William Jewell College presents The Binns Lecture on the Sacred and Secular, and Power and Justice in Society, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 28 and 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, October 29, both in John Gano Memorial Chapel on the campus in Liberty, Mo. The public is invited to attend and no tickets or reservations are required.
Guest speaker for the event is Dr. Amy Jill Levine, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Levine's topic for the Tuesday lecture is "Understanding the Jewish Jesus" and for the Wednesday lecture is "The Women Who Followed Jesus."
In addition to the lectures, a panel discussion will take place Tuesday, October 28 at 3:30 p.m. in the White Science Center, room 107, on the Liberty campus. The topic will be What Kind of Jew Was the Apostle Paul? Jewell professor of religion Dr. Brad Chance will moderate the discussion; participants will be Dr. Levine and Dr. Mark Nanos, the Soebbing Visiting Scholar at Rockhurst University.
Dr. Levine has held office in the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the Association for Jewish Studies. Her most recent publications include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, The Historical Jesus in Context, and the fourteen-volume series Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings.
Dr. Levine holds a bachelor of arts degree from Smith College, a master of arts and a doctorate from Duke University, and an honorary Doctor of Ministry from the University of Richmond. She has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies.
A self-described "Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches in a predominantly Protestant divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt," Levine combines historical-critical rigor, literary-critical sensitivity, and a frequent dash of humor with a commitment to eliminating anti-Jewish, sexist, and homophobic theologies.
The presentation is part of the college's "Perspectives on the Common Good" lecture series, which incorporates the Walter Pope Binns Lectures. Dr. Binns served as president of William Jewell College from 1943 to 1962. A pastor, writer, counselor and educator, Dr. Binns epitomized the compatibility of intellectual curiosity and uncompromising Christian commitment. The lecture series was endowed in 1980 by the Fuller E. Callaway Foundation of Georgia to enhance intellectual inquiry within the Christian tradition at William Jewell. The lectureship brings to the campus annually an eminent scholar to share research and experience with students, faculty, staff and interested community members.
