1st Edition

Teaching the Historical Jesus Issues and Exegesis

Edited By Zev Garber Copyright 2015
    284 Pages
    by Routledge

    284 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Teaching the Historical Jesus in his Jewish context to students of varied religious backgrounds presents instructors with not only challenges, but also opportunities to sustain interfaith dialogue and foster mutual understanding and respect. This new collection explores these challenges and opportunities, gathering together experiential lessons drawn from teaching Jesus in a wide variety of settings—from the public, secular two- or four-year college, to the Jesuit university, to the Rabbinic school or seminary, to the orthodox, religious Israeli university. A diverse group of Jewish and Christian scholars reflect on their own classroom experiences and explicates crucial issues for teaching Jesus in a way that encourages students at every level to enter into an encounter with the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament without paternalism, parochialism, or prejudice. This volume is a valuable resource for instructors and graduate students interested in an interfaith approach in the classroom, and provides practical case studies for scholars working on Jewish-Christian relations.

    Introduction  Section 1: Jesus in Undergraduate Education  1. Teaching Jewish Studies, Hebrew Scriptures and the Historical Jesus in the Context of Jewish Studies at a Two-Year Public College: Rationale, Objectives, Evaluation Zev Garber  2. Untangling Myths and Misconceptions: A Narrative of the Undergraduate Classroom Rochelle L. Millen  3. Jesus "in the Trenches": Pedagogical Challenges Posed by Teaching the Nazarene in the Context of Judaic Studies Ken Hanson  4. Teaching Jesus at the University of Alabama Steven Leonard Jacobs  5 Teaching about Jesus in a Catholic University Richard L. Libowitz  6. Teaching about Jesus and Early Christianity at US Rabbinic Schools Joel Gereboff  7. The Jewish Jesus: An Evaluation after Three Years Herbert W. Basser  8. Dialogue as Integral to Teaching about the Jewish Jesus James F. Moore and Joseph Edelheit  9. Between the Literary and the Historical Jesus: Teaching the Modern Jewish Writers’ Jesus  Neta Stahl Section 2: Some Issues in Teaching Jesus  10. Jesus the Jew: Who Says So? Norman Simms  11. Reflections on a Course: ‘Judaism and Early Christianity: The Parting of the Ways’—When? Where? Why? Leonard Greenspoon  12 Typical Christian Misunderstandings of Jesus and Judaism Eugene J. Fisher  13 Teaching Jesus in a Halakhic Jewish Setting in Israel: Kosher, Treif or Pareve? Joshua Schwartz  14. Jewish Artists and the Perception of the Crucifixion Nathan Harpaz  15. Jesus on Film: Cinema as a Tool in the Discovery of the Jewish Jesus Penny Wheeler  16. Gravitating to Luke's Historical Jesus: Help or Hindrance? Michael J. Cook Section 3: Teaching Views on Jesus  17. Jesus, the Pharisees, and Mediterranean Manliness S. Scott Bartchy  18. Jesus as Sadducee and Pharisee: Teaching the Teacher in the Gospel of Mark Peter Zaas  19. Jesus as a Seditionist: The Intertwining of Politics and Religion in His Teaching and Deeds Fernando Bermejo-Rubio  20. Was Jesus a Pharisee? And Does it Matter? John Pawlikowski

    Biography

    Zev Garber is Emeritus Professor and Chair of Jewish Studies and Philosophy at Los Angeles Valley College. He is the Editor of Shofar and the author of The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation (2011).

    'By collecting the experiences and insights of veteran professors and convincing these colleagues to share their frustrations as well as their guidance, Garber has compiled a volume that will be quite useful to those who seek to foster authentic dialogue about Jesus across religious, communal, and institutional difference.' -Jennifer Knust, Review of Biblical Literature

    'Zev Garber’s collection of mostly superb essays reflects both the uniqueness and commonalities of classroom experiences among those of us involved in teaching the literature and/or social history of early Judaism and early Christianity in any number of academic settings...It offers a wealth of practical theories, reflections, and strategies focusing on ways that accurately situate the historical (i.e., Jewish) Jesus into those shared early Jewish and early Christian literary and social worlds.' -Nicolae Roddy, Review of Biblical Literature

    'Zev Garber has assembled a wide range of scholars whose experience and writing will help readers who have the opportunity and privilege to teach about the historical Jesus in many settings. Indeed, the joy and satisfaction found in the testimonies of those who teach the historical Jesus was another theme found among many of the contributors.' -Michael McGarry, Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations

    'This collection provides a very valuable resource for anyone who teaches courses on the historical Jesus as well as those who are interested in furthering their own understanding about Jesus’ Jewish identity and context. The book will be helpful not only for those who teach in a range of different institutions and at different levels, but also for those who teach adult education courses in churches, synagogues or in the general community.' -Adele Reinhartz, University of Ottawa, Canada

    'This fine collection of essays brough