Update on Lecture: What Kind of Jew Was Jesus?

I think most of you know that God and weather permitting I am giving a lecture tomorrow evening (Thursday, February 11th), at the Center for Jewish Studies, UNC Asheville, titled "What Kind of a Jew Was Jesus: How Texts and Archaeology Tell us a New Story."

What I want to try to do is place Jesus within the parties and politics of his time (thanks to Morton Smith's rubric here) in terms of what Michael Stone so aptly called "Scriptures, Sects, and Visions" within Late 2nd Temple Judaisms of his time. I am a historian not an archaeologist, so I want to mostly deal with texts, but texts within a context, such a Qumran (which combines site and texts!) and Mt Zion, that has every bit to do with material evidence as well--based on some of my experiences in the field. My intention is to highlight several of what I consider to be the most telling archaeological discoveries.

You can find links and full information at my Blog:

Maybe I will see some of you there. Several have asked me if it will be recorded. I think the Center for Jewish Studies does in fact record lectures and make them available through their Web site. I will let people know. On the other hand the program at Temple Sinai, also tomorrow evening, will be live-streamed so you can catch it even if you are not able to attend either event.

So if you live closer to Charlotte than St. Francisville, come this way, and if closer to St Francisville than Charlotte head that way for the exciting program with Jeremy Gimpel. Either way it seems that Thursday evening will offer much.