Fall 2009 Tuohy Lecture Series

George M. Smiga S.T.D.
2009-2010 Tuohy Chair Holder

For over thirty years Rev. George M. Smiga has blended the disciplines of biblical scholarship and pastoral care. He serves on the faculty of St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe, Ohio and is pastor of St. Noel Church in Willoughby Hills, Ohio. He received his doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1985. His professional specialty is the impact of the Bible upon Jewish-Christian relations. He has published two books in this area: Pain and Polemic: Anti-Judaism in the Gospels (1992) and The Gospel of John Set Free: Preaching Without Anti-Judaism (2008). *

Tracing the Invisible God: A Shared Faith for Jews and Christians

Overview of Series

Faith depends on a set of poetic images (Savior, Creator, Father, Shepherd, Warrior, Lord) that point to who God is and why God would care. This language is fragile, for it hides more than it reveals and will not yield to scientific verification. But it is also powerful, directing the lives of millions of people toward freedom and happiness. The Christian images of God were a gift from the Jewish people. To this day the majority of images which support Christian belief remain Jewish images. This shared identity remains hidden to most Christians, because fault-lines in the New Testament were used by early Christian interpreters to set the two faiths in opposition and to conclude that God has rejected the Jews. This claim of rejection has proven not only a tragedy for Jews but a disaster for Christians. By rejecting God’s commitment to Israel, Christians marred their own portrait of God. It is only by reclaiming God’s unconditional faithfulness to Israel that Christians will be able to understand fully their own belief in a loving and faithful God.

All lectures will be on Tuesday evenings, October 13 - November 17, at 7:30pm in the Dolan Science Center, Donahue Auditorium, at John Carroll University.

Lectures are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
No registration is necessary.

*Both of these books will be available for purchase after each lecture - cash or check only.

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Dr. David R. Mason, Director
216-397-4708