25 November - 3 December 2014
Our theme for 2014 is 'Is the New Testament Anti-Jewish?' , and will consist of a series of Lectures given by Professor Amy-Jill Levine, University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies, Vanderbilt, and Affiliated Professor, Woolf Institute: Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge.
Despite progress in both historical studies and interfaith relations, Jews and Christians continue to misunderstand each other, and to misunderstand the relationship of the New Testament to its Jewish context. By looking at major parts of the New Testament - the Christmas story, the sermon on the mount, the passion narrative, the letters of Paul, and the epistle to the Hebrews - we can see how and why the followers of Jesus of Nazareth dialogued with, debated, and sometimes defamed their fellow Jews. We also find, in doing the historical work, that Jews and Christians have much to celebrate both in terms of what they hold in common and in areas where they came to differ.
In this year’s series of Cadbury Lectures Professor Levine provides a historically informed and theologically sensitive reading of those New Testament passages that some claim to be anti-Jewish, rooted in a recognition that both Judaism and Christianity formed their identities in dialogue and debate with each other. The series explores and celebrates where Judaism and Christianity agree, as well as where they disagree.
Programme
- 25 November 2014: The Christmas story
- 26 November: The sermon on the mount
- 27 November: Jesus vs. the Pharisees
- 1 December: Who killed Jesus?
- 2 December: Paul of Tarsus
- 3 December: The epistle to the Hebrews
Biography
Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament 
and Jewish Studies, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies, and Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and College of Arts and Science in Nashville, TN; she is also Affiliated Professor, Centre for the Study of Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge UK. Holding the BA from Smith College, and the MA and PhD from Duke University, she has honorary doctorates from the University of Richmond, the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, the University of South Carolina-Upstate, Drury University, and Christian Theological Seminary.
Her most recent books include 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(co-authored with Douglas Knight), and The New Testament, Methods and Meanings(co-authored with Warren Carter). She is also the editor of the Jewish Annotated New Testament(with Marc Z. Brettler). An earlier publication also relevant to the topic of her Cadbury lectures is The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus (Pb 2007). Professor Levine served as a consultant on the committee appointed by the Centers for Christian-Jewish Relations to review the script of the 2010 Oberammergau Passion Play.
A self-described "Yankee Jewish feminist," Professor Levine is a member of Congregation Sherith Israel, an Orthodox Synagogue in Nashville, although she is often quite unorthodox.
Time and location
All events will take place from 17.30pm-19.00 in Lecture Theatre 7, Arts Building (map reference R16), Main Edgbaston Campus.
Parking for blue badge holders
Please note that the venue does not have its own car park. There are, however, a few parking spaces available at the front of the building and two parking bays at the rear of the building. Parking within these spaces is free for all Blue Badge holders. These are allocated on a first come first served basis. Please find further information on the Disabled Go web pages.
How to book tickets
The events are free and open to all, but registration is desired.
To register for any event please email: cadburylectures@contacts.bham.ac.uk