Join us on January 9, 2024, for an evening with renowned New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine. Professor Levine will deliver Luther Seminary’s 2024 Fretheim Lecture in Biblical Theology, “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector: Why Knowledge of Jewish History Matters for Christian Preaching and Teaching.”
Event Details
Fretheim Lecture in Biblical Theology with Amy-Jill Levine
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
7 p.m.
Location:
Chapel of the Incarnation, Olson Campus Center
1490 Fulham Street, St. Paul, MN 55108
Prior to the public lecture, Professor Levine will offer a free workshop for area clergy and seminary students from 3:30–5 p.m.: “Understanding Jesus and Paul Means Understanding Jewish Practice and Belief.” This workshop details the reasons why anti-Jewish preaching and teaching continue, details the popular misconceptions about the Jewish context of Jesus and Paul found in sermons and church-based curricula, and offers alternatives for reading the texts on which they are based.
Both events are free and open to the public, with no registration required. The lecture will be livestreamed at youtube.com/lutherseminary for those unable to attend in person.
About Amy-Jill Levine
Amy-Jill Levine is the Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace as well as the University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies Emerita and the Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University.
Her publications include:
- “The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus”
- “Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi”
- Six children’s books (with Sandy Sasso)
- “The Gospel of Luke” (with Ben Witherington III, the first biblical commentary by a Jew and an evangelical)
- “The Jewish Annotated New Testament” (co-edited with Marc Brettler)
- “The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently” (with Marc Brettler)
- “The Pharisees” (co-edited with Joseph Sievers)
- 13 edited volumes of the Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Literature
- The Beginner’s Guide series, including “Sermon on the Mount,” “Light of the World,” “Entering the Passion of Jesus,” “The Difficult Words of Jesus,” “Witness at the Cross,” “Signs and Wonders,” and “The Gospel of Mark”
Professor Levine is the first Jew to teach New Testament at Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute, an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the first winner of the Seelisberg Prize for Jewish-Christian Relations, and the 2023 recipient of the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation from the Archbishop of Canterbury. She describes herself as an unorthodox member of an Orthodox synagogue and a Yankee Jewish feminist who works to counter biblical interpretations that exclude and oppress.
About the Fretheim Lecture
The Terence E. and Faith L. Fretheim Lecture in Biblical Theology was established to provide Luther Seminary and surrounding communities with access to biblical-theological scholarship by prominent biblical scholars and theologians. These lectures offer fresh perspectives on relevant topics, with strong theological focus and attention to the Bible’s role in Christians’ theological discourse. The lectureship honors the legacy of the late Terry Fretheim and his wife, Faith. Terry and Faith were deeply involved in the life of the seminary during Terry’s 45 years as professor of Old Testament, and Faith continues to be a valued member of the wider Luther Seminary community. Previous Fretheim lecturers include Walter Brueggemann, Dennis Olson, Ellen Davis, and Beverly Roberts Gaventa.