Holy Cross Lecture to Explore Jesus and Judaism

Amy-Jill Levine, University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University, will give a lecture titled “Jesus and Judaism: The Connection Matters” on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Rehm Library at the College of the Holy Cross. The lecture, supported by the Kraft-Hiatt Fund for Jewish-Christian Understanding, is free and open to the public.

Levine has dedicated her career to helping Christians and Jews understand Jesus in the Jewish context, thereby deepening the understanding of him and facilitating greater interfaith dialogue.

“Jesus of Nazareth followed the Torah of Moses, grounded his teachings in the prophets of Israel, and offered a message that some Jewish men and women found compelling. Yet too often Christians and Jews incorrectly regard Jesus as rejecting Judaism,” Levine said.  “Understanding Jesus in his Jewish context brings new meaning to his parables, his politics, and his piety, and it offers as well a new path for Jewish-Christian relations.”

Levine is author of “The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus” (HarperSanFrancisco, 2006), an editor of "The Historical Jesus in Context" (Princeton, 2006) and co-author of “The Meaning of the Bible: What The Jewish Scriptures and the Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us”  (HarperOne, 2011). She is also an editor of the 14-volume “Feminist Companion to the New Testament and Early Christian Literature” series.

The Kraft-Hiatt Fund for Jewish-Christian Understanding, administered by the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross, is committed to deepening understanding of Judaism, Jewish life around the world, and Jewish-Christian relations.  To learn more about this event and find lectures online, visit www.holycross.edu/mcfarlandcenter.

About the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College's commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is inter-religious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.