Please join us for the next installment in our “Draw the Circle Wide” series. For the third evening in this Christian Education and Spiritual Formation series we are honoured to hear a lecture by Rabbi Dr. Robert Daum, Associate Professor of Rabbinic Literature and Jewish Thought at VST, on the topic of

“Compounding tragedy in biblical tales:
Are we missing the humanity (and the tragedy) of characters in Genesis and Judges?”

Within the Hebrew Bible, most characters are not portrayed in simplistic moral terms as purely good or purely evil. In some of the most memorable stories, the complicated natures of key characters are depicted indirectly and subtly. But because these stories are in the Bible, one might expect to find unambiguous morality tales about heroes and villains. We will look at a few familiar biblical tales to see whether we might find there more complex characters and moral challenges, and thereby more human stories.

This is sure to be a fascinating and enlightening evening for everyone, so please mark the date in your calendar and join us on Tuesday, April 29th in the Fireside Room.

Rabbi Dr. Robert Daum has been Associate Professor of Rabbinic Literature & Jewish Thought, and Founding Director of Iona Pacific Inter-religious Centre at Vancouver School of Theology, since 2009. This year he has led a new initiative on cultural diversity and student leadership for the Office of Vice President of Students at UBC. Also at UBC he holds appointments as Faculty Associate in the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice, and as a faculty member of UBC’s Green College. At SFU he is a Dialogue Associate and member of the Academic Steering Committee of the Centre for Dialogue. Reconciliation Canada has designated him as a Reconciliation Ambassador. Since 2010 he has been Visiting Rabbinic Scholar in Residence at Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral. He has presented his research at academic conferences in Canada, the USA, Spain, France, and China. His latest scholarly publication on a Talmudic story will appear in December in the Journal of Religious Studies and Theology in a special issue on “religion and masculinities.”

http://www.stphilipsdunbar.com/upcoming/2014-draw-the-circle-wider-still/