Williams To Present The 2008 Croghan Lectures On The Bible And Early Christianity
WILLIAMSTOWN - John Gager, the Visiting Croghan Bicentennial Professor in Biblical and Early Christian Studies at Williams College, will present two lectures: "Art and Controversy in the Ancient Synagogue" on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in Griffin Hall, room 3, and "Chapters in the Encounter Between the Apostle Paul and Judaism," on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Griffin Hall, room 6. Both lectures will take place at 7:30 p.m.Before he retired in 2006, Gager was the William H. Danforth Professor of Religion at Princeton College. He specializes in religion in the early Roman Empire, especially the interaction between the followers of early Christianity and Judaism.
His most recent book, "Reinventing Paul," focuses on the controversial figure Paul the Apostle. Gager maintains that Paul was not the founder of Christianity and did not condemn people of the Jewish faith. Instead, Gager holds that one must interpret Paul's writings in terms of his intended audience, the Gentiles.
He is the author of a number of other books, such as "Moses in Greco-Roman Paganism," "Kingdom and Community: The Social World of Early Christianity," "The Origins of Anti-Semitism," and "Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World."
Gager's numerous honors include a Fulbright Fellowship to Israel, a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, and a more recent fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies of Hebrew University in Israel.
Gager received his B.A. from Yale University in 1959 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1967. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, and the University of Tubingen in Germany.
The Croghan Bicentennial Professorship in Biblical and Early Christian Studies was established by John and Rosemary Croghan for a visiting professor who would offer one course in Judaism and/or Christianity, in addition to giving public lectures. Past Croghan Professors have taught courses on the Mishnah (Shaye Cohen), the historical Jesus (John Dominic Crossan), and Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Ross Kraemer).
