The Bible with and without Jesus course
Jews and Christians are separated by a common Bible! Based on The Bible with and without Jesus by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler, this day course will explore the rich, multi-faceted traditions of biblical interpretation in both faith communities. Professor Amy-Jill Levine will join us online for the early afternoon session.
We will be challenged to look at familiar biblical passages in a new light, as we discover how very differently the same stories have been understood by Jews and Christians. The aim is to get beyond the old polemics, and develop a greater understanding and respect for the two interpretative traditions. Opportunities will also be provided to reflect on our own relationships with the Bible.
Participants may like to read The Bible with and without Jesus beforehand, but it is not essential. Do, however, bring a Bible.
About the Tutors
This course was designed by Dr Ann Conway-Jones, but will be delivered by Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand and Dr Jayme Reaves.
Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand is a rabbi, lecturer and public speaker on faith, identity and leadership. She is a board member of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations.
Dr Jayme Reaves is a public theologian whose work explores socially-engaged biblical studies and considers the theological and social legacies created by social injustice, violence, peace, reconciliation and moral courage, with interests in both non-violent resistance and non-confessional and interfaith theological and ethical constructions and practice.
Amy-Jill Levine is the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. She is also University Professor of New Testament Studies Emerita and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt.
Her books include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi; The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and the Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us (with Douglas Knight); and The Gospel of Luke (with Ben Witherington III; the first full-length biblical commentary co-authored by a Jew and an Evangelical). She is co-editor (with Marc Zvi Brettler) of The Jewish Annotated New Testament.
Professor Levine has given close to 1000 lectures on the Bible, Christian-Jewish relations, and religion, gender, and sexuality across the globe.
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