INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED THEOLOGY AT BARD PRESENTS A FALL LUNCHEON SERIES WITH THE REV. DR. BRUCE CHILTON "St Paul: from Jerusalem to Antioch" is the focus of the five weekly lectures, from Wednesday, September 18, through October 16
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.-The Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College will present a weekly series of five luncheon lectures with the Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, from Wednesday, September 18, through October 16. Each luncheon lecture begins at noon in the multipurpose room of the Bertelsmann Campus Center. The series titled "St. Paul: from Jerusalem to Antioch" will seek to understand how and why Paul framed his theology following his conversion to Christianity in 35 c.e. Advanced registration for the luncheon series is requested with a $10 donation (or $7 for Institute members).
The Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard, explains that, "In the year 35 CE, a Pharisee named Saul departed Jerusalem, having been converted to a movement that venerated Jesus as a teacher whom God had raised from the dead. At that time, Saul was a marginal figure within a marginal movement. Within a period of 15 years, he emerged as the most radical theologian of that movement, which during the same time took the name of Christianity. Saul reverted to his pagan name, Paul, and insisted on a complete redefinition of what constituted 'Israel.' In his mind, and in the practice of communities he influenced, all Christians-whether or not Jewish by descent or affiliation-became Israel at the moment they believed in Jesus."
Bruce Chilton, executive director of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard, is a scholar of early Christianity and Judaism and the author of the first critical translation of the Aramaic version of Isaiah (The Isaiah Targum, 1987). He has written academic studies that put Jesus in his Jewish context (Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, 2000; Pure Kingdom, 1996; The Temple of Jesus, 1992; and The Galilean Rabbi and His Bible, 1984). Chilton has taught in Europe at the universities of Cambridge, Sheffield, and Münster, and in the United States at Yale University (as the first Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament) and at Bard College. Throughout his career he has been active in the pastoral ministry of the Anglican Church; he is currently rector of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Barrytown, New York.
The Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard College was established to foster critical understanding, based on scholarship, that will make true religious pluralism possible. Since its inception in 1996, the Institute's work has focused on how religions influence history, society, and other religions, and are in turn influenced by them. The Institute gratefully acknowledges support provided by members of the Institute, the Crohn Family Trust, and the Tisch Family Foundation, as well as grants from The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the American Council of Learned Societies, and Bard College.
For further information, call the Institute office at 845-758-7279, e-mail [email protected], or visit the website www.bard.edu/iat.
# # #
(8.13.02)