The Politics of the Real Jesus - Minneapolis, MN
When: Friday & Saturday April 9-10, 2010
Where: Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Avenue at Franklin, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403-3789
Who: Westar Institute, Sponsored by the Plymouth Religious Exploration and Connection Committee
Jesus Seminar on the Road Lecture Series: The Politics of the Real Jesus
Thomas Sheehan & Jarmo Tarkki
Who was the historical Jesus and how did he relate to the social and political issues of his time? What were his attitudes toward nature, the economy, war and peace? What does Jesus have to do with justice and politics today?
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LECTURE
Jarmo Tarkki
Political Radical or Religious Reformer?
Professor Tarkki will describe portrayals of Jesus in Mark, Matthew and Luke, in the light of political dynamics in first-century Palestine. He will ask: “Was Jesus a socialist?” “Was Jesus green?” and “Was Jesus a pacifist?”
Friday, 7:30–9 P.M.
WORKSHOPS
Thomas Sheehan
Which Jesus? What politics?
In order to understand Jesus’ economic, social, and political view of the world we first investigate the paradigm shift in scholarship that has given us the Jesus of contemporary research. We then take up the economics and politics of both first-century Palestine and today and confront it with the social revolution that Jesus preached.
Saturday, 9:30 A.M.-NOON
Jarmo Tarkki
Jesus and the Politics of Today
How is Jesus relevant to politics in the twenty-first Century? Jarmo Tarkki will connect the dots between Jesus’ most authentic sayings and political strategies in the U.S. and the world today.
Saturday, 1:30–2:30 P.M.
Jarmo Tarkki & Thomas Sheehan
Questions, Responses, Conclusions
The presenters will entertain questions from the audience and sum up what has been discussed during the course of the program.
Saturday, 3–4 P.M.
FACULTY
Jarmo Tarkki (Ph.D., University of Helsinki) is Senior Pastor at Bethania Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Solvang, California. He is Adjunct Professor of Theology at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, a Teaching Fellow in Philosophical Theology at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, and the author of numerous books and articles.
Thomas Sheehan (Ph.D., Fordham University) is Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of several books in philosophy and religion, including The First Coming (1986), a widely acclaimed and controversial account of Easter.