Today, we will wrap up our multi-week class based on The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently, by Amy-Jill Levin and Mark Zvi Brettler. This class is being taught by FVPC member Paul Vlajcic, and meets in the Conference Room at 9:00 am.

Our guided tour of the most popular Hebrew Bible passages quoted in the New Testament is showing us what the texts meant in their original contexts. We have been learning how how Jews and Christians, over time, understood those same texts.

Comparing various interpretations – historical, literary, and theological - of each ancient text, the class offers a deeper understanding of the original narratives and their many after lives. We are seeing how the text speaks to different generations under changed circumstances, and so illuminate the Bible’s ongoing significance. By understanding the depth and variety by which these passages have been and can be understood, we see the Bible as a source of inspiration for all to read.

(Updated 10/13/25. Source: Susan Strasser’s 10/13/25 email.)