April 6th, Encountering Mary with Judith Dupre

Judith Dupre will be at NYPL on April 6th speaking about her book.


The Virgin Mary—mythic, spiritually compelling, and intellectually fascinating—has captivated people for over two thousand years.  Join New York Times bestselling author Judith Dupré as she looks at the Virgin Mary’s historical life in the Holy Land; her outsized influence on art, culture and history; and her enduring hold on the creative and spiritual imagination. 

With her trademark wit and appreciation for telling details, Ms. Dupré will discuss why Mary continues to matter in a secular age, and what her life tells us about having faith in uncertain times.  This illustrated talk will include images of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and other beloved portraits of Mary, as well as contemporary works of art, movie stills, and news photographs.

Moving Through Fear by Jeff Golliher

is a book I'm currently reading. It's just been published but has already received good reviews. Here's an overview from HuffPo. PW in March summarizes:

"the fear that rules our lives makes us a danger to ourselves." While that sentiment may seem bleak, it is only because the author approaches the nature of fear with uncommon acuity and insight. He's not out to frighten, but instead to show how fearless it's possible to be. Golliher admits the primal flight-or-fight instinct is necessary for survival, but warns that unacknowledged spiritual fears lead to personal and public conflict. To move through fear, Golliher advocates strengthening seven spiritual "instincts": awe, love, intent, rest, community, justice, and faith.

He explains them with touching personal stories and provides time-tested spiritual practices to help develop them. The chapter on awe is the most theologically strenuous, as a fear of God is reconciled with being in awe of God. Throughout the awe-filled contemplations, love is presented as the true opposite of fear, and so "love carries us through every fear." With intimate and affecting prose, Golliher brings home a message that is at once comforting, socially conscious, and resounding in its bold spiritual wisdom.

Jeff will be at GTS on Thursday April 28th giving a talk and book-signing in Seabury Auditorium at 7pm. Seminary Entrance: 440 West 21st Street, New York NY 10011. 

Agreeing to abolish capital punishment

Today's New York Times (soon to disappear behind a paywall) has a good article by Samuel G. Freedman "Faith Was On the Governor's Shoulder." Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois, hitherto a supporter of capital punishment with reservations, was contemplating whether he would veto or sign a bill abolishing the death penalty. On the morning of March 9th, he


opened his Bible to a passage in II Corinthians about human imperfection. He prayed. And when he signed the bill striking down the death penalty, he cited one influence by name: Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago. 


An avid reader of Cardinal Bernadin's book The Gift of Peace, Pat Quinn met the author when he held the office of state treasurer. He was and is a deep admirer of the argument for a consistent ethic of life from cradle to grave. After he signed an end to the death penalty in the State of Illinois, public opinion has apparently been overwhelmingly supportive. Now perhaps Gov. Quinn will move on to other issues in "a seamless ethic of life:" child care and quality of educational opportunities in the state. 

Centennial Remembrance of the Triangle Factory Fire tomorrow

Friday, March 25, 2011, marks the Centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City which took the lives of 146 workers, most of them young Jewish immigrant women. The factory was located on the 8th, 9th and 10th floors of a building just east of Washington Square Park. Many of the workers were trapped or fell to their deaths. The fire became a catalyst for the international labor movement, and many of our current fire safety laws were created in response to this event.

At 4:45pm--the time when the first fire alarms rang out--schools, churches, & firehouses across the City will begin to ring in memory of the victims. The bells of the General Seminary will begin tolling a slow, solemn series of 12 rings followed by one refrain of Shema Yisrael.  Traditionally the Shema is the last prayer said by faithful Jews before they die. We offer this prayer on the chimes especially in remembrance that most of the victims were Jewish immigrants.

You may learn more about the Triangle Fire here: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/

Please take a moment when you hear the bells and offer your own prayer of remembrance for the victims of the Triangle Fire. 

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, The Lord is One.

International Conference on Women, Religion & Politics in Lahore, Pakistan

The Heinrich Boell Stiftung Pakistan and Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Center co-sponsored an International Conference on Women, Religion and Politics on March 18-19 in Lahore, Pakistan. Invited guests spoke on different religious and political paradigms and their impact on women's lives in various countries around the world through case studies and surveys from Iran, Pakistan, Poland, Turkey, Sri Lanka and the US. Presentations were made by women academics and independent researchers, elected political officials, laywers and students.

There's some wonderful press coverage of the conference here and here. I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate, and for that I am very grateful. As for underlying themes, one can identify women's lives and women's bodies the world over as the contested site of religious beliefs and practice. If anyone doubts that this is the case, I cite an example of a woman I know who is an ordained priest employed at a church in the US. Over 60 people in the congregation have said to her: It's wonderful that your husband lets you work.

Here's a summary of the first day of the conference:

Academics, current and former government representatives, national and provincial parliamentarians, civil society representatives, students, media personnel and human rights activists attended the first day of the conference. Britta Petersen welcomed participants on behalf of HBS and Khawar Mumtaz spoke on the background and political significance of the International Women’s Day. Anne Jenichen from Germany presented findings of a United Nations Research Institute of Social Development study, focusing on the functions religion assumes in different national and cultural contexts, their implications for women and the role of democracy in helping women defend their rights against conservative interpretations of religion. Farida Shaheed from Shirkat Gah delivered the key note address exploring the challenges posed to gender equality by certain religious institutions and various state-influenced religious notions across the world. 


The presentations over the next two days included a number of case studies. I'll be doing another blog on the content of the presentations. One of them entitled, "Red Hot Chilli Peppers Islam: Is the youth in Elite Universities in Pakistan Radical?" is made available here. 


This conference is the last one of a series. HBS has previously held conferences on Women and Religion and published the results here. 

NT Position at GTS ad

3/16/2011 to 4/13/2011
Institution:	GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Location:	New York, New York
Position or Title:	New Testament Professor
Start Date (estimated):	Fall 2011
Description:	The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (www.gts.edu) invites qualified candidates to apply for a position in New Testament to start no later than the fall of 2012. We would also like to hire an interim appointment in New Testament for the academic year 2011-2012. Specialization in Pauline and Johannine materials would be optimal and a familiarity with modern critical methods of interpretation and teaching Greek are essential. Rank will be determined according to qualifications and experience. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or Th.D., evidence of effective teaching ability, service to the church, and a good publishing record or indication of potential in this area. Familiarity with the Anglican tradition and a willingness to participate in the life of a seminary community are essential. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Please send a dossier or C.V. with three letters of reference by April 15, 2011 to Bishop Peter Lee, Chair of the NT Search Committee, General Theological Seminary, 440 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10011.

Lent 1 and a Weekend Retreat

I spent Lent 1 in the good company of women from a neighbouring diocese on a retreat away from the city focusing on studying Jesus' parables in the Gospels together.

Some retreats I've been on are deliberately held far away from city distractions: on mountaintops or in isolated settings. There's something to be said for this. My attention focuses on the gathering, not whether there's a Starbucks nearby to supplement the institutional coffee provided by the establishment. And Episcopalians are better at retreats than most when it comes to creature comforts. One of my favorite retreats was the one that began with a game of bridge, complete with bridge snacks and bridge drinks. Some of the participants had been learning the game and were keen to practice. Julian was quite astonished to learn of our first activity when I rang her that night. I assured her we got down to bible study the next day.

This weekend's retreat was a good distance from the city and, like many others I've been on, held in a Roman Catholic retreat house. I'm quite sure this and many similar establishments keep going by means of Episcopal retreats and diocesan committees. I don't mind supporting dwindling orders of the Roman Catholic tradition by going infrequently to retreats. Especially when, as was the case this weekend, our group was permitted to use the Chapel to celebrate Eucharist on Sunday morning. We gave a good donation to their capital campaign from our free-will offering.

My room this weekend had an ethernet cable and cable television. Now that is not a common experience. Usually, my room is a cell with a very narrow uncomfortable bed over which a crucifix leans. There's one chair and a small desk that doesn't hold a bible and a lap top open together. There are not quite enough bed clothes to be warm. I am tempted to argue that one prays and meditates better when one is warm and comfortable. Perhaps another time.

But the highlight of this past weekend was the energy and enthusiasm with which the women threw themselves into parable study. On Saturday morning, we worked in groups comparing and interpreting the four extant version of the parable of the Sower and the discussion that followed such hard work was wonderful. Several people said, "Let's do this all afternoon!" But our leaders had sensible ideas that we needed a walk and another focus for our energies. They were right.

So if and when you plan a retreat, plan carefully for different activities that nourish the body, soul, and imaginative spirit over the course of the weekend. And the retreat worship and bible study will be all the better for it.

Geza Vermes on the Pope's book, Jesus of Nazareth Part 2

Geza Vermes reviews Jesus of Nazareth part 2 by Pope Benedict in yesterday's Guardian. He thinks the book continues the tone of the first volume: as an extended sermon. He is glad to note that shards of NT criticism seem to have made an impact on the Pope's work. But this impact is muted. How, for example, does the Pope deal with conflicting schedules in the gospel accounts of the Passion narrative?

The facts are these. In the synoptics the last supper is a Passover meal eaten after sunset, when the Jewish day starts, on 15th Nisan. Everything that follows – Jesus's arrest, his trial and sentencing to death for blasphemy by the Jewish high court, his transfer to Pilate on the different charge of sedition, and the Roman proceedings leading to the crucifixion – occurs on the Passover festival. Yet the chief priests, sticklers for legal minutiae, spend the whole night and day engaged in forbidden activities on a feast day.

John, by contrast, antedates everything by 24 hours. The last supper is not a Passover dinner. There is no Jewish blasphemy trial; Jesus is simply interrogated by the former high priest Annas. In the morning, without the accused being present, the chief priests convene and decide to deliver the revolutionary Jesus to Pilate early on 14th Nisan. They refuse to enter the palace so as not to be defiled and barred from eating the Passover meal that evening.

Any historian familiar with Judaism must realise that the synoptic timetable is impossible: Jesus's two trials and crucifixion could not have taken place on Passover day. Obliged to make a critical choice, the pope judges the synoptic chronology erroneous and opts correctly for that of the fourth gospel. However, he wants to have it both ways. Instead of adopting the coherent story from John's gospel, he transfers the synoptic details that are missing from John, including the Jewish trial, to the day before Passover. But taking such liberties turns out to be costly: the denial of the last supper's paschal character flatly contradicts the clear mention of the feast in the synoptics and, further, clashes with the reference that Jesus and his party had sung the halleluiah psalms, "the hymn" concluding the Passover dinner, before they departed to Gethsemane.

While the Pope is correct to clarify that the responsibility for the death of Jesus does not lie with the Jewish people (cf Matthew 27:25),

One should add that the pope spoils the effect of his denial of general Jewish guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus by explaining the verse in Matthew as a "theological etiology" – an anticipated justification by Matthew of the terrible fate and total destruction the Jews brought on themselves by demanding Christ's execution.

Begetting Rabbinic Judaism: Moments of Religious Transformation in Second Temple Judaism: Prof Gary Anderson at NYU

New York University’s Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies will host the Benita and Sigmund Stahl Lecture Program in Jewish Studies, “Begetting Rabbinic Judaism: Moments of Religious Transformation in Second Temple Judaism,” April 7, 12, and 14, at NYU’s Languages and Literature Building, 19 University Place (at 8th Street).

The lecture series is free and open to the public and an RSVP is required. Call 212.998.8980 or email fas.hjst.events@nyu.edu and include name, the lecture(s) you wish to attend.  Reporters interested in attending any of the lectures must RSVP to James Devitt, NYU’s Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6808 or james.devitt@nyu.edu. Subway Lines:  A, B, C, D, E, F, M (West 4th Street); N, R (8th Street); 6 (Astor Place).

This year’s lectures will be delivered by Gary Anderson, the Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Notre Dame, whose work explores how Biblical ideas have shaped the evolution of Western culture. He is the author of The Genesis of Perfection: Adam and Eve in Jewish and Christian Imagination and Sin: A History. His forthcoming book will focus on the development of the concept of charity in early Jewish religion and how those concepts influenced Christianity and Islam.  

“The Binding of Isaac”

Thursday, April 7, 6 p.m.

No Biblical text has been more widely commented upon than this. It is part of the daily liturgy in the Jewish prayer and the subject of more artistic representations than almost any other text. Yet at the same time the text has become terribly controversial in the modern period.  This lecture will examine some of the radical ways in which this story was read and reread.

“The Resurrection of the Dead”

Tuesday, April 12, 6 p.m.

This is one of the most important doctrines of early Rabbinic Judaism.  The Mishnah declared it a fundamental tenet of the Jewish faith and it became the foundation stone of the Christian movement. Yet the idea can only be found once or twice in the Hebrew Bible, and only then in very late contexts. This lecture will address what the resurrection from the dead means in the Hebrew Bible and how was it understood in the Second Temple Period.

“Jesus the Jew”

Thursday, April 14, 6 p.m.

Modern historical research has uncovered a treasure trove of new data that casts new light on the Jewishness of Jesus. This lecture will consider what that Jewish data is and how similar some of the teachings of Jesus are to the contemporary Judaism of his day.

Jennifer Knust: Unprotected Texts--Interview with Terry Gross

Transcripts of the conversation between Terry Gross and Jennifer Knust will be available after 5pm today here or here. On the NPR link is an excerpt from Unprotected Texts: The Bible's Surprising Contradictions about Sex and Desire (HarperOne, 2011). From the website:

Knust's book suggests that the Bible shouldn't be used as a guidebook for marriage or sexuality because passages related to sex — on topics related to monogamy, polygamy, sexual practices, homosexuality and gender roles — are more complex and nuanced than popular culture has led us to believe.

"The Bible offers no viable solution to our marriage dilemmas," she says. "There is no such thing as a single, biblically based view of legitimate marriage."

Jennifer Wright Knust is an ordained Baptist pastor and an assistant professor at Boston University. The book's first chapter discusses the Bible and the joy of sex. Polygamous marriage is normative in Hebrew Scriptures but not so much in the New Testament. Paul's injunctions not to marry in I Corinthians 7 are discussed in chapter three: The Evil Impulse: Disordered and Ordered Desire. 


Given that the book's argument is that the Bible cannot be appropriated without recognising its cultural and social norms, Jennifer Knust invites deeper and more critical reflection on the Bible. 

Marmite/Vegemite and World Leaders

The subject of a recent Q&A amongst pupils and their visitors, President Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard of Australia when the latter was on a recent visit to the US. The two leaders were responding to a question asked by an 11^th grade student at Wakefield High School where the President and Prime Minister visited a US history class this afternoon. A student wanted to know what vegemite really is, which prompted the debate.

“It’s like a quasi-vegetable byproduct paste. That you smear on your toast for breakfast,” Obama said sarcastically adding for emphasis, “sounds good, doesn’t it?”

I prefer Marmite. What is Marmite? Vegetable extract, salt, yeast extract, spice extract, Niacin, vitamin B12, riboflavin, Folic Acid, Thiamin. Plants love it, actually. Obviously, this is a divisive issue.