Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The World of Jesus

Tonight we begin the first of an 8-week course looking at the growth of Christianity from a small movement to the official religion of the Roman Empire. Using the excellent PBS Frontline series "From Jesus to Christ -- The First Christians", we'll be moving from the world of Jesus to the world of empire.

Tonight we begin with a look at the culture and influences of first-century Palestine. The Romans, the Temple authorities, the Essenes, the political situation in occupied Palestine ... all in a half-hour video segment. Then we'll have time to ask questions and discuss what we watched.

For more information and lots and lots of background material, check the website for the series at From Jesus to Christ.

1 comment:

  1. I hope I can make it tonight. In regard to your question from March 28th - As All Saints gets more involved in social justice and outreach, this is an interesting question for us. Are we also engaging in the kind of contemplative prayer and spirituality that will sustain our work?

    There is prayer and there is action. “Prayer, truly and deeply done” as Leech described is difficult to achieve only an hour on Sunday. Perhaps that’s the reason for the chasm between sitting comfortably in the pew each week and taking our work out into the world.

    For me, activities such as the Wednesday evening classes are providing the type of support you asked about.

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