Adult Sunday School, 2016 Spring Quarter — Jesus and His Jewish Influences — Lectures by Jodi Magness, Ph.D. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

March 6, 2016 — Jesus and Judaism
Begin your fascinating historical adventure by developing a solid framework for your exploration of Jesus's Jewish influences. What was it like to be a Jew in the ancient world? What do we mean when we talk about Jewish temples? And how similar was ancient Judaism to other ancient religions.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-1jesus-and-judaism.html

March 13, 2016 — Sacred Mountains and Law Giving in Judaism
In ancient Judaism, there was little distinction between religion and politics. In this lecture, explore the importance of the law (the Torah) in the Jewish religion. Then, draw some intriguing connections between the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai and Jesus's own Sermon on the Mount.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-2-sacred-mountains-and-law.html

March 20, 2016 — The United and Divided Israelite Kingdoms
In this in-depth look at the kingdoms of David and Solomon, follow the transformation of 12 Israelite tribes into a monarchy that eventually crumbled over tensions regarding how to properly worship the God of Israel. Along the way, probe controversies that lie at the heart of modern scholarship's hottest debates.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-3the-united-and-divided.html


March 27, 2016 — The Destruction of Solomon‘s Temple
How (and why) did the First Temple Period end? First, examine the reign of King Josiah, whose popular religious reforms reasserted the importance of Jerusalem's Temple. Then, investigate the Temple's traumatic destruction - and its relationship to Gospel accounts about the destruction of the Second Temple.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-4the-destruction-of-soiomons.html

April 3, 2016 — The Jewish and Samaritan Schism
After the end of the Babylonian exile in 539 B.C., returning exiles began to reestablish themselves in Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah. This return would lead to a dramatic schism between Jews and Samaritans - one which, as you'|I learn, would influence encounters with Samaritans in Jesus's own time.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-5the-jewish-and-samaritan-schism.html

April 10, 2016 — The Jewish Diaspora and the Golden Rule
What insights into the ancient Jewish diaspora communities can we glean from close readings of the Book of Tobit and the Book of Esther? What do these books say about holiness and the treatment of other people (the "golden rule" of Jesus's time}? Join the fascinating historical-literary debate.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-6the-jewish-diaspora-and-golden.html

April 17, 2016 — Alexander the Great‘s Impact on the Jews
Alexander the Great's legendary visit to Jerusalem and Judea had a profound influence on the development of ancient Jewish traditions. Could the ancient warrior also have served as a model for the mythical Jesus? Professor Magness illuminates possible narrative parallels between these two iconic figures of Western history.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-7alexander-greats-impact-on-jews.html

April 24, 2016 — Jews and Greek Rule: The Heliodorus
Affair Investigate the strange episode known as the Heliodorus Affair. This power struggle between Jerusalem's elite families during the time of the Ptolemies and Seleucids became a key turning point in the history of Jews in Judea. We also see echoes of this conflict in Gospel accounts of taxation.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-8jews-and-greek-rule-heliodorus.html

May 1, 2016 — Desolating Sacrilege and the Maccabean
Revolt Follow the turbulent story of the Maccabean Revolt after the outlawing of Judaism under Antiochus IV. Then, examine how the Book of Daniel (written around the time of the revolt)
dealt with the concept of desolating sacrilege, and how this is repeated in Jesus's own prophesies about the destruction of the Temple.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-9desolating-sacrilege-and.html

May 8, 2016 — Apocalyptic Works and the "Son of Man"
From 1 and 2 Maccabees to the Books of Daniel and Enoch, get a close reading of apocalyptic literary works composed in the aftermath of the Maccabean Revolt. Afterwards, Professor Magness probes possible meanings of the term son of man" in both the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels."
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-10apocalyptic-works-and-son-of.html

May 15, 2016 — Jesus‘s Jewish Lineage
Learn how the expansion of the Hasmonean Kingdom provides a sharp context for understanding the birth narratives of Jesus from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The authors of these Gospels went to great lengths to establish Jesus‘s descent from David. The question is: Why?
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-11jesuss-jewish-lineage.html

May 22, 2016 — Was Jesus a Pharisee?
In this lecture, probe the rise of the Sadducees and Pharisees during the late Second Temple Period. You'Il learn how the Pharisaic approach became dominant in Judaism, and you'l| spend time investigating what the Gospels say about whether or not Jesus identified as a Pharisee.
http://rmcdiscussiontext.blogspot.com/2016/05/lecture-12was-jesus-pharisee.html

May 29, 2016 — Jewish Ritual Purity: The Sons of Light
(Memorial Day weekend, not sure we'll have class)