Short Stories by Jesus Participant Guide: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

by Amy-Jill Levine

Publisher:

Abingdon Press

, 2018

Overview

Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive teacher who used parables from everyday life to effectively convey his message and meaning. Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus’ stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives.


In this Bible study based on her Short Stories by Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine analyzes these “problems with parables” taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us—and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.


This participant guide provides an introduction to the main text as well as further Scripture commentary and reflection questions.

Key Features

Amy-Jill Levine exposes the misinterpretations of many of the teaching parables of Jesus and makes them lively and relevant for modern readers.

Includes Participant Guide, Leader Guide, and DVD featuring renowned biblical scholar, Amy-Jill Levine.

The study highlights the main points of the parable discussions and makes the main book more accessible to readers.

The study brings Levine s enlightening words on the parables into a format suited for group study and discussion.

The study brings Levine s text into sharp focus and provides readers with all the elements for a lively group experience.

Product Details

• Title : Short Stories by Jesus Participant Guide: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi
• Author: Levine, Amy-Jill
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Publication Date: 2018
• ISBN: 9781501858178

About Amy-Jill Levine

Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Department of Religious Studies, and Graduate Department of Religion. Holding a B.A. from Smith College, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University, and honorary Doctorates from the University of Richmond and the Episopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, Levine has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. She has held office in the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Association, and the Association for Jewish Studies. Her most recent publications include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; the edited collection, The Historical Jesus in Context; and the fourteen-volume series, Feminist Companions to the New Testament and Early Christian Writings. She has recorded “Introduction to the Old Testament,” “Great Figures of the Old Testament,” and “Great Figures of the New Testament” for the Teaching Company’s “great lectures” series. A self-described “Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches in a predominantly Protestant divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt,” Levine combines historical-critical rigor, literary-critical sensitivity, and a frequent dash of humor with a commitment to eliminating anti-Jewish, sexist, and homophobic theologies.