Brown Bag Series With Prof. John Huddlestun (11/16)

Brown Bag Series with Prof. John Huddlestun CONTINUES

A Duped Patriarch, an Unlucky King, and a Conflicted Diviner: Reading Biblical Stories in Multiple Dimensions

12:15 —1:15 pm Arnold Hall, Jewish Studies Center

Coffee, soft drinks, and desserts provided. Bring your own lunch.

In this final  brown bag series, we will engage in a close reading of a biblical story of Balaam, a professional diviner hired to curse the Israelites, in the book of Numbers. In our reading and discussion, we will draw upon a variety of interpretive approaches (literary, source-critical, historical, feminist, comparative, etc.) from the biblical scholar’s ever expanding toolbox.

Session 3:  November 16: Numbers 22-24 — Balaam the Diviner: The Defection of a Prophetic Hired Gun

Three Clergy Panel: Christians and Social Justice (11/17)

Three Clergy Panel: Christians and Social Justice

Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 7:00 pm in the Stern Center Ballroom (4th Floor)  Sponsored by the Christian-Jewish Counsel of Greater Charleston

 What does God require of you? Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk modestly with your God Micah Ch.6: v.8

The Three Rabbi Panel is one of the proudest accomplishments of Jewish Studies as it showcases the unity of the Charleston community and the importance of dialogue or, as in our case, trialogue. Now in its sixteenth year, with a new generation of rabbis, the Three Rabbi Panels have helped create a cohesive, welcoming, and open Jewish community.

This fall we are collaborating with the Christian Jewish Counsel of Greater Charleston on two panel discussions, together exploring six different responses to the Bible’s call to pursue justice. Opening the discussion to the Christian community highlights the virtues of religious cooperation and acceptance, an important feature of Charleston’s and South Carolina’s long history of religious tolerance.

This semester we challenge some of our community’s spiritual leaders to speak with candor about their denomination’s interpretation of justice and what law and tradition dictate about justice’s scope. What is justice and what does it require of us—action or belief, or both? Are charity and justice one and the same? Is there a relationship between belief in a Judeo-Christian God and the requirement to pursue justice? What is our obligation to others, both inside and outside of our own faith community? Should justice be the overarching principle in some of the controversial issues of our time: gay rights, poverty, and immigration?

Attendance at the mirrored panels is an opportunity for all of us to increase our knowledge-base, highlight the universal value of justice, and acknowledge important differences in its application.

A hearty thank you to the panelists for participating and to our moderators, Dr. Martin Perlmutter and Dr. James R. Sawers.

Presented by the Yaschik/Arnold Jewish Studies Program at the College of Charleston and co-sponsored by the Department of Religious Studies at the College of Charleston.

THREE RABBI and THREE CLERGY PANEL FLYER