Episode 10: The Jewishness of the New Testament

This episode we welcome a distinguished New Testament scholar, Amy Jill Levine, who is the world expert on the Jewishness of the New Testament. She engages questions like, Why are anti-Jewish readings of the New Testament just bad readings of the text? What are some of Jesus’ parables that are clarified by reading them as Jewish parables? What does it mean for Jews to study the New Testament, either academically or as part of their self-understanding as Jews? Was there such a thing as “normative” Judaism at Jesus’ time, over-against which Jesus comes across as an aberration? What’s the difference between saying “Bible,” instead of “Old and New Testaments”—or saying “Hebrew Bible” or “Old Testament” instead of “Tanakh?” Is there any sense to term “Abrahamic religions” as an umbrella for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? How can a deepened knowledge of Judaism nourish the theological imagination of Christians?

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About the Podcast:

Minding Scripture is a podcast where divine word and human reason meet. We explore questions that believers and skeptics alike ask about the Bible and the Qur’an. In their conversations on scripture and its interpretations, Francesca Murphy, Gabriel Reynolds, Mun’im Sirry, Tzvi Novick, and guest speakers reflect the deep intellectual diversity of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In a world marked by irrational discourse about religion, this podcast seeks to demonstrate that faith sharpens and quickens the ability to reason in friendship.

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