BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//events.la.psu.edu//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20201101T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20200308T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:14911-a0ec5f21297d327b2faa419a3f771c0c@events.la.psu.edu DTSTAMP:20260502T063103Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250401T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250401T160000 SUMMARY:“Antisemitism Inside and Outside of the New Testament” DESCRIPTION:\nAbstract: “The New Testament is not antisemitic. In part\, this is a truism because this term comes out of nineteenth-century ‘rac e science’ and so is not a category that ancient Christ followers would have understood—nor does it make particularly good sense regarding the w ays ancient ethnicities were constructed and negotiated. But it is also not antisemitic in another sense: Christianity is a product of Judaism\, and therefore\, inherits and reworks its theology and worldview for its specific ends. Modern people are used to seeing Judaism and Christianit y as discrete religions\, but these boundaries were not always so clear in the ancient world. Our presentation today will take a wide angle on t he question of antisemitism—or as we prefer for reasons that will become clear\, Judeophobia—and the New Testament\, looking first at myths that must be dispelled about the origins of Christianity before one can hope to read the New Testament in an ethically responsible way. We also expl ore case studies such as the historical Jesus\, the Pharisees\, and the apostle Paul to demonstrate how these anti-Jewish myths have long inform ed the history of interpretation. As we then illustrate with a range of examples\, how unreflective Judeophobic stereotypes still unfortunately manifest in contemporary popular culture and political debates (among ot her places!). Since these stereotypes often have their roots in (mis)rea dings of the New Testament\, it is important for New Testament scholars to expose and discuss the interpretative practices that sustain them.”\n \nSarah E. Rollens is the R.A. Webb associate professor and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis\, Tennesse e. Her research focuses on the social identities\, histories\, and exper iences of early Christ followers in the first century. She is the author of Framing Social Criticism in the Jesus Movement: The Ideological Proj ect in the Sayings Gospel Q (Mohr Siebeck 2014) and co-editor of Worth M ore Than Many Sparrows: Essays in Honor of Willi Braun (Equinox 2023). S he also serves as executive editor of the Journal for the Study of the H istorical Jesus.\n\nEric Vanden Eykel is associate professor of religiou s studies at Ferrum College in Virginia. His research focuses on Christi an apocryphal literature\, with a special emphasis on texts and traditio ns about the infancies and childhoods of Jesus and Mary. He is the autho r of “But Their Faces Were All Looking Up”: Author and Reader in the Pro tevangelium of James (T&\;T Clark 2016)\, coeditor of Sex\, Violence\ , and Early Christian Texts (Lexington 2022)\, and author of The Magi: W ho They Were\, How They've Been Remembered\, and Why They Still Fascinat e (Fortress 2022)."\n\nThis event is generously supported by the Chaiken Dean's Fund for Antisemitism Education. It is co-sponsored by the Jewis h Studies program\, the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies\, and Religious Studies.\n\nFor more details: https://events.la .psu.edu/event/new-testament/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Abstract: “The New Testament is not antisemitic. In part, this is a truism because this term comes out of nineteenth-century ‘race science’ and so is not a cat egory that ancient Christ followers would have understood—nor does it ma ke particularly good sense regarding the ways ancient ethnicities were c onstructed and negotiated. But it is also not antisemitic in another sen se: Christianity is a product of Judaism, and therefore, inherits and re works its theology and worldview for its specific ends. Modern people ar e used to seeing Judaism and Christianity as discrete religions, but the se boundaries were not always so clear in the ancient world. Our present ation today will take a wide angle on the question of antisemitism—or as we prefer for reasons that will become clear, Judeophobia—and the New T estament, looking first at myths that must be dispelled about the origin s of Christianity before one can hope to read the New Testament in an et hically responsible way. We also explore case studies such as the histor ical Jesus, the Pharisees, and the apostle Paul to demonstrate how these anti-Jewish myths have long informed the history of interpretation. As we then illustrate with a range of examples, how unreflective Judeophobi c stereotypes still unfortunately manifest in contemporary popular cultu re and political debates (among other places!). Since these stereotypes often have their roots in (mis)readings of the New Testament, it is impo rtant for New Testament scholars to expose and discuss the interpretativ e practices that sustain them.”

Sarah E. Rollens is the R.A. Webb associate professor and chair of the Department of Reli gious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. Her research focu ses on the social identities, histories, and experiences of early Christ followers in the first century. She is the author of Framing Social Criticism in the Jesus Movement: The Ideological Project in the Sayings Gospel Q (Mohr Siebeck 2014) and co-editor of Worth More Than Many Sparrows: Essays in Honor of Willi Braun (Equinox 2023). She a lso serves as executive editor of the Journal for the Study of the H istorical Jesus.

Eric Vanden Eykel is associ ate professor of religious studies at Ferrum College in Virginia. His re search focuses on Christian apocryphal literature, with a special emphas is on texts and traditions about the infancies and childhoods of Jesus a nd Mary. He is the author of “But Their Faces Were All Looking Up”: Author and Reader in the Protevangelium of James (T&T Clark 201 6), coeditor of Sex, Violence, and Early Christian Texts (Lexin gton 2022), and author of The Magi: Who They Were, How They've Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate (Fortress 2022)."

Th is event is generously supported by the Chaiken Dean's Fund for Antisemi tism Education. It is co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies program, the De partment of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, and Religious St udies.

For more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/new-testament/

LOCATION:102 Weaver Building END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR