Jesus within Judaism: The Law of Moses in Early Judaism and the Gospels
2024 HCU Theology Conference
Apr 10-11, 2024
Sponsored by Heights Church
Professor Yair Furstenberg, Associate Professor of Talmud at Hebrew University (Jerusalem), will deliver the keynote on the topic of the interpretation of the Law in the New Testament Gospels. A panel discussion with Dr. Paul T. Sloan will follow. The conference will include breakout sessions with proposed papers. The keynote will be Wednesday, Apr 10, and the panel will be on Thursday.
Theology Conference 2024, Call for Papers
Jesus within Judaism: The Law and Its Interpretation in the Gospels and Early Judaism
We are pleased to announce our upcoming annual Theology Conference, which will be held in Houston, TX, on April 10-11, 2024. The focus of the conference will be on the interpretation of the Law as variously presented in the New Testament Gospels. Professor Yair Furstenburg (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) will offer the keynote lecture on “Jesus and the Law” and participate on a panel moderated by Dr. Paul T. Sloan (Houston Christian University). We also invite proposals for papers on the topic of the interpretation of the Mosaic Law in early Judaism, especially but not exclusively regarding matters that intersect with the legal debates present in the Gospels.
Scholars widely recognize the inevitable diversity of interpretation of the Mosaic commandments extant among various groups and their textual deposits (Pharisees, Essenes and/or Qumranites, Sadducees, Samaritans, John the Immerser, Jesus followers, emerging “schools” of various rabbis). Similarly, a growing number of readers recognize that the Gospels are squarely situated within this context of intramural debate over “proper” Law-keeping. This conference seeks to advance this conversation by hosting discussion of the legal controversies (broadly construed) recorded between Jesus and his contemporaries, on the one hand, and major legal controversies outside the Gospels, on the other. To that end, we are interested in papers that explore the different interpretations expressed among Jewish texts (HB/LXX, 2TJ, and early rabbinic) and how these intersect with the narrative and legal material of the Gospels, including inter alia matters of ritual purity (non-sacral food, tithes, hand-washing, vessels, lepra, bodily fluxes), criminal/civil law, sabbath, eschatology, sacrifice, etc.
Papers and the subsequent Q/A will be allotted a total of 45 minutes. Please submit proposals of no more than 500 words to Paul Sloan (psloan@hc.edu) by Dec 31, 2023. Decisions will be conveyed in January 2024. Participation may be in-person or digital (Zoom). Registration is $30 in-person and $10 through Zoom.
Conference Schedule
Wednesday, April 10
8:30-9:30 | Welcome (Green Room)
9:30-10:15 | Guy Shaked, Exploring the Poetic Dimensions of the Ten Commandments and Their Connections to Hebrew Biblical Poetry and the Gospel of Matthew
10:20-11:05 | Jason Wendel, ‘Doing’ Mercy, Justice, and Righteousness: Jesus’s Legal Hermeneutics in Conversation with Israel’s Prophetic Tradition and Second Temple Judaism
11:10-11:55 | Ryan Blackwelder, The “Six Antitheses” as Rabbinic Legal Midrash: How the Matthean Jesus Interprets Scripture with Scripture in the Sermon on the Mount
12:00 | Lunch
1:30-2:15 | Evan Vossman, Purity, Exorcisms, and the Pneumatic Protection of Jerusalem in the Synoptic Gospels
2:20-3:05 | Andrew Waller, “Have you not read what David did?”: Jesus as a Prophet like David in Luke 6:1–5
3:10-3:55: Kevin Grasso | Torah as Story or Law in the Gospel of Matthew and Among the Pharisees
Break + Dinner
7:00-9:00 | Yair Furstenberg, Keynote Lecture on Jesus and the Law (discussion to follow).
Thursday, April 11
9:00-10:15 | Logan Williams, What Comes Out: Allegories of Secretion (Mark 7:1-23)
10:20-11:05 | Sara Patterson, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath”: Jesus as the Superior Sacrifice and Judge in Matthew and Hebrews
11:10-11:55 | Paul Sloan, Turn the Other Cheek: Forgiving Debts and Sins in the Eschatological Jubilee
Lunch
1:00-3:00 | Panel Discussion with Yair Furstenberg, moderated by Paul Sloan, with discussion from audience.
*Conference Concludes at 3:00 pm.
**All Paper Sessions will be held in Belin Chapel in the Morris Cultural Arts Center
Register Now
Helpful links
Going Further. . .
In case you would like to explore these issues beyond one weekend, we encourage you to consider the further options with Houston Theological Seminary.
Surveying. We offer several options for those interested to go further without starting up a formal degree program. A surveyor is someone who is taking a course in a not-for-credit capacity, simply for one’s own enjoyment and personal development. The cost to take a class as a surveyor is $180 if registered before the classes start. It is $200 after that. See the list of courses for surveying at our main Houston Theological Seminary page. You can register as a surveyor from here.
Pursuing a Degree. We offer a variety of graduate and undergraduate degrees that focus on biblical, theological, and ministerial studies. For more details, check out the links to our specific degrees through the Department of Theology.