Lectures - James Charlesworth and Lee McDonald - HOW THE BIBLE CAME INTO BEING – March 4, 2017, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
1st Lecture Charlesworth – “The Theological Value of the ‘Rejected Texts’ and Dead Sea Scrolls for Understanding Jesus”
This lecture will challenge the assumption that the books of the so-called Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha are of no value or that they are “false” and “heretical.” Such a jaundiced view fails to see their value, even if excluded from most Christian Bibles. Some of these books were sacred for communities of faith and they shed important light on the theology and interpretation being explored and debated among Jews and Christians at the end of the Second Temple period. This lecture will help us understand that these books are of great importance in our study of this world-changing period.
2nd Lecture McDonald – “Why and When Was Scripture Written? Looking at the New Testament Writings”
This lecture will explore the factors involved in the development of the biblical canon. To appreciate this development with nuance, it is necessary to inquire into the motivations for the writing of the books that in time were recognized as authoritative and canonical, as well as the writing of the books that in time were not recognized by the majority as authoritative. It is also important to consider when and how these decisions were made, with regard to both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Given 6:30pm - 9pm on Saturday March 4, 2017 at The Lanier Theological Library Chapel in Houston, Texas. It is part of the Lanier Library Lecture Series. A series devoted to bringing world class lectures to benefit the community of all those who might be interested.
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Bio Info: James H. Charlesworth
James H. Charlesworth earned his Ph.D. at Duke Divinity School. Since 1984 he has served as the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. He has also taught at the Hebrew University and W. F. Albright Institute, both in Jerusalem, at Naples University in Italy, and at the Pontificia Universita Gregoriana in Rome. His major publications include The Odes of Solomon: The Syriac Texts, Jesus Within Judaism, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament, The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Jesus and Archaeology.
Professor Charlesworth is well known for his pioneering work in the ancient literature outside the Jewish and Christian canons of Scripture. He specializes in the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old and New Testaments, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, Jesus research, and the Gospel of John. He has published extensively in the areas of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jesus and his world. He also participated in several archaeological excavations in Israel and is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Society of New Testament Studies. An ordained minister in The United Methodist Church, he serves as advisor to the denomination’s World Missionary Council and preaches and lectures globally.
Bio Info: Lee Martin McDonald
Lee Martin McDonald earned his Th.M at Harvard Divinity School and his Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh. He is Emeritus President and Professor of New Testament Studies at Acadia Divinity College, and Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Acadia University in Nova Scotia (1999-2007). He taught New Testament at the North American Baptist Seminary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He led several study tours in Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Israel, and served as Visiting Professor at both Princeton Theological Seminary and Chapman University. He also served as senior pastor in three American Baptist Churches and as a U.S. Army Reserve Chaplain. He has also served as Adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies at Arizona State University and Fuller Theological Seminary.
Dr. McDonald is well known for his work in the area of the formation of the Christian biblical canon of Scripture, an area in which he has published extensively. He served for six years as the President of the Institute for Biblical Research and is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Society of New Testament Studies. He is the author/editor of 20 books and over 100 articles and essays on New Testament subjects, including The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission, and Authority; The Canon Debate; Forgotten Scriptures; and Early Christianity and its Sacred Literature.
