Dr. Amy-Jill Levine

Ellen and I are doing Bible Study together. Many readers of this blog will remember that last year I led at the Guilford Church a Bible Study on the Parables of Jesus. I am continuing this with Ellen here at home, but the lecturer is not me, it is Dr. Amy Jill Levine, who is a Jewish scholar who has specialized in New Testament studies, and especially the figure and teachings of Jesus. She has encountered a lot of implicit anti-Semitism in Christian New Testament scholarship, and she seeks to overcome that in her work. She Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, and has also taught at Vanderbilt Theological Seminary and Swarthmore College. She has developed a course on the internet, through Bart Ehrmann. Here is an overview: "Hello and welcome to "The Parables of Jesus: Jewish Insights into Gospel Ethics, Humor, and Provocation," by Dr. Amy-Jill Levine This course consists of four lessons with Dr. Levine as your instructor. Each lesson spans from 50 to 60 minutes, accompanied by two extensive Q&A sessions. Parables have lost their punch: they have become axioms about aiding ("Good Samaritan"), assurances of forgiveness ("Prodigal Son"), promises of grace (“Vineyard Laborers”), and exhortations to pray (“Widow and Judge”). While these are credible readings, they often promote complacency and rarely prompt ethics. Worse, stripped of historical context, they become hosts for antisemitic interpretation. First-century Jews knew that parables were not platitudes: they challenged, provoked, and engaged the mind as well as the heart. In this course, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine will cover the following pertinent topics: The parable of the man with two sons (the 'Prodigal Son') The parable of the man attacked by robbers (the 'Good Samaritan') The parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard (Equal Pay for Unequal Work) The parable of the widow and the Judge An introduction to the study of parables. Insights into the parables of the Pearl of Great Price, the Sower, the Leaven, the Mustard Seed, the Dishonest Steward, and others that depict enslaved individuals. Dr. Levine will examine these parables within their Jewish contexts, review previous scholarship, and address ethical and pastoral questions they raise, highlighting both their humor and their depth. She will address questions such as: (1) How might the first hearers of the parables, who had no knowledge of Jesus's death, have understood them? (2) How did the Evangelists initially interpret the parables, and what were the benefits and drawbacks of their interpretations? (3) How did antisemitic interpretations of the parables develop, and how can they be corrected? (4) While many see the parables as focusing on salvation or Christology, what insights do they offer about economics, ethics, insiders and outsiders, and the roles of the enslaved and the enslavers? (5) How do the parables help us understand the social roles of first-century Jewish women?"

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine. ******************* Dr. Levine talks pretty fast, and it can be had to follow all her humerous little asides, of which there are many. Fortunately, when you play the video of her lecture, you can slow down her speech without changing the pitch of her voice. Amazing! We are both enjoying hearing her lectures and talking about them.