About the Series:
Agreeing to Disagree: How Jews and Christians Read Scripture Differently
with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine
Although Jews and Christians share common books — the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament — differences in translation, punctuation, definitions, theology, emphasis and even canonical order all lead to differences in community self-definition. What prompts these differences, and what do they suggest about Jewish and Christian priorities?
Join us as we see how and why Jews and Christians have disagreed over biblical interpretation in the past, and how, with knowledge of history and theology, we can today better appreciate each other’s interpretations.
Dr. Amy-Jill Levine, University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies, is a self-described
Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches biblical studies in Nashville, the buckle of the Bible Belt. Her most recent book, coauthored with Marc Z. Brettler, is The Bible With and Without Jesus.
Watch our Jesus and the Jews lecture from spring 2020.
Co-Presented with Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Sponsored by Barbara Ritchin.
Night 1:
Virginal Conception or A Pregnant Young Woman: Jewish and Christian Readings of Isaiah 7:14
Tuesday, October 13
6:00 PM EDT
A virtual series
Free
How do context and translation impact biblical interpretation? How does the Gospel of Matthew’s claim that Jesus’s mother, Mary, was a virgin at the time he was conceived fit into first-century Jewish thought? Who is Isaiah’s “Immanuel,” and where can he be found today?
Night 2:
The Suffering Servant: Jewish and Christian Readings of Isaiah 52:14 – 53:12
Tuesday, October 20
6:00 PM EDT
A virtual series
Free
Is the servant an individual or a symbol for the nation of Israel? Is he a prediction of Jesus, or is he the Messiah, who according to some rabbinic texts sits at the gates of Rome? Who was the servant for Isaiah’s original audience, and who might be the servant today?
Night 3:
The Book of Jonah: How Anti-Jewish Readings Are Created
Tuesday, October 27
6:00 PM EDT
A virtual series
Free
Is the Book of Jonah a warning about divine wrath or an assurance ofdivine mercy? A book about repentance or a prophecy of resurrection? A hymn to Jewish inclusivity, or a condemnation of Jewish ethnocentrism? How are Jewish texts turned against Jews, and where can better readings be found?
Night 4:
The Creation (Genesis 1–3)
Tuesday, November 3
6:00 PM EST
A virtual series
Free
Do the first three chapters of Genesis affirm monotheism or describe the Trinity? Is creation egalitarian or hierarchical? Do Adam and Eve face original sin, or original opportunity?
We are happy to offer these webinars free of charge in these challenging times and hope you enjoy them. Any contribution to support our efforts is appreciated.