Recent Events
How the Scriptures Came to be THE Bible
| Group Leader: | Tom Zych and Kathryn Eloff |
| When: | Sunday mornings, 9:30–10:30AM, January 9–March 27, 2022 (12 weeks). The room will open at 9:00AM. |
| Where: | The class is offered as a hybrid so that you can join us via Zoom or in-person in South Hall. |
Have you ever wondered how our Scriptures came to be “the Bible”? Have you wondered how the books we study got into the canon in the first place, and who decided what was in and what was out? Or even when that came to pass? We share texts with our Jewish sisters and brothers, but we use different collections and use the texts in different ways. When and how did this happen?
We invite you to participate in a 12-week class on the development of the Biblical canon. A mix of presenters and styles, with a variety of readings, outside speakers and our own Pauline scholar, the course will be organized around Bart Ehrman’s “The History of the Bible: Making of the New Testament Canon.” There will be readings (including particular sections of scripture and extra-canonical books).
It’s hard to predict what will be best about the series, but the first class will certainly be a highlight. Our good friend, Rabbi Roger Klein, will start us off with an outline of Jewish thought on the formation of the canon of the Hebrew Bible. And he will pick up on an idea that has been raised in our own classes: should the canon be open to new books or to remove old ones? Is it a formal discussion in our own faith? Should it be? Do we have a tradition that parallels the oral and rabbinic traditions of the Jewish tradition? Does the text itself ask for ongoing interpretation?
To sign up: You can sign up through Breeze here. Or you can email your intention to Kathryn Eloff at kathryneloff@gmail.com.
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