Thursday, February 9, 2017

March and April Lecture Topics

Our History, Philosophy, & Theology Group will continue to meet on selected Tuesday evenings this March and April.


Mar 14, Tues (7 pm): Maps of the Medieval Mind. “Here there be dragons” fills the void of the world unknown to Europeans in the so-called Dark Ages.  We’ll explore and translate dozens of historic maps to chart the Medieval worldview.


Mar 21, Tues (7 pm): Pagan Vikings vs. the Christians. Beginning in the 8th century AD, pagan Norsemen plundered the monasteries of the Frankish and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. How could Thor and Odin lose out to Jesus?




Mar 28, Tues (7 pm): The Bible’s Powerful Matriarchs. In the Age of the Patriarchs, it turns out that most of the Bible’s most powerful figures were women. How and why did these matriarchal narratives challenge the patriarchy?



Apr 11, Tues (7 pm): Easter: Comparing Resurrection Myths.  Jesus Christ is hardly the only god in Antiquity who was said to return to the world of the living after death.  We’ll compare these many ancient resurrection myths. 




Apr 18, Tues (7 pm): The Crusades and Jihad.  We’ll look at the original holy wars fought between Medieval Christianity and Islam.  Can we draw lessons from these past conflicts for the 21st century world?




Apr 25, Tues (7 pm): Why Job Fails to Solve Evil.  The authors of the Book of Job were troubled by the question: Why do the righteous suffer when the wicked prosper?  We’ll consider and evaluate their proposed answers.