The Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies (ICJS) is a non-profit organization that concentrates its educational expertise on the dual tasks of disarming religious hatred and establishing models of interfaith understanding. Founded in 1987 by an interfaith coalition of laity and clergy, the ICJS offers a variety of educational programs that highlight the distinctiveness of the Jewish and Christian traditions and confront the dangerous misunderstandings that have evolved in our two communities.
ICJS Winter Minicourse
Peaceful Coexistence?
Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Medieval Spain
With Dr. Heather Miller Rubens
What can we learn from medieval Spain? In this course we will examine the history of religious pluralism in medieval Spain, and investigate the concept of “coexistence” popularized in contemporary discussions of this so-called golden age of religious toleration. The scholarly world has long been wrestling with how to characterize the interactions of Jews, Christians and Muslims living under Muslim rule (c. 711-1492): Did the three religious communities live in harmony? Or did violence and inequality shape their interactions?
Monday Evenings • 7:00-9:00pm
February 6, 13, 20, 27
Register Online • $50
Wednesday Mornings • 9:30-11:30am
February 1, 8, 15, 22
Register Online • $50
In four session meetings we will examine primary texts (in translation) documenting a few of the important encounters between the three religious communities, as well as take up the contemporary question: How does our understanding of the history of Medieval Spanish coexistence both support and/or challenge our contemporary efforts at Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue?
*NEW* Reclaiming the Center Spring 2012
A Taste of Reclaiming the Center
One Text, Two Traditions, Many Conversations
Join us as we explore both the distinctive ways in which Jews and Christians read their sacred texts and how those characteristic interpretations give shape to the Jewish and Christian imaginations. We recommend this series for those who have already participated in a Reclaiming the Center pilot program or in ICJS interfaith text study programs.
Time & Dates
9:30-11:00 a.m. at the ICJS
Tuesdays, March 6, April 3, and May 1
The RTC educational model pairs churches and synagogues for interfaith study sessions using RTC curricular materials:
Volume 1:
Encountering Our Sacred Texts
Volume 2:
Prayer and Worship
Volume 3:
Israel: Holy Land, Contested Land
Baltimore Citywide Reclaiming the Center:
Encountering Our Sacred Texts PART 2
Together, in this second series, we will explore Christian polemics (rhetorical arguments by which one group defines itself over and against its competitors or opponents), biblical authority (the distinctive ways we read and interpret our sacred texts to live our lives and create community), and sacred arguing (a model of our capacity to both disagree with as well as listen to one another) as it relates to the complex and heated topics of our day.
Instructors:
ICJS Staff and Baltimore Clergy
Time:
6:30 p.m. Refreshments
7:00-9:00 p.m. Program
Locations & Dates
First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
5802 Roland Avenue, Baltimore 21210
April 23, 30, and May 7, 2012
Beth El Congregation
8101 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, MD 21208
May 14, 21 and June 4, 2012
$60/6 Sessions
Please contact Mary Krastel at mkrastel@icjs.org or 410-494-7161 for more information.