"ETHICS AND SALVATION" IN JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM IS THE TOPIC OF THE DECEMBER 6 LECTURE-DIALOGUE WITH JONATHAN BROCKOPP, BRUCE CHILTON, AND JACOB NEUSNER AT BARD
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.?The final program in the 2001 lecture-dialogue series presented by the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College will be held on Thursday, December 6, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 115 of the Olin Language Center. The program is free and open to the public. The Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton and Research Professor of Theology Jacob Neusner will be joined by Jonathan Brockopp, assistant professor of religion at Bard and the national cochair of the Section for the Study of Islam, American Academy of Religion, for a discussion titled "Ethics and Salvation."
How do the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam relate to one another? One popular conception is that they are parallel and invite direct comparison. Professors Brockopp, Chilton, and Neusner will challenge that picture during this discussion. They argue that the histories of Judaism and Christianity do not run parallel, but intersect. Paradoxically, however, when they do intersect, they profoundly disagree.
Jonathan Brockopp is the author of two forthcoming books, Islamic Ethics of Life and Six Facets of Islam. He is also the author of Early Maliki Law (2000) and Judaism and Islam in Practice with Neusner and Tamara Sonn (2000). He has published articles and reviews in many leading journals and has contributed to the Encyclopedia of the Qur'an and the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. He is a member of the American Oriental Society, Columbia Arabic Seminar, and the Middle East Studies Association. Brockopp is the recipient of fellowships from the Institute of Advanced Study at Hebrew University, the American Research Center in Egypt, and the Fulbright Foundation. He received a B.A. degree from Valparaiso University, completed graduate studies at Tübingen University and American University in Cairo, and received a Ph.D. from Yale University.
Professor Bruce Chilton is a scholar of early Christianity and Judaism and the author of the first critical translation of the Aramaic version of Isaiah (The Isaiah Targum, 1987). Chilton has written academic studies that put Jesus in his Jewish context (Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, 2000; The Galilean Rabbi and His Bible, 1984; The Temple of Jesus, 1992; and Pure Kingdom, 1996). He has taught in Europe at the universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Münster, and in the United States at Yale University (as the first Lillian Claus Professor for New Testament) and Bard College. Chilton is also director of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard. Throughout his career he has been active in the pastoral ministry of the Anglican Church; he is currently rector of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Barrytown, New York.
Dr. Jacob Neusner is Research Professor of Theology and Judaism and senior fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College. He received his Ph.D. in religion from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary and his rabbinical degree at the Jewish Theological Seminary. In addition, he holds seven honorary doctorates and numerous academic medals and honors. He has published more than 800 books and countless articles. Neusner has taught at Bard since 1994, prior to accepting this full-time appointment. He has also taught at Dartmouth College, Brown University, and the University of South Florida, among others. He is a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, and a life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, in England. Neusner was president of the American Academy of Religion, a member of the founding committee of the Association for Jewish Studies, and founder of the European Association of Jewish Studies. He served as a member of the National Council on the Humanities under President Carter and a member of the National Council on the Arts under President Reagan. The position Neusner holds as Research Professor of Religion and Theology at Bard College is supported, in part, by a grant from the Tisch Family Foundation of New York City.
The Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College was established to foster critical understanding, based on scholarship, that will make true religious pluralism possible. Since its inception in 1996, the Institute?s work has focused on how religions influence history, society, and other religions, and are in turn influenced by them. The Institute gratefully acknowledges support provided by the Crohn Family Trust and the Tisch Family Foundation and grants from The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the American Council of Learned Societies, and Bard College.
For further information about the lecture series or the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College, call 845-758-7279, e-mail [email protected], or visit the website at www.bard.edu/iat.
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(10.26.01)