Post-Holocaust Christian & Jewish Studies
In the wake of 9/11, and during a time of escalating violence in the Middle East, there is a resulting backlash against Americans of particular religious beliefs or geographic background. The Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Christian and Jewish Studies located at the University of Southern Maine is responding with the opportunity to examine Jewish/Christian conflicts in two courses offered this fall.
"Jews and Christians in Conflict: From the 'Teaching of Contempt' to Nosta Aetate" will look at how a negative image of Judaism developed in Christianity and why. How did these images develop into the "teaching of contempt" against Judaism and escalate into anti-Jewish violence and anti-Semitism? "Nosta Aetate," the II Vatican Council's Declaration on non-Christian Religions, reversed a negative attitude of the Catholic church toward Judaism and the Jewish people. The course will be offered on Sundays and will be team taught by Brother Francis Blouin, incoming president of the Maine Council of Churches, and Abraham Peck, director of the Academic Council, and a member of USM's History Department.
"Who Am I? In Search of a New Christian and Jewish Identity," will be team taught on Wednesday evenings by David Trobisch from Bangor Theological Seminary and Rabbi Harry Sky, rabbi emeritus of Portland's Temple Beth-el and senior consultant in USM's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. This course will follow the historical development that led to the separation of the Jewish and Christian movements and the resulting formation of the Hebrew Jewish Bible and the Greek Christian Bible during the first and second centuries. It is available for both undergraduate and graduate credit, with more course work required for graduate credit.
The University of Southern Maine, Bangor Theological Seminary, and St. Joseph's College have joined together to form The Academic Council for Post-Holocaust Christian and Jewish Studies, housed on USM's Portland campus. The Council seeks to understand and redefine the nature of Christain-Jewish relations with classes such as these, and events like "The Children of Abraham Downeast: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Search for a New Religious Pluralism in Maine" held last March.
For more information on the Council or these courses, contact Abraham Peck, director, at 780-5331.
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