Conferences
Under the Center's auspices, scholars and thinkers representing diverse Christian denominations engage in theological interreligious dialogue with their counterparts from the Jewish world. Click below for data on past conferences. Some archived conferences and events are available in streaming media format.
Blasphemy, Free Expression, and Journalistic Ethics
March 26, 2007 at Boston College
A one-day conference examining conflicts that arise when religious values confront the journalistic ethics of free speech and a free press. In the wake of such controversies as the Danish anti-Islamic cartoons and Pope Benedict's lecture at the University of Regensburg, the conference explores the role of religious sensibilities in a free press. Co-sponsored with the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, Eastern Nazarene College, the Jesuit Institute, Boston College Magazine, and the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics.
Speakers include: Charles Haynes, the First Amendment Center; Imam Talal Eid, Islamic Institute of Boston; Lawrence Lowenthal, American Jewish Committee; Rev. Edward M. O'Flaherty, SJ, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston; Eric Severson, Eastern Nazarene College; Monica Brady-Meyron, WBUR / NPR; Michael Paulson, The Boston Globe; Gustav Neibuhr, Syracuse University; Hanna Rosin, The Washington Post. Spiritual Audacity & Social Justice: Abraham Joshua Heschel -A Centennial Celebration December 10, 2006 at Hebrew College and Boston College
One of the most influential religious leaders of the 20th century, Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) called to—and was heeded by—both Jews and Christians. He passionately and pointedly challenged Jews and Christians to become God’s partners in the creation of a just and compassionate world. Literally “walking the walk,“ he marched for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. and was a leader in the anti-Vietnam War movement.
To celebrate the centennial of Heschel’s birth, Andover-Newton Theological School, the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, the Boston Theological Institute and Hebrew College co-sponsored“Spiritual Audacity and Social Justice: Abraham Joshua Heschel—A Centennial Celebration.” Featured speakers included Arthur Green, a leading authority on Jewish spirituality and Jewish thought; Susannah Heschel, Heschel’s daughter and a noted scholar and activist; and Cornel West, perhaps the nation’s most popular and thought-provoking African-American intellectual.
Dr. West's lecture and responses will be available soon on streaming video HERE.
Christ and the Jewish People
September 17 and 18, 2006 at Hebrew College and Boston College
Christ and the Jewish People is an international theological project that began with a consultation held for several days in Aricca (near Rome) on October 19-22, 2006. The participating scholars spent concentrated time exploring this meta-question: How might we Christians in our time reaffirm our faith claim that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all humanity, even as we affirm Israel's covenantal life with God? The planning group of CJP will meet in August, 2007 at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven to consider a pivotal question resulting from the Ariccia consultation.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Our Times: Jewish and Christian Perspectives
September 17 and 18, 2006 at Hebrew College and Boston College
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) has become an icon of resistance and moral courage. As a pastor and teacher, he was one of the earliest Protestants to speak out against Nazism and summon his church to oppose it. As a resistance figure executed for his role in the conspiracy against the Nazi regime, his prison writings later inspired Christians throughout the world.
What is Bonhoeffer’s legacy for the Jewish-Christian relationship today? His record of political opposition to Nazism is clear. Does his contribution to Christian ethical reflection and activism have implications for non-Christians? What is Bonhoeffer’s place as a theological and political figure in the legacy of the Holocaust? In this conference, Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant scholars reflected on his witness and its legacy for our times.
Two panels from the conference are available for viewing on streaming video. Click HERE.
Fuller Meanings: Christian and Jewish Readings of the Bible
April 24, 2006 at Boston College
An exploration of the Pontifical Biblical Commission's 2001, "The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible," this symposium was co-sponsored with the Boston College Theology Department and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. The event explored how Jews and Christians interpret the Bible - where they differ and where they agree - and suggested how local congregations can make the Bible a richer resource for study and education. Keynoters Gary Anderson and Jon Levenson began the symposium, and were followed by a panel consisting of Philip Cunningham, Daniel Harrington, and Ruth Langer.
To view the keynote presentations on streaming video, click HERE.
In Our Time: Interreligious Relations in a Divided World
March 16-17, 2006 at Boston College and Brandeis University
In a celebration of interreligious collaboration, Brandeis University and Boston College, through its Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, co-sponsored a two-day conference to mark the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and explore the nature of interreligious dialogue. The conference provided an exceptional opportunity to explore these topics with a distinguished group of speakers and panelists representing different faiths and traditions. The featured keynoter was Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, just completed almost twenty years of service as secretary and then president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Nostra Aetate Today: Reflections 40 Years after Its Call for a New Era of Interreligious Relationships
September 25-28, 2005 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
This international conference to mark the fortieth anniversary of the promulgation of the declaration Nostra Aetate was hosted by The Institute for the Study of Religions and Cultures with the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies of the Pontifical Gregorian University with the co-sponsorship of the Cardinal Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago; the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College; the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT; and Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Over three hundred participants from several dozen countries attended plenary sessions that focused on the way in which people of various faiths have come to a new understanding of their own tradition through engagement with another tradition.
The Catholic Church and the Jewish People from Vatican II to Today [La Chiesa Cattolica e l'Ebraismo dal Vaticano II ad oggi]
October 19, 2004 - January 25, 2005
A series of conferences occurring at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and organized by the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies. The electronic publishing of these lectures in English on this website is made possible by the collaboration of the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College.
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik on Interreligious Dialogue: Forty Years Later
November 23, 2003
A panel presentation and online conversation on whether the Orthodox Jewish community should participate in theological interreligious dialogue with Christians. To view a streaming video presentation of the event click HERE.
Interreligious Learning: Christians and Jews Teaching About Each Other
June 16 - 17, 2002
Sponsored by a grant for The Valparaiso Project on the Education & Formation of People in Faith, Dorothy C. Bass, Director in conjunction with the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
Theologies of Covenant and Christian - Jewish Relations
December 3 - 4, 2001
Co-sponsored with the Rabbinic Committee for Interreligious Dialogue and the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at Sacred Heart University.
Liturgical Issues in Christian-Jewish Relations
June 10 - 11, 2001
Setting the Agenda for the 21st Century: The Next Stage of Jewish and Christian Dialogue
June 18 - 19, 2000
