Tag Archives: Scripture

Icons of the Abrahamic Religions

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COURSES > UNDERGRADUATE

At the head of each of the “Abrahamic Religions” is an iconic founder-figure who is believed to be connected with the distinctive scripture of that faith: Moses and the Torah for Judaism, Jesus and the Gospels for Christianity and Muhammad and the Quran for Islam.  This course will examine the historical facts (insofar as they can be determined) of the lives of these founder-figures, some of the various “mythologies” that each tradition has constructed both of its own founder-figure and the other founder-figures, and the history, structure and content of the scriptures (both canonical and non-canonical) associated with each founder-figure.  Using select secondary sources as a guide, the course will center on a close reading of selections from the three scriptures and their associated literatures and culminate with a reading of Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s Children of the Alley (1959). Continue reading →

Co-Evolution of Christianity and (Rabbinic) Judaism

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Although “Christianity” is often thought of as a younger religion than “Judaism”, Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity actually co-evolved from a common Second Temple starting point and thus stand to one another as “sisters” rather than as “mother-and-daughter”.  This course will trace the parallel development of these two Abrahamic religions through an examination of a selection of primary and secondary texts in order to better understand each in its own right and in relation to the other, as well as their relationship to their common precursor.  No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required. Continue reading →

Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Perhaps the greatest medieval Jewish philosopher, Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed is a scholastic attempt to reconcile the “revelation” of the Torah and the “reason” of Aristotelian philosophy.  This class will be devoted to reading the Guide in an attempt to gain insight in the both Maimonides’ perspective and the general issues he raises. Continue reading →

Taking Judaism to the Gentiles: Josephus, Philo and Paul

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COURSES > LIFELONG

At the end of the Second Temple period, Judaism was well on its way to becoming the dominant religion of the Roman Empire as Jews, “half-Jews”, and “God-fearers” worshipped the God of Israel in various ways and to various degrees.  Thus, like Hellenism before it, Judaism was (mentally) conquering its (political) conquerors.  In this course we will read selections from the works of three Hellenized Jews who lived around the time of Jesus and who were instrumental in “taking Judaism to the Gentiles” — and thus paving the way for the later rise and triumph of Christianity: (1) Josephus, a priest-general turned historian-apologist who participated in the Jewish revolt against Rome; (2) Philo of Alexandria, a leading figure in one of the leading communities of the Jewish Diaspora who attempted to reconcile Jewish religion and Greek philosophy; and (3) Paul (also known as Saul) who — despite often being thought of as a “Christian” — arguably lived and died thinking of himself as a Jew engaged in propagating what he understood to be the full, final flowering of Judaism. Continue reading →

Abraham in Ancient Texts

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COURSES > LIFELONG

Although many people today think of Genesis as our primary (or only) source of “information” about Abraham, this is not the case.  On the contrary, a range of ancient authors wrote about Abraham from a range of perspectives.  Indeed, a few ancient authors even wrote as if they were Abraham.  This course will examine a range of these ancient Abrahams by reading excerpts a number of texts from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions (including: Genesis, The Book of Jubilees, The Testament of Abraham, Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus, essays by Philo of Alexandria, Romans, Galatians, the Koran, and Tales of the Prophets) in order to better appreciate both “the many faces of Abraham” and the various uses to which Abraham has been put.  No prior knowledge or experience of any kind is required. Continue reading →

Shakespeare’s ‘Letter to the Romans’: ‘Anti-Judaism’ (Not ‘Anti-Semitism’) in The Merchant of Venice

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LECTURES > PREVIOUS [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

Although The Merchant of Venice is today often perceived as “anti-Semitic”, a careful consideration of both the play and the label suggests that this is not so. Rather, Shakespeare’s play dramatizes both a critique of “legalistic Judaism” similar to the one made by Paul (who arguably lived and died a Jew) in his “Letter to the Romans” and an exaltation of “graceful Christianity”. As such, The Merchant of Venice can be properly understood as the “anti-Judaic comedy of Antonio” rather than as the “anti-Semitic tragedy of Shylock”. Continue reading →

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 →

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 →