Category Archives: Lifelong

Apologies of Socrates and Gospels of Jesus

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > CONGREGATION | COURSES > ONLINE
[→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

The lives and deaths of Socrates and Jesus had some remarkable parallels. Both were charismatic teachers claiming to be on divine missions. Both were executed by the ruling elites they challenged. And both were vindicated in the writings of their disciples. This course will explore these and other parallels by reading and discussing two Apologies (Defenses) of Socrates, one by Xenophon and one by Plato, and a number of gospels, some that made it into the New Testament and some that didn’t. In addition to examining the teachings of each figure, we will consider how each one’s calling and legacy is portrayed in the various accounts. The two Apologies of Socrates will be supplemented by selected other dialogues by Xenophon and Plato related to the death of Socrates. Continue reading →

Manifestations of the Kabbalah: The Zohar

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Along with the Bible and the Talmud, The Zohar was one of the pillars of medieval Judaism.  Unlike those earlier works, however, The Zohar (or “The Splendor”) purports to provide a mystical path to God.  This class will read and discuss portions of The Zohar, in order to both learn about Kabbalah and about the connections between this and the other pillars of Judaism.  No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required. Continue reading →

Forming Christianity: Selected Texts of Early Christianity

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Although “Christianity” is often thought to have been part of God’s plan from the beginning of time, the historical emergence of religions centered on Jesus Christ looks in hindsight to have been anything but foreordained.  On the contrary, the emergence of “Christian Judaism” and its transformation into “Jewish Christianity” and beyond entailed several hundred years of creative and contentious development by a number of schools of proto-Christian thought.  In this course, we will examine the formation of what we know today as Christianity through a close reading of early Christian texts — some of which made it into the victors’ New Testament and some of which did not. Continue reading →

Lost Books of the New Testament

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Although 27 books were included in the fourth century anthology known as the New Testament, early Christians produced a great many more books considered sacred by various communities.  Among these other books were additional gospels, acts of the apostles, epistles and apocalypses.  In this course, we will read and discuss a selection of the surviving “lost books” that did not make it into the Bible (as well as several of the canonical books that did) in order to get a sense of the works themselves, the similarities and differences among them and between them and the canonical works, and of the process that led to the creation of the Christian canon. Continue reading →

Introduction to the Talmud

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COURSES > LIFELONG

This course will provide a brief introduction to one of the most important — and yet one of the least accessible and least read — texts of the Jewish tradition.  After a brief overview of the origin and history of this monumental work, the course will focus on reading and discussing a few important sections and considering their connection with the Hebrew Bible.  No background knowledge of any kind is required. Continue reading →

Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > CONGREGATION [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

Although discovered in the late 1940s, the Dead Sea Scrolls — a collection of Judaic texts dating from roughly 200 BCE to 100 CE — have only recently become fully available to scholars and the public.  In this course, we will explore these ancient documents both by reading a selection of them (as well as secondary texts that put them in context) and by comparing them to traditional biblical texts from the same era.  In addition to seeking an appreciation of the scrolls themselves, we will also seek greater understanding of various strands of thought current at the dawn of both rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity.  No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required. Continue reading →

In the Face of Adversity: Homer’s Odyssey and the Bible’s Job

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE

The twin foundations of “Western” civilization are often thought to be the Classical tradition of ancient Greece and Rome on the one hand, and the Biblical tradition of ancient Israel on the other. In this course, we’ll explore how “Athens” and “Jerusalem” addressed the common human predicament of adversity through the close reading of a key text from each: Homer’s Odyssey and the Bible’s Book of Job. Along the way, we’ll consider the literary, philosophical, and religious aspects in an attempt to understand each work in its own right as well the similarities and differences between them. Continue reading →

Freud on the Human Condition

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COURSES > LIFELONG | COURSES > ONLINE [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

Although Freud has been primarily known for his theories of individual psychology, Freud himself never saw his work in such narrow terms. Rather, Freud constantly strove to develop a comprehensive theory of the human condition by using his psychology to explain fundamental features of human evolution, history and modern social life. In this course, we will approach Freud’s worldview, which often equated children, neurotics, “primitives” and proto-humans, through some of his lesser-read works which put his psychological theories in a larger context. Continue reading →

Introduction to the Qur’an as Literature

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Considered the record of the revealed word of God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, the Quran is the third great scripture of the Semitic tradition and the foundation of all forms of Islam.  In this course we will read the Quran (as well as supplementary readings) to gain an initial understanding of the book, its perspectives on important concepts such as the nature of god and man, divine judgment, prophecy and history, the ideal society, the proper relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, jihad (“holy war” or “exertion”) and more.  No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required. Continue reading →