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Amy-Jill Levine
Amy-Jill Levine is currently Professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, TN. She received her education in English and Religion at Smith College, and went on to gain her M.A. and PhD. in Religion from Duke University.
She is the author of numerous books and articles addressing such topics as Second-Temple Judaism, Christian Origins, Jewish-Christian relations and Biblical Women. She is a widely sought-after speaker on Biblical topics to both academic and non-academic audiences.
Amy-Jill Levine is Key Note Speaker on Tuesday July 1: “Faith, Justice, and Common Ground: Inter-religious Relations in a New Light"
Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew who spoke to other Jews in the language of their culture and tradition: he evoked the G-d of creation, the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the visions of the Prophets. Yet his words, spoken by a Jew to other Jews, became the Scripture of an increasingly Gentile Church; Jesus the Jew, viewed through Gentile eyes, became Jesus the preacher against Judaism. To recover the words of Jesus in their original context –the “Great Commandment” of Love of G-d and neighbor, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the “Lord’s Prayer” — brings new light to their import, helps to eclipse the often anti-Jewish interpretations well-meaning Christians often impose on them, and reveals profound messages that travel across humanity’s religious landscape.
How might we reflect the faith of and in Jesus without casting his Jewish tradition, or any non-Christian tradition, in a negative light? How do we share our stories of justice without having one version overshadow another? How do we find common ground with those from other religious traditions, without putting into the shadows the teachings and practices that make us distinct?
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Taneli Kukkonen
Taneli Kukkonen is a Research Professor in Antiquity at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. He specializes in Arabic philosophy and the Aristotelian tradition in Greek, Jewish, Arabic and Christian civilizations. Professor Kukkonen is the director of a major upcoming research initiative funded by the European Research Council on 'Subjectivity and Selfhood in the Arabic and Latin Traditions'. He is widely recognised as an engaging and entertaining speaker.
Taneli Kukkonen is Key Note Speaker on Thursday July 3: 'The Metaphor of Light: What Can It Teach Us?'
The 'divine light' is as close as we are likely to get to a universal metaphor regarding
our coming into contact with the transcendent. This figure of speech, along with its
variants, occurs in countless religious sources, East as well as West, and lends itself
to numerous interpretations and shades in emphasis. For all this, the philosophical as
well as common-sense implications of the metaphor have often been lost in the folds of
lofty rhetoric. This presentation aims to supply an analysis, taking its start from key
historical thinkers and addressing among others the following questions:
What is it about the everyday properties of light that makes it such an attractive
analogue for divine revelation? What is it that is supposed to be disclosed in such a
revelation? Why do people experience it differently, and to what extent similarly? What
is meant by the common association of illumination with reflection? And what are we to
make of the fact that a significant number of people of good faith--indeed, good people
of no faith at all-- claim to be able to discern the workings of no such light in the
first place? It is argued that the very logic of the metaphor of light dictates an
attitude of utmost respect for those who see things in a different light, those who
perceive matters differently (e.g., not in terms of light at all), and above all those
who feel as though no especial illumination is afforded to us, either individually or
collectively.
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CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Monday 30 June 2008
10.00–20.00 Registration and Info desk open at the University of Tampere
12.00–14.00 Lunch
14.00–15.30 Opening Ceremony, main auditorium
19.00–20.30 Reception by the city of Tampere at the Museum Centre Vapriikki
20.30–23.00 Get-together & Global Market at the Kuusvooninkinen (Finlayson area)
23.30–01.00 Meeting Point at Culture Centre&Restaurant Telakka
Tuesday 1 July 2008
08.30- 9.00 Morning Prayers / Meditation
08.00–16.30 Registration and Info desk open
09.30–10.45 Plenary Session, main auditorium Keynote Speaker Amy Jill Levine
11.00–12.30 Reflection Groups
12.30–14.00 Lunch
14.00–16.00 Workshops
18.00–22.30 Finnish Evening on the Viikinsaari Island
Evening ceremony on location (Viikinsaari Island)
23.00–02.00 Meeting Point at Culture Centre&Restaurant Telakka
Wednesday 2 July 2008
08.30–09.00 Morning Prayers / Meditation
08.30–13.00 Registration and Info desk open
09.00–11.00 Regional & National association meetings
09.00-11.00 Targeted session for the chaplains in vocational education
11.00–12.00 Lunch
12.00– Excursions
19.00 Evening music concert at the Cathedral
–02.00 Meeting Point at Culture Centre&Restaurant Telakka
Thursday 3 July 2008
08.30–09.00 Morning Prayers / Meditation
09.30–10.45 Plenary Session, main auditorium Keynote Speaker Taneli Kukkonen
11.00–12.30 Reflection Groups
12.30–14.00 Lunch
14.00–16.00 Workshops
16.15–17.45 General Meeting, main auditorium
Welcome into the International Association
19.30–22.30 Conference Dinner at the Scandic Hotel Rosendahl 23.00-23.30 Evening Ceremony at Pyynikki Summer Theatre
24.00-02.00 Meeting Point at Culture Centre&Restaurant Telakka
Friday 4 July 2008
08.30–09.30 Morning Prayers / Meditation
10.00–11.30 Closing Ceremony, main auditorium
08.30 Departure for the post-conference tour to St. Petersburg, Russia
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The 1st Announcement Brochure is available for download. Click here.
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CONFERENCE LANGUAGE
The official language of the conference is English. Interpretation will be not provided.
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EXHIBITION
Are you interested in exhibiting products, services or, for example, books at the conference? Please contact Tampere Conference Service for details and prices.
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