Jesus Seminar in the News

Thanks to the Johnson City Press for publishing our press release regarding the Jesus Seminar on the Road. Check it.

ELIZABETHTON — First Presbyterian Church, 119 W. F St., will host its second “Jesus Seminar on the Road” on Sept. 12-13.

Dr. Hal Taussig and Dr. Arthur J. Dewey will be the speakers for the program, titled “Competing Early Christian Voices: The Contest for Authority.”

According to a release from the church, the workshop will concentrate on describing some of the many important new documents from the first two centuries of Christianity. The workshop will look at how these documents help make sense of the many differences in early Christian literature, both inside and outside the New Testament.

Taussig is the visiting professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is also professor of Early Christianity at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia and serves as co-pastor of Chestnut Hill United Methodist Church. Taussig is the author of “Jesus Before God” and “A New Spiritual Home.”

Dewey is professor of theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati and co-founder of the Healing Deadly Memories Program, which conducts workshops on how to deal with anti-Semitism in the New Testament.

The events will begin on Sept. 12 with a lecture from 7:30-9 p.m. by the two men on “Canon and History: Re-Thinking Early Christianity.”

Four workshops will be held on Sept. 13. They include:

• 9:30-10:30 a.m.: “The Gospel of Thomas: One of the earliest gospels with many new perspectives,” by Dewey.

• 11 a.m. until noon: “Thunder, Pefect Mind: A dramatic self-presentation of female divinity” and “Gospel of Mary: The only gospel with a woman protagonist,” by Taussig.

• 1:30-2:30 p.m.: “Gospel of Peter: Perhaps the earliest story of Jesus’ death and resurrection” and “Secret Book of John: An early Christian attack on the Roman empire and its oppression,” by Taussig and Dewey.

• 3-4 p.m.: “A New Picture of How Christianity Began,” by Taussig and Dewey.

The registration fee for all sessions is $50 if received by Aug. 22, and $60 after that date. Participants may attend sessions individually. The cost for the Sept. 12 lecture is $15 and the cost for the morning and afternoon workshops on Sept. 13 is $25 each.

For information or to register, call 543-7737 or (877) 523-3545 or e-mail, johnashuck at embarqmail dot com or events at westarinstitute dot org, [or visit www.1stpres-eliz.org or www.westarinstitute.org.