HB NT 4120.CR01: Jews and Christians
Dr. Lawrence Wills
June 8-19, 2015
Monday to Friday, 4:00-6:00PM
Sherrill Library
3 Credits
Modern Christian identity is largely based on an understanding of Judaism in the first century and the “Jesus revolution” as reflected in the New Testament, but there has been another revolution in knowledge about the complexities of Judaism and earliest Christianity. Research on the variety of Jewish and Christian groups in the first century, along with reflections on what constitutes religious identity, have given rise to bold new theories of how Christianity gradually differentiated from Judaism. This course begins with an exploration of Hebrew Bible passages and post-biblical Judaism, and proceeds to a fresh questioning of how the followers of Jesus related to the varieties of Judaism. This process will illuminate modern-day inter-faith dialogue as well.