Centuries of anti-Jewish ideology and pogroms in Europe constitute the prehistory of the Shoah. Whereas traditional anti-Jewish Christian theology – what Jules Isaac called Christian teaching of contempt (l’enseignement du mépris) – should not be equated with the racial antisemitism that developed during the nineteenth century and climaxed during the Third Reich era, these two forms of anti-Judaism cannot be separated from one another.
After the end of the Second World War numerous Christian denominations and ecumenical organizations have embarked on self-critical endeavors that refine, redefine, revise, and refute previous teaching on the Jewish people and the Jewish tradition as part of a reconciliation process.

In his lecture Dr. Svartvik will survey contemporary Jewish-Christian relations, and focus on challenges and opportunities.

Jesper Svartvik, Visiting Professor at Boston College.

Jesper Svartvik studied at Lund University in his native Sweden, the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem, and the Hebrew University, and holds a doctorate in New Testament studies from Lund University (2000). He is the former holder of the Krister Stendahl Chair of Theology of Religions, which included teaching and research both in Jerusalem and Lund. In 2019 he was awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Honor from Muhlenberg College “in recognition of his substantial contributions to Jewish-Christian relations.” His areas of expertise include New Testament studies, interreligious relations in general, and Jewish-Christian relations in particular. Dr. Svartvik is the author of thirteen books, which include his doctoral thesis Mark and Mission: Mk 7:1–23 in Its Narrative and Historical Contexts (Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2000) and Reconciliation and Transformation: Reconsidering Christian Theologies of the Cross (Wipf & Stock, 2021), and is the co-editor of four volumes: Christ Jesus and the Jewish People Today: New Explorations of Theological Interrelationships (Eerdmans, 2011; Italian translation: Gregorian & Biblical Press, 2012), Religious Stereotyping and Interreligious Relations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), Krister Among the Jews and Gentiles: Essays in Appreciation of the Life and Work of Krister Stendahl (Paulist Press, 2018), and Enabling Dialogue about the Land: A Resource Book for Jews and Christians (Paulist Press, 2020).

Moderator: Marc Brettler, the Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University.

A graduate of Brandeis University, he has published and lectured widely on metaphor and the Bible, the nature of biblical historical texts, gender issues and the Bible, and the use of the Hebrew Bible in the New Testament. His How to Read the Bible was the award winner in the Judaism category of the Best Books 2006 Book Awards. He is co-editor with Amy-Jill Levine of The Jewish Annotated New Testament (Oxford University Press), the first book of its type; professors Brettler and Levine presented this book to Pope Francis in 2019. In 2017 and 2021, he was one of 100 scholars and leaders asked to participate in the “American Values Religious Voices” project.

Sunday, 23 January, 8 pm Israel / 7 pm CET / 6 pm UK / 1 pm EST

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Centuries of anti-Jewish ideology and pogroms in Europe constitute the prehistory of the Shoah. Whereas traditional anti-Jewish Christian theology – what Jules Isaac called Christian teaching of contempt (l’enseignement du mépris) – should not be equated with the racial antisemitism that developed during the nineteenth century and climaxed during the Third Reich era, these two forms of anti-Judaism cannot be separated from one another.
After the end of the Second World War numerous Christian denominations and ecumenical organizations have embarked on self-critical endeavors that refine, redefine, revise, and refute previous teaching on the Jewish people and the Jewish tradition as part of a reconciliation process.

In his lecture Dr. Svartvik will survey contemporary Jewish-Christian relations, and focus on challenges and opportunities.

Jesper Svartvik, Visiting Professor at Boston College.

Jesper Svartvik studied at Lund University in his native Sweden, the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem, and the Hebrew University, and holds a doctorate in New Testament studies from Lund University (2000). He is the former holder of the Krister Stendahl Chair of Theology of Religions, which included teaching and research both in Jerusalem and Lund. In 2019 he was awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Honor from Muhlenberg College “in recognition of his substantial contributions to Jewish-Christian relations.” His areas of expertise include New Testament studies, interreligious relations in general, and Jewish-Christian relations in particular. Dr. Svartvik is the author of thirteen books, which include his doctoral thesis Mark and Mission: Mk 7:1–23 in Its Narrative and Historical Contexts (Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2000) and Reconciliation and Transformation: Reconsidering Christian Theologies of the Cross (Wipf & Stock, 2021), and is the co-editor of four volumes: Christ Jesus and the Jewish People Today: New Explorations of Theological Interrelationships (Eerdmans, 2011; Italian translation: Gregorian & Biblical Press, 2012), Religious Stereotyping and Interreligious Relations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), Krister Among the Jews and Gentiles: Essays in Appreciation of the Life and Work of Krister Stendahl (Paulist Press, 2018), and Enabling Dialogue about the Land: A Resource Book for Jews and Christians (Paulist Press, 2020).

Moderator: Marc Brettler, the Bernice and Morton Lerner Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University.

A graduate of Brandeis University, he has published and lectured widely on metaphor and the Bible, the nature of biblical historical texts, gender issues and the Bible, and the use of the Hebrew Bible in the New Testament. His How to Read the Bible was the award winner in the Judaism category of the Best Books 2006 Book Awards. He is co-editor with Amy-Jill Levine of The Jewish Annotated New Testament (Oxford University Press), the first book of its type; professors Brettler and Levine presented this book to Pope Francis in 2019. In 2017 and 2021, he was one of 100 scholars and leaders asked to participate in the “American Values Religious Voices” project.

Sunday, 23 January, 8 pm Israel / 7 pm CET / 6 pm UK / 1 pm EST

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