Tag Archives: Abrahamic

The Other “New Testament”: An Introduction to the Talmud and Rabbinic Judaism

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COURSES > CONGREGATION

Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, two distinct-but-related sister religions developed around two distinct-but-related sister canons: one was Christianity with its New Testament; the other was Rabbinic Judaism with its Talmud(s).  This class will introduce the “Jewish New Testament” by surveying the historical and textual context in which it developed, outlining the structure and contents of the work itself and examining several passages in English translation.  No background knowledge of any kind is required. Continue reading →

Agent in Athens, Patient in Jerusalem: The Cosmic (Sense of) Self in Ancient Greek and Judaic Cultures

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LECTURES > PREVIOUS [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

One of the great insights of the modern era is that notions of what a “person” is, as well as notions about the “cosmos” those persons inhabit, vary from culture to culture. Indeed the two are linked. In this talk, we will explore the interconnections between cultural notions of “self’ and “cosmos” by considering the cases of ancient Greek culture on the one hand and ancient Judaic culture on the other. In each case, notions of creation were correlated with notions of the cosmos that in turn were correlated with notions of the nature of man and the nature of wisdom. In Athens, the cosmic (sense of) self was that of a cosmic agent, while in Jerusalem it was that of a cosmic patient. Continue reading →

Introduction to the Nag Hammadi Library

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Sometimes described as the “Dead Sea Scrolls of Christianity”, the Nag Hammadi Library is a collection of primarily Gnostic Christian texts produced early in the Christian era and re-discovered in 1945 near the town of Nag Hammadi in Egypt. In this course we will read extensive selections of these texts (with the help of secondary sources that put them in context) in an effort to understand and appreciate a puzzling “heretical” form of early Christianity, both in its own right and in relation to orthodox Christianity.  No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required. Continue reading →

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 →