old Testament, soon to become the Russell T. Cherry Professor there and to continue until the unfortunate closing of the school.Along the way, Biddle has taught adjunctively for SBTS, the Polish Baptist Theological Seminary in Warsaw-Radosc, and, currently, Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond.

Dr. Biddle has published seven books, over forty articles, eleven translated volumes (from German to English), and scores of book reviews. He serves on the editorial board ofthe Review & Expositor, having served for two years as Associate Editor and seven as Managing Editor. He also serves on the editorial board of the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary and is General Editor of the Reading the Old Testament series. He served for five years on the advisory board of Interpretation and as Issue Editor for R&E’s volumes on “Genesis,” “Song of Songs,” “Apocalyptic Literature,”“Transitions,”and “Esther” (forthcoming).