The antediluvian patriarch Enoch inspired several ancient pseudepigraphic texts. The Book of Enoch (generally known as “1st Enoch”) is part of the Biblical canon in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition. “2nd Enoch” is an ancient text unrelated to 1st Enoch, which is sometimes called “The Secrets of Enoch.” Because the text was translated into Old Bulgarian and was widely used among the Medieval Bogomils, 2nd Enoch is sometimes known as Slavonic Enoch. The text claims to be Enoch’s record of his visit to the Ten Heavens with archangels as guides. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the text, consider its authorship, dating, and influence in antiquity, the Middle Ages, and today.

Whether religious or atheist, most Western people have a picture and a sense of the character of God: white robe, white beard, white man. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will trace the origin of this image and consider how it may differ from the way people envisioned God in Biblical times.

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is a controversial yet influential portrayal of Jesus’ crucifixion that held the title of highest-grossing R-rated film for 20 years. But how scripturally, historically, and theologically accurate is this depiction? In this session, John Hamer (historian) and Leandro Palacios (theologian) react to the film in real time—offering critical analysis, academic commentary, and the occasional snort and eye-roll when the script goes off the rails. There will be history, theology, and cringe.

Christians talk about “the Church” as the universal body of Christ, made up of all Christians. However, in a more practical, institutional sense, Christians are actually divided into thousands of different denominations, many of which consider their rivals heretical and even non-Christian. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will trace a brief history of Christian schism, outlining the major branches of the movement historically and in the present.

As countries around the world legalized same-sex marriage, many opponents of ending discrimination argued that the change would undermine “traditional marriage.” What is traditional marriage? John Hamer of Toronto Centre place will trace the origins of marriage customs in the western world and how the institution came to be regarded as a sacrament in Christianity.

The ideas about the afterlife in heaven and hell are deeply ingrained in modern, popular culture, based on Christian doctrines and imagery from antiquity through the Middle Ages to the present. However, this concept of the afterlife is almost entirely absent from the Old Testament. In making his covenant with Abraham, God does not promise eternal life in heaven. Rather, Abraham is blessed with prosperity, long life, and a vast posterity. In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place briefly traces the development of our modern ideas about afterlife from its pagan origins to the present.

Abelard and Heloise are among the great scholastic philosophers of the 12th century. Their affair led to their secret marriage, which was discovered with terrible consequences for them both. Nevertheless their letters have kept the romance alive for centuries, and Abelard's philosophical ideas helped change the course Western thought.

Resurrection and eternal life in heaven has often been cited as a reason for Christianity's success against Paganism. To consider this proposition, we need to look in more depth at how different pagan religions envisioned the afterlife.

The story of the Pharaoh that introduced the worship of one God before the time of Israel. Fourteen hundred years before Christ, the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV rejected the old gods of Egypt and introduced the worship of one God above all: Atun. Although he was able to promulgate a new henotheist (possibly even monotheist) religion during his lifetime, after his death the traditionalists won out, reversed his reforms, and deleted his name from the king lists. We'll look at this remarkably early innovation and its echoes in later monotheistic religion.

From nuclear war and super-plagues to asteroids and alien invasions, popular culture continues to obsess about the idea of the world's destruction. We're look at the first mythological predictions of the end and see how the popularity of apocalyptic writing influenced Judaism, Christianity, and the Western world ever since.

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was one of the most brilliant theologians and philosophers of the Middle Ages and all of human history. Aquinas famously believed that the existence of God could be proved by reason alone and he provided five arguments to this effect. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at each of the five arguments alongside the counter-arguments and will also consider what Aquinas’ philosophy tells us about his conception of God.

By the end of the third century, most Christian leaders adhered to the paradoxical belief that the Creator is God, Christ is God, and the Spirit is God, whiles also insisting that there is only one God. However, they continued to be bitterly divided about how to explain the paradox. While some insisted that the one God simply appeared in three different forms (Modalism), an Alexandrian theologian named Arius articulated a different formula, by which the Creator was the sole uncreated eternal God, and Christ (while divine and unique as God’s Son) was nevertheless subordinate to the Creator. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at Arius’ understanding of the Godhead and the legacy of Arianism.

Artistic expression and religion have been intertwined since prehistory. From Antiquity to the Modern era religion has provided both inspiration and patronage for artists. Paintings of animals and hunts in caves may have related to Animism: calling upon their spiritual power. Classical sculpture and painting were focussed on depicting the gods and the stories of Greek and Roman mythology. In much the same way that casting an actor for a role in a film adaptation of a book tends to overwrite a future reader’s picture of a character (e.g., try envisioning Gandalf without seeing Ian McKellen), having a statue or a picture of a god affects the way a worshipper envisions the divine. Perhaps for this reason, religious reformers at various points in history have objected to picturing the gods, or especially picturing God. Ancient Israelites forbid graven images of Yahweh, a prohibition that expanded to any depiction or even saying his name aloud. Likewise, Islam forbids depicting God (Allah) and the prohibition has expanded to depictions of God’s prophet, and in some interpretations any human or animal forms. Christians too have a complicated history with religious imagery from the Iconoclasm which divided the Byzantine Empire to the Protestant destruction of statues and imagery during the Reformation. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore why artwork has been such a charged issue within the religions of the West from Antiquity to the present.

Before coming to understand Yahweh as their only God, ancient Israelites worshiped a pantheon that included the great goddess Asherah. In Canaanite religion, Asherah often appears as the consort of the chief deity El. Later, archeology and about 40 mentions of her name in the Hebrew Bible suggest she was sometimes seen as Yahweh’s wife. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will reconstruct the history of the worship of the Divine Feminine in ancient Israel from the Biblical texts and the contemporary historical and archaeological records, tracing how Asherah’s attributes and cult, like those of El, were ultimately absorbed into the figure and worship of Yahweh.

Writing the Book of Mormon required neither a conspiracy nor supernatural intervention Mormon apologists argue that the composition of the Book of Mormon requires supernatural intervention to explain. Many of the book’s detractors believe that Joseph Smith must have been part of a conspiracy involving additional authors. However, the scholarly consensus is that neither of these extraordinary explanations are necessary.

The role of women in many historical and religious narratives can be downplayed or ignored. In this talk, you will get to know about the strong and spunky women who played a pivotal role in the early days of Islam.

In the first and second centuries, Jewish people engaged in a series of large-scale insurrections against the authority of the Roman Empire. The first of these engagements, fought between 66 and 73 CE, is the most famous and resulted in the final destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the end of Judaism’s “Second Temple Period.” This had enormous consequences for Judaism and for Christianity which was evolving from its origins as a Jewish sect into a new religion in its own right. A little more than half a century later in the year 132, Jews in Judea revolted against Roman authority one final time. Led by Simon bar Kokhba, who was acclaimed as a Messiah, the rebels temporarily established an independent Jewish Kingdom. The powerful Roman Emperor Hadrian sent between 60,000 and 120,000 Roman soldiers to the theatre, which mercilessly crushed the rebellion. The Romans destroyed nearly every village in Judea and many as 100,000 Jews were sold into slavery. The failure of the revolt had enormous consequences for the development of Rabbinic Judaism — the main branch of the religion that has come down to us today. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the causes, scope, and consequences of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, including its legacies today.

Before the God of Israel was understood to be the sole omnipotent God of the universe, Yahweh (or "Jehovah") was worshiped as part of a pantheon of gods that included Ba'al, El, and Asherah. Guest lecturer Leandro Palacios will present an introduction to ancient Canaanite mythology and its relationship to Israelite religion of the first temple period.

How does the Bible reconcile the stark contradiction between Ezra's exclusionary practices and Ruth's story of foreign inclusion? Not all Jews agreed with Ezra’s interpretation of the law and his strict policies against intermarriage. The author of the Book of Ruth presented the opposite perspective, showing that a foreigner, a Moabite woman, could not only become part of the Jewish community but also an ancestor in the lineage of King David, and ultimately, of the Messiah, according to Christian tradition.

The symbolic and allegorical meaning of God inflicting Famine, War, Plague, and Death in the Biblical narrative. The ten disasters called down upon the people of Egypt by Moses are central to the Exodus story. While scholars agree that the Exodus is not a historical account, the story of mass suffering inflicted by the God of the Old Testament has theological implications, which we will explore. How different is the God of the New Testament and the Famine, War, Plague, and Death predicted in the Book of Revelation?

Shortly after Western Christians launched external crusades that successfully (if brutally) reconquered the Holy Lands, a new perceived enemy of the faith emerged in the south of France. The Cathars were a Christian sect that rejected Trinitarian theology to embrace dualism. Catharism taught that the New Testament God was the true and good God who had created our immaterial spirits, but that these had been trapped in this material world, which was created by the evil God of the Old Testament. The most powerful pope of the Middle Ages, took the novel approach of calling an internal crusade to defeat the Cathars militarily, but it was only with the foundation of the Medieval Inquisition that the religion was finally exterminated.

Why was Charles the Great King of the Franks crowned Roman Emperor in 800 ad, over three centuries after the Empire’s fall? What about the idea of the Roman Empire was so inspiring that German kings continued to be crowned as Holy Roman Emperors for a thousand years after Charlemagne’s death?

Jesus of Nazareth famously advised “if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also” and taught his followers to “love your enemies.” In the first centuries AD, Christians frequently questioned whether the role of soldier was compatible with their faith. Although the Emperor Constantine converted after winning a battle under the symbol of the cross, he delayed his baptism until his deathbed to wipe away the sins incurred as head of the Roman army. By the Middle Ages, however, Popes called upon Christian knights to attack the enemies of the faith: Muslims, pagans, Cathars, and Christian heretics alike. In the modern era, European Empires brutally conquered and colonized much of the world hand-in-hand with Christian missionaries. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at how Christianity got from point A to B and C and ask where Christians find themselves today?

Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies and declared “blessed are the peacemakers.” Nevertheless, Christianity has had an inconsistent relationship with war and peace, at times going so far as to sanctify wars such as the crusades as holy. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history of pacifism and nonviolence within the Christian tradition and contrast it with justifications of Christian militancy.

The modern Jewish nationalist ideology of “Zionism” traces its origins to a movement founded by Theodor Herl in 1897. The movement evolved considerably during the 20th century in the wake of the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel in Palestine in 1948. As conflicts between Israelis, Palestinians, and their neighbors have evolved, so too have ideas about nationalism, imperialism/colonialism, rights to self-determination, and international law. The idea of Zionism is further complicated by Christians, some of whom support a “gathering of Israel” as a precursor for Armageddon and bringing about a literal end to the world. Before embarking on a trip to the West Bank of Palestine this November as a representative of Churches for Middle East Peace, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history of “Christian Zionism” and its precursors.

Among the first commandments God gives in the Bible is “Be fruitful and multiply,” but for some reason Christianity has narrowed the definition of sin to focus almost exclusively on “sex.” Christianity’s largest denomination, the Roman Catholic Church continues to insist that clergy live entirely celibate — a lifestyle that looks increasingly like a bizarre fetish in the 21st Century. Schisms of the church have occurred over the idea of divorce. A preponderance of Christian sects have led the charge against recognizing the human rights of the LGBTQ+ communities. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at why Christians seem to be sex-obsessed and offer ideas for overcoming Christian error and bigotry.

Queen of Egypt prior to its absorption by Rome, Cleopatra was an important power player in the civil wars that marked the end of the Roman Republic. Her alliance with Julius Caesar included an affair, which resulted in the birth of their son, Ptolemy Caesarion. After the fallout from Caesar’s assassination, Cleopatra began a new alliance and affair with his chief lieutenant, Mark Antony. Anthony and Cleopatra held sway together over the East, but were ultimately defeated by Caesar’s nephew Octavian, who became Caesar Augustus. Demonized by writers loyal to Augustus, Cleopatra’s memory became a cautionary tale against the wiles of female rulers. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place attempts to recover the real life and qualities of Egypt’s famous queen, the last of the Pharaohs.

The art of the theater died out in the West with the fall of the Roman Empire. But in the unlikely setting of Germany in the 10th century, a remarkable woman revived both comedy and drama. Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim was a secular canoness (a member of a religious community living a monastic life) who read the ancient Roman playwrights Plautus and Terrance and used them as models for her own plays. Produced for the edification and entertainment of her fellow sisters, Hrotsvitha's comedies featured the exploits of saintly heroines humiliating their lecherous pagan captors. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Palce read from Hrotsvitha's work (some of the humor is still funny today!) and look at her context and legacy.

A history of the ongoing transformation of the Latter Day Saint movement's second largest denomination. Reformers within the Latter Day Saint movement opposed to excesses like polygamy, regrouped under the leadership of Joseph Smith III after the murder of his father and laid the foundations for today's progressive Christian denomination.

Did Jesus appear first to Mary Magdalene alone—or to a group of women? Was it at the tomb, on a road, or behind locked doors? And were the disciples sent to Galilee or told to stay in Jerusalem? The Easter stories in the four gospels don’t agree—and these contradictions raise deep questions about how the resurrection was remembered and recorded. Of the four canonical gospels, three (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) follow roughly the same narrative for Jesus’ ministry and teachings, while the fourth (John) tells a rather different story. However, when all four gospels get to the passion narrative, there is considerably more overlap in events between the three synoptics and John. Nevertheless, each account is unique and each evangelist provides different (sometimes conflicting) details. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline the differences in the Easter stories both among the four gospels and also in accounts from “lost gospels” that were not included in the New Testament.

In John’s gospel, Jesus dies before the Passover meal; in Mark, it happens after. Judas ends his life by hanging in Matthew, but falls and bursts open in Acts. Only Mark includes a mysterious young man who runs away naked during the arrest. The Passion narratives in the New Testament offer conflicting details about the final days of Jesus—from the timing of events, to who was present, to what was said and done. In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores contradictions across the four canonical gospels and considers alternative perspectives found in early Christian texts like the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel of Judas, and the Gospel of Mary. These differences reveal how early communities shaped the story of Jesus’ suffering, death, and burial.

The 2003 mystery novel and 2006 thriller of the same name have popularized the idea that Mary Magdalene was actually Jesus' wife and is pictured sitting next to Jesus in Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting of the Last Supper. John Hamer of Centre Place looks at what history can tell us about the historical Mary Magdalene, Jesus, and John the Beloved (the male apostle in da Vinci's painting). He also identifies the real "codes" or symbols embedded in Christian iconography and how the Da Vinci Code gets the theology of Gnostic and Orthodox Christianity backwards.

Why do the months have different lengths and why is a week seven days long? Why do Ramadan and Easter move around? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place takes a look at the Roman origins of our own calendar and compares it with systems developed by peoples as diverse as the Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, and Mayans.

Pharaoh Akhenaten promoted the exclusive worship of the Aten in ancient Egypt, rejecting all other gods centuries before monotheism developed in Israel. Was monotheism first invented during the Amarna period?

Jesus of Nazareth was hardly the only person in the ancient world who was said to be son of God (or a god), to perform miracles, and to have ascended into heaven. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the lives figures including Apollonius of Tyana, Alexander of Abonoteichus, Pythagoras, and others and consider the implications for how the earliest Christians may have understood Jesus as divine.

Although the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Pentateuch or Torah) are traditionally attributed to Moses, they were actually written centuries after the character of Moses is said to have lived. Since the 19th century, Biblical scholars have identified distinct authorial voices within the text, which they have worked to identify to determine who wrote each portion and how they came together. In the early 20th century, a consensus emerged around the “Documentary Hypothesis” — which posits that ancient redactors (or editors) combined together multiple distinct texts to create the Torah. However, by the end of the 20th century, the consensus began to break down as new scholarship proposed an alternate model: a core text supplemented by a series of writers who expanded the original, the “Supplementary Hypothesis.” John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will lay out the arguments for and against the Documentary and Supplementary Hypotheses for the Torah’s origins.

Are some sins unforgivable? In the late stages of the pagan Roman Empire, Christians were often persecuted for failing to support the state religion. However, after being arrested, most Christians at any time could escape punishment by performing a brief pagan ritual, offering incense to the genius of the emperors. Many took this option and were released. Others refused and were thrown to the lions. After the persecutions ended, the Christians whose family members and leaders had been martyred, refused to forgive those who had conveniently renounced their faith. In North Africa, the issue led to a substantial division in the church, where the purist party, the Donatists, refused to recognize sacraments performed by priests and bishops who had failed the faith. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at this history of this ancient version of “cancel culture,” including its institutional and theological implications for Christians today.

The Bible is not a single book speaking with a single voice. It is a library of books with different voices, with perspectives that are often in conflict. The Book of Ecclesiastes is a particularly interesting example. Like the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes is part of the Hebrew Wisdom tradition; and while both books are attributed to King Solomon, neither was actually written by him. The perspective of Ecclesiastes is highly philosophical, rejecting most human concerns (including much of traditional religion) as meaningless “vanity”: “Vanity of vanities, all is futile!” he declares. Ecclesiastes rejects the idea of afterlife, and instead suggests that human beings should focus on simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in their work. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the date, authorship, and perspective of Ecclesiastes, as it compares and contrasts with the rest of the Biblical tradition.

The Epic of Gilgamesh pre-dates the book of Genesis by thousands of years. In this early Toronto Centre Place lecture, John Hamer looks at the many ways themes from the ancient Sumerian epic are echoed in the later Biblical account.

In this early Centre Place lecture, John Hamer looks back at the history of England's queens regnant to consider interplay between gender roles and leadership. Mathilda almost became England's first reigning queen. When King Henry I's heir, William Adelin, died in the White Ship disaster, the English nobility swore oaths in support of Henry's daughter Mathilda as heiress. (Mathilda was widow of a Holy Roman Emperor and was known to contemporaries as "the Empress Mathilda.") Upon Henry's death, most of the English nobles preferred to forget their oaths and instead recognized Henry's nephew Stephen as king, plunging the realm into civil war. John Hamer looks at the steep hurdles Mathilda faced attempting to exercise authority over men in the Middle Ages and considers the extent to which these same gender biases continue to the present day.

Is pleasure good? Shouldn't pain be avoided? We'll explore the ancient Greek philosophy of Epicurus, caricatured in antiquity and today as “eat, drink, and be merry.” Following up on our lectures on the Greco-Roman moral philosophy — Platonism, Stoicism, Cynicism — we'll consider the great rival of these more accepted schools: Epicureanism. Epicureans were connected with atomist theory and atheism, both of which were reviled in antiquity but have been revived and reconsidered in modern times. We'll sweep past some modern misconceptions and take a deeper look at the teachings of Epicurus and his successors.

Brian Carwana, director of the Encounter World Religions Centre, presents on the history of Evangelical Christianity within the context of modernity, showing that despite its anti-liberal character, the movement has evolved to thrive in the context of modernity.

Don’t Read the Bible If You Don’t Know This

The Republic is one of the most influential works of philosophy and political theory. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at the ideal state Plato outlines in its context and consider its ongoing relevance for understanding society and individuals today.

At the earliest stages of Christianity, the community was remarkable in the ancient world for the prominence of women in the movement, including in positions of leadership. New Testament texts have women acting as apostles and prophets — the two most important roles in the movement’s first generations. Extrabiblical sources confirmed that women served in the important position of “deacon” in the first and second centuries. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the evidence for women in leadership in early Christianity and how these roles were phased out as leadership passed to a hierarchy of bishops drawn from an all-male priesthood.

The Worldwide Church of God preached that Anglo-Saxons were the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel and the Book of Mormon claims that the First Nations peoples of North America are descended from those same lost tribes. The Dowieites of Zion City, Illinois, taught that the world is flat. What happens when religions have falsifiable truth claims and discover they are false?

The 3rd millennium BCE Levantine civilizations that rivaled the greatness of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Historians have long considered the Levant, also known as Syria-Palestine, a land bridge connecting the older and more important civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. We'll look at the recent archaeological finds which suggest the inhabitants of this region ---known as Natufians--- developed pre-neolithic permanent settlements that may be the earliest in the world. Overtime, these sites grew into great cities at the centre of great civilizations, most notably Ebla, considered by some the first recorded world power, and its rival Mari.

How did a Jewish movement led by a Jewish man with only Jewish followers quite quickly become a movement of non-Jews? In this lecture, Brian Carwana, director of the Encounter World Religions Centre, will show us how this transition in early Christianity is unique when we compare it to other religions. We will look at who Jesus was, and we will explore how and why the shift from Jerusalem to Rome occurred and how this transformation has shaped what Christianity is today.

The Roman Empire a military, political, economic, social, and spiritual crisis in the 3rd century, which led to significant transformations (which historians mark as the end of the Classical period and the transition to Late Antiquity). Although many had earlier roots, mystery religions flourished in Late Antiquity. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review various cults including the mysteries of Eleusis, Samothrace, Mithras, and Isis. Should Christianity be considered a mystery religion and/or did it absorb practices from its ancient rivals?

Stoicism was perhaps the most popular school of Greek philosophy in the Roman Empire, as exemplified by Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who lived his life as an actual Stoic philosopher-king. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at the ethics and world-view of the Stoics and consider Stoicisms' value for individuals and its possible impact on later Roman society, as well as the degree to which Stoic virtues continue to be admired today.

Socrates, his student Plato, and Plato's student Aristotle are often credited with founding Western philosophy. Nevertheless, even great thinkers do not emerge ex nihilo, but rather are born into an existing context and paradigm that the build from, respond to, and react against. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at the Pre-Socratic philosophers and how their ideas created the ground from which Socrates' own thought emerged.

Roman, Germanic, Celtic, and Norse paganism was deeply rooted in European customs, including holiday festivals. In honor of Halloween we're considering how our present-day customs echo practices in the Medieval Celtic holiday of Samhain. On Tuesday, October 30 2018 at 7:30PM EDT, our history, philosophy, & theology group explored the pagan legacies that were Christianized and ultimately secularized to form our contemporary calendar of holidays in North America.

"Here there be dragons": We'll look at how Medieval Christians understood their world from the maps they drew of it. Modern myth holds that people in the so-called "Dark Ages" believed the world was flat until Columbus proved otherwise. We'll learn about the actual Medieval worldview from a survey of dozens of Medieval maps.

Although Judaism is a monotheist religion, the Biblical book of Proverbs contains a long speech by a divine being who identifies herself as “Wisdom.” Wisdom states that “the Lord brought me forth as the first of his works” and that as he was engaging in the world’s creation, “I was constantly at his side” (Proverbs 8:22-30). In addition, the first century CE Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria identified God’s “Word” (Logos) as a separate hypostasis of God. These and other ideas about the nature of God were part of the immediate context with which early Christians understood the relationship between the ineffable Creator, God the Father, and his “only begotten Son,” Jesus Christ. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look that the understanding of divine beings like Holy Wisdom and God’s Logos within the context of Second Temple Judaism generally and will track specific ideas about these figures among the diverse factions of early Christians, including the Gnostics, Ebionites, and Proto-Orthodox communities.

A look of what the Bible does and doesn’t have to say about homosexuality. In contrast to the claims of many Evangelical Christians, the component texts of the Bible do not condemn same-sex orientation. John Hamer, Pastor of the Community of Christ Toronto Congregation looks at how verses from Sodom and Gomorrah to Leviticus to Paul are routinely misread. This lecture is part of a series of events celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month 2021.

Dumuzi descends to the underworld, Baal is struck down by Mot, Osiris is dismembered, and Persephone is kidnapped by Hades—each myth cycles through death and return tied to the rhythms of nature. The Easter tradition shares this symbolic landscape, yet it also departs from it in key ways. In this lecture, Leandro Palacios of Toronto Centre Place examines how the Passion and Resurrection accounts of Jesus draw on ancient motifs of dying and rising gods, while reinterpreting them within a new theological and historical framework. We will also consider why modern scholars have questioned the old category of “dying and rising gods” and how the Easter proclamation offered something distinct that resonated with early Christian communities.

In its first three centuries, Christianity spread rapidly, but at the time of Constantine’s conversion, less than 10% of the population of the Roman Empire was Christian. Three centuries later, the overwhelming majority of the Roman and post-Roman world were Christian, and adherents of the old gods (paganism) had declined to 10% or less of the population. Imperial patronage clearly changed Western history decisively. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the life of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome, and the many ways his conversion changed the Roman Empire and transformed his adopted religion, Christianity.

Justinian I, who reigned in Constantinople from 527 to 565, was probably the last Roman Emperor to natively speak Latin. He is remembered as one of the greatest emperors in history, who constructed Hagia Sophia and codified Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis, which became one of the most influential documents in the foundation of the Western legal tradition today. Leading the Eastern Empire in the century after the West had fallen to Germanic invaders, Justinian’s most famous legacy was his attempt to restore the glory of the Roman Empire by conquering the lost Western provinces. His generals successfully destroyed the Vandal and Ostrogothic kingdoms, reclaiming North Africa and Italy for Constantinople. But the wars were especially devastating to Italy, which returned to Roman rule not as part of its rich core, but as a poor frontier province. Ironically, much of the way of life for Romans in Italy that had been preserved under the rule of the Ostrogoths was now destroyed by Justinian. And this great cost for Rome and Italy was accompanied by no lasting gain for Constantinople, which needed to recall its troops for wars in the East, leaving the Romans in Italy to deal with a new Germanic invader, the Lombards, on their own. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the ideas of identity, continuity, and innovation in the context of the post-Roman transition in Late Antiquity, to consider whether Justinian actually destroyed Rome while trying to save it.

From world maps where Greenland appears larger than Africa to historical maps that show European claims to the world but leave off its actual indigenous occupants, to Google Earth which shows different political boundaries to different users depending on what country they're in, maps distort our picture of the world around us. In this presentation from Toronto Centre Place, John Hamer looks at how maps convey different worldviews both accidentally and deliberately.

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time and many people, including Christians, imagine that its authors were writing with a single voice with the final canon in mind. But, of course, the Bible is actually a library of texts written in different languages over the course of centuries, that reflect the diverse contexts of its authors, most of whom never imagined that their individual book would eventually be part of a “Bible.” While it’s often assumed that the final canon was approved at the Council of Nicaea, this is not the case. In fact, canonization was a slow and haphazard process, which resulted in different lists for different branches of Christianity (Catholic, Protestant/Anglican, Orthodox, and others). John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at criteria used to create the canon and the historical development of the Bible.

Did Zoroastrianism shape the way we think about good and evil, the afterlife, and the end of the world? How much of modern Judaism and Christianity can be traced back to this tradition? The reforms of the ancient Iranian religion by the prophet Zarathustra led to the foundation of Zoroastrianism, which many religious studies scholars identify as the first “world religion.” Zarathustra focused the faith on the worship of the supreme God known in the Avestan language as Ahura Mazda (“Lord Wisdom”). Ahura Mazda is nevertheless opposed by a cosmic devil named Angra Mainyu (“Evil Spirit”), which accounts for the existence of evil in the world. This struggle is predicted to continue until the end of the world, when a savior will appear, resurrect the dead for final judgment, and establish a new world where evil has no place. While ideas like a cosmic devil, resurrection of the dead, the Apocalypse, final judgment, and an afterlife in heaven and hell were absent in Judaism in the First Temple Period, they became central to many sects of Judaism in the Second Temple Period—after the Persian conquest of Babylon allowed the Judean exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple under Persian rule. Nevertheless, dating Zoroastrian practices remains difficult due to limitations in historical sources. In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place surveys the available evidence to assess the extent to which Zoroastrian beliefs and practices influenced the development of Jewish and Christian traditions.

Have you ever heard that Joseph was an elderly widower, and that Jesus’ siblings were actually half-brothers and sisters that were children of Joseph and his first wife? Did you know that Mary’s parents’ names were Joachim and Anna? Have you seen pictures of the nativity taking place at a stable housed inside a cave? Have you heard that after Mary gave birth to Jesus, her midwife affirmed that she was still a virgin? None of these details is in the Bible, which gives us two different (and contradictory) nativity stories in Matthew and Luke’s gospels. Instead significant sources of Christian tradition regarding Jesus’ birth along with the life of his mother Mary come from a pseudepigraphic text that ancient Christians excluded from the New Testament. During this Christmas season, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look that this non-canonical gospel, usually known as the “Protoevangelium of James” (or Pseudo-James), its contents, authorship, and influence.

Does your argument make sense? We'll map out common errors like “post hoc ergo propter hoc.” "Truth isn't truth!" Rudy Giuliani recently asserted in defense of his client Donald Trump. In an era when so many people are insisting the anything they believe or say is just as valid as anything anyone else might say, society sometimes seems to have lost track of basic rules of logic. Our presentation tonight will offer a refresher course, mapping out common logical errors from the law of non-contradiction (which Giuliani lost track of) to old favorites like “post hoc ergo propter hoc.”

Of the books left out of the Bible, the First Book of Enoch is among the most fascinating. Purporting to tell the story of Noah’s great-grandfather — the antediluvian patriarch that God took up into heaven — the text includes elaborate visions of the celestial realms and angelic hierarchies. In a past lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looked at 1st Enoch’s context, including its acceptance within the canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In this lecture, we dive deep into text, investigating its obscure and esoteric content.

Early Christianity included a wide diversity of beliefs on ideas as central as who Christ is and what is Jesus’ relationship with the Father to whom he prayed. Gnostic Christians focused their attention on personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) which they developed through elaborate philosophical mythologies. By the end of the Second Christian Century, bishops of the proto-orthodox establishment, increasingly identified Gnosticism as a deadly “heresy,” which they sought to purge from Christianity. One of the figures leading the fight was Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon from 177 until his death in 202, who wrote a book entitled “Against Heresies” that was largely focused on combating Gnosticism. In a presentation given from Lyon, France, John Hamer will look at the history and beliefs of the ancient Gnostics and consider why attacks by leaders like Irenaeus proved so effective.

The rise of atheism in modern Western societies is often treated as a rejection of religion—but what if this cultural trend is more accurately understood as part of Protestantism itself? In this live lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores how Protestant reforms—especially the rejection of Catholic tradition, the doctrine of sola scriptura, the emphasis on rational inquiry, and the rise of literalist interpretations of scripture—created fertile ground for natural religion and Enlightenment-era deism, and ultimately for an ethical framework devoid of spiritual or supernatural elements. We will also consider how modern atheism continues to engage in dialogue with Evangelicalism—another modern expression of Protestantism—echoing the way theologically opposing movements have remained in conversation throughout Christian history.

Live video will start a few minutes before the hour listed for this event. Please note you may have to refresh the page several times until the live video appears. Like and follow our page to get notified when we go live. Zoom discussion will follow (please ask for link) All serious scholars agree that there was a historical Jesus who was executed by the Romans in the early 1st century AD. The canonical gospels give a detailed account of Jesus’ final week, from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to overturning the money-changer’s tables, his celebration of the last supper, his betrayal by Judas, his trial, and his crucifixion. But how much of these accounts are historical? What if there were evidence that most of the story is myth? Your support makes these lectures possible. You can make a small tax deductible contribution (US and Canada) today at www.centreplace.ca. Thank you!

The Rise and Fall of the Ostrogoths - Gothic barbarians took over Rome after the Empire’s fall. The story of what happened next. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogoths ruled a “barbarian” kingdom of Italy from 493 to 553, when their kingdom was conquered by the Byzantine Eastern Roman Empire. We’ll look at the continuity of the Roman state under the Ostrogoths and ask whether their fall wasn’t the true end of the Western Empire.

In this live lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place examines how the Bible has been misread, mistranslated, and weaponized—often in direct contradiction to its original intent. We'll explore the real meaning behind the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, take a closer look at Leviticus and Paul, and highlight biblical stories that suggest deep, loving same-sex relationships, including David and Jonathan, Ruth and Naomi, and Jesus and the Beloved Disciple.

The historical Jesus and his disciples were all Jewish. In his lifetime and for decades after, the followers of Jesus did not see themselves as part of a religion separate from Judaism, at most they were a sect within Judaism, like other contemporary sects including the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots. That changed in the second half of the 1st century, as individuals and communities who continued to testify of Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, were expelled from synagogues. The groups, now calling themselves “Christians,” began to emerge as a new religion, which sought to separate itself from their former co-religionists. The New Testament’s gospels, written toward the end of the 1st century reflect this historical context (and not the context of Jesus’ lifetime). This is especially true in the Gospel of John where Jesus speaks of “the Jews” as if they were a separate group that he is not a part of. Unfortunately, the negative portrayal of Jews in the Gospel of John has informed attitudes among some Christians to this day, serving as a precedent for and a cause of Antisemitism. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the portrayal of Jews in the Gospel of John and its unfortunate legacies.

The rise and fall of a prophet-king and its Mormon kingdom on Lake Michigan. After the death of Joseph Smith, James Strang emerged to claim his mantle as a new Mormon prophet. We'll review the fascinating history of James Strang and the short-lived Mormon Kingdom on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. Although initially a serious threat to Brigham Young, today only a single congregation of Strangite Mormons remain.

The Cynics were an ancient Greek philosophical school that rejected property and all social conventions to proclaim the pursuit of virtue in accordance with a simple and idealistic way of life. Popularized by Diogenes (c. 412-323 BC), by the first century AD the practice had spread, and cynic philosophers were a common sight in cities across the Greco-Roman world. Several scholars of the historical Jesus have noted similarities between Jesus’ philosophy and movement and that of contemporary cynics. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the case they make as he compares ancient cynicism with the pre-Christian Jesus movement.

Between 1946 and 1956, a remarkable set of ancient scrolls was found buried in caves at Qumran, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank of Palestine. These scrolls proved to be the remains of the library of a Jewish community of the Second Temple Period, which most scholars identify with the sect of the Essenes. In addition to providing scholars access to the oldest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, the scrolls included texts relating to the Essene community, including their apocalyptic beliefs as they anticipated the world’s end and their expectations of the Messiah. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will survey what the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us about the Essenes, and consider their relationship with the followers of Jesus and John the Baptist.

The authors of Matthew and Luke seem to have composed their gospels independently, using a text that compiled sayings of Jesus — a lost gospel scholars have dubbed “Q”. If Q existed, it was among the earliest gospels and potentially gives us our best glimpse of the historical Jesus and the movement he led. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at what we can learn about the community that produced Q from the reconstructed text of the lost sayings gospel.

Jesus and his original followers were Jews, but because the first Christians quickly went into schism with their former co-religionists, Jesus’ Jewish roots have often been obscured. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the historical Jesus and the earliest Christian groups within the context of Second Temple Judaism and contemporary Jewish sects, teachings, and practices.

Joseph Smith III, termed a "pragmatic prophet" by biographer Roger D. Launius, led the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for 64 years, promoting "moderate Mormonism." While adopting a balanced approach on most issues, his unwavering stance denying his father's initiation of polygamy deviated from this pragmatism. Despite ample evidence from various sources, Joseph III chose to protect his father's reputation over addressing the concerns of the Latter Day Saint community. This lecture explores Joseph III's tenure, his missions to Utah, and the ongoing ramifications of his stance on polygamy for Community of Christ.

There is a consensus among historians that Joseph Smith Jr, the founder of the Latter-Day Saint movement was a practitioner of polygamy. Joseph Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III, the prophet of the Reorganization, held out hope that his father may have been innocent — a hope that was incorrectly taken as fact by his own sons, the subsequent prophets of the RLDS Church. While these leaders testified in good faith, the evidence shows that they were incorrect. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will lay out the evidence to show why historians universally agree that Joseph Smith Jr was a polygamist.

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (commonly called “Mormonism”), began his career as a teenage treasure seer. By peering with his spiritual eyes into a seer stone, Joseph led digging companies on quests to unearth buried treasure. The gifts he claimed evolved as he announced that a spirit had shown him where a book engraved on gold plates was buried. Using the same process of looking into the seer stones, Joseph dictated the words of what became known as the Book of Mormon. He also used the stones to channel what he claimed was direct revelation from God as he transitioned into the role of religious seer and prophet. In this new lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will cut through the mythic portrayal of Joseph Smith to try to understand him in his historical context. Given that literary criticism has shown the Book of Mormon is a 19th Century document and is not the ancient history Smith claimed, must it necessarily follow that both were conscious frauds? How is the text still understood as scripture in Community of Christ, the second largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement?

Just a view months before his death, Joseph Smith announced: “God Himself who sits enthroned in yonder heavens is a Man like unto one of yourselves — that is the great secret!” Fifteen years earlier, when dictating the Book of Mormon, Smith had espoused a trinitarian view of God. Likewise Smith’s earliest account of his “First Vision” of Christ fit into a kind of “Born Again” experience common to contemporary Christian revivals. The later version of the story that describes “two distinct personages,” reflects Smith’s later theological speculation, which seems to reject Western monotheism itself. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at Smith’s Nauvoo-era redefinition of God and its theological implications.

We examine archaeological and historiographical evidence to understand why the biblical tradition preserves these two conflicting accounts. What really happened at Jericho? What is the significance of the ritual in Joshua that brings down the walls? And why did this story matter to ancient Israel?

Magna Carta, the great charter issued by King John of England in 1215, is often cited as a core, foundational document of modern democracy. By contrast, King John who is regarded as one of England's worst kings (there has never been a John II) had no intention whatsoever of making monarchy constitutional. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at what King John and his nobles thought they were signing up for with Magna Carta.

We'll look at the peculiar history of the Latter Day Saint movement from its foundation through 1860. We'll look at the early history of this quintessentially American religion, founded in 1830 evolved rapidly as church members attempted to build a New Jerusalem, only to be driven from multiple settlements by irate neighbors.

As many as 200 million people died 700 years ago in the worst pandemic in history. What were the causes and consequences? Seven centuries ago, the world faced its greatest pandemic. Up to 200 million people died in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe in the middle of the 14th Century. Between 30% and 60% of Europe’s population perished. It took two centuries for the global population to recover to pre-plague levels. What caused the Black Death? What happens to society when so many people die? What was the effect on those who survived? What are the lessons of the Black Death?

Simeon Stylites spent 37 years of his life on top of a pillar near the city of Aleppo, Syria, during the 5th century AD. In a lecture from 2017, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at why anyone would do such a thing in its historical context. What was the appeal of the extreme ascetic life and how did it yield the impressive "spiritual power" that allowed Simeon and his fellow ascetics to overturn and destroy reverence for the old pagan gods, whose traditions and shrines had existed for centuries and millennia?

Written sometime between the mid-1st century and early 2nd-century AD, the Didache (or “Teachings of the Twelve Apostles”) is one of the most important early Christian writings to have been left out of the New Testament Canon. The text includes some of the earliest practical rules for the emerging institution of the church but describes a decidedly primitive stage in Christian development. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the text and consider the community that produced it. Why was it left out of the Bible and does it have anything to teach Christians today?

As early Christians were deciding which books belonged in the New Testament of the Bible, a long, enigmatic text called “The Shepherd of Hermas,” was on many of their lists. The text is included in the Codex Sinaiticus (one of the most important early Bible manuscripts) and Irenaeus considered it to be scripture. Dating from the beginning of the Second Century, the text was written in Rome and includes a series of visions granted to Hermas, a former slave and brother of Pope Pius I, followed by a list of twelve commandments, and a series of ten parables. The text appears pre-Trinitarian and may reflect a Binitarian or Adoptionist Christology. Moreover, the author seems to argue that Christians should follow Jewish law, that works and faith are both necessary for salvation, and may be our earliest source for the idea of “the Rapture” in Christianity. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline this fascinating lost book of the Bible and what it adds to our understanding of the diversity among early Christians.

All modern Christian sects are descended from the early "proto-Orthodox" Christians who successfully defined their doctrines and practices as correct. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place reviews the many early Christianities that lost out, including Jewish Christians who argued for the continued relevance of Mosaic Law and Gnostic Christians who rejected the Hebrew Bible altogether.

Although the Apostle Paul argued that Christians were not required to follow the law of Moses (including circumcision and keeping kosher). However, many Christian contemporaries disagreed and groups that continued to follow Mosaic law survived for many centuries. Although their scriptures have been lost, many fragments remain. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will survey what we can know about the lost gospels of the Hebrews, the Ebionites, and the Nazoreans.

Many more scripture-like books were left out of the New Testament than made it in. We'll explore why. The New Testament contains a hodge-podge of 27 books by different authors: gospels, letters, a book of acts, and an apocalypse. Why did these texts make it into the canon and what texts were left out?

The Testaments of Three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (the sons of Israel), the Testaments of Moses, of Solomon, and of Adam are among the many ancient texts that were left out of the Bible. Although written by different authors in different languages over many centuries, these texts share some common traits, usually taking the form of the final words of the ancient patriarch prior to his death. In reviewing these texts, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will consider who wrote them and when, what information they contain, why testaments were a popular form, and why they were left out of the canon.

Charting 2,000 Years of Division between Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and other Christians. There are some 2.5 billion Christians in the world, but they are divided into tens of thousands of individual denominations. What's the history behind this division? What sets Catholics off from the Orthodox, Anglicans, Protestants, and others?

Although the Book of Genesis is generally thought of as the time of the patriarchs, in many stories it is the Biblical matriarchs who win the day. Certainly, Rebekah pulls the wool over her husband Isaac’s eyes to make sure that his blessing would pass to her favorite son Jacob over Isaac’s favorite, Esau. Similarly, Eve is far more active than Adam, Sarah laughs at God, Rachel saves Jacob from her father’s wrath, Tamar outwits Judah, Hagar is visited by an angel, and in less edifying examples, Lot’s daughters have their way with him and Potiphar’s wife gets her revenge on Joseph. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place reviews the strong female characters in the Book of Genesis and their implications.

Given that it's not an actual history of the ancient Americas, what can the Book of Mormon teach today? While the Book of Mormon contains no information about the actual history of the ancient Americas, the text speaks volumes about its actual context: the aspirations and worries of Christian Americans at the beginning of the United States’ experiment with constitutional democracy. We’ll look at what the text said to its first readers along with its potential meaning for readers in the 21st century.

Medieval Science and Sorcery - Back before there was a difference between astrology and astronomy or alchemy and chemistry, Medieval science looked significantly different than its Modern-day heir. We’ll look at the philosophical underpinnings that Medieval thinkers inherited from Antiquity and how their ideas about the natural world worked systematically.

Although James Strang is perhaps the Mormon who is most famous for crowning himself king, he did so in emulation of Joseph Smith Jr, who restored "the kingdom of God on earth" in his final year and was anointed its king in a secret ceremony of the Council of Fifty. John Hamer will look at the evolution of the prophetic monarchy as it has continued in the two largest sects of the Restoration: the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Missouri-based Community of Christ and consider the future of both institutions.

The coronation of Charles III, King of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth Realms, has reminded people around the world of the ancient institution of monarchy. Why do some of the world’s leading democracies continue to have monarchs? What separates democracy from autocracy, monarchy from republic, and monarchs from dictators? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at monarchies past and present to answer these questions and more.

As Confederate statues are removed across the US, we will look at the history of monuments in public spaces. Although social media memes argue that removing statues “erases history,” historians point out that Confederate monuments are actually a willful distortion of history that promote a myth known as “the Lost Cause.” We’ll look at the actual history of Confederate monuments and consider them in the context of public monuments in general.

Exploring Muslim sources in order to understand how Islam experienced the Crusades. Can we reconstruct a less biased, more accurate picture of these "holy wars"? Can we learn lessons we can apply in 21st century world?

Encounter World Religions Centre presented "Mysticism of the Sufis" at Toronto Centre Place on April 17, 2018. Brian Carwana explored the rich traditions of Sufi mysticism. From the famous whirling dervishes to poets and ascetics, Sufism cuts across Muslim sectarian divides and provides an important, inward dimension for the religion, which receives little notice outside the movement.

Christianity began as a small Jewish sect among the common people in the Galilean countryside. The religion’s first writers lacked the education and sophistication of contemporary thinkers in the much larger pagan Greco-Roman world. Around the year 170, the pagan philosopher Celsus wrote a devastating polemic against Christianity. For 70 years, Christians were silent in response, in part, as a strategy (hoping Celsus’ book would be forgotten), but also because they lacked a theologian with sufficient training to respond. That changed with the coming of Origen of Alexandria, arguably Christianity’s first native genius. Having composed Christianity’s first systematic theology in the 220s, Origen went on to write a point-by-point rebuttal of Celsus in 248. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at Origen’s background, life, thought, and influence, including his posthumous condemnation as a heretic.

How did the religion of the "Prince of Peace" triumph over the warrior gods of Asgard and Valhalla? Beginning in the 8th century AD, pagan Norsemen plundered the monasteries of the Frankish and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. How could warrior gods like Thor and Odin lose out to Jesus?

The prophets of ancient Israel often condemn their own people, kings, and queens for worshiping gods other than Yahweh, even at the Jerusalem temple. We will look at indications in the Old Testament that the dominant religion of the elites and commoners was predominantly pagan during the First Temple Period. Bible commentators continue to struggle to make sense of passages of the Hebrew Bible that don't seem to fit within the context of monotheism. We will set aside 3 unfounded assumptions: Pre-exhilic Israel was a monotheistic society, Ancient Israelites and Canaanites were different peoples, polytheism in Ancient Israel was the product of Syncretism. We will then analyze this material hoping to defog our understanding of the evolution of the concepts of divinity and humanity in Western Society.

The pandemics among indigenous Americans after the Columbian exchange were among the most devastating in human history. We'll look at the Western Hemisphere in 1491; why indigenous Americans were so susceptible to Old World diseases. How the pandemics changed all of history and consider lingering effects today.

Pope Francis, the Bishop of Rome, is today the unchallenged, supreme head of the Catholic Church, which includes about 1.3 billion baptized adherents, which is about half of the world’s Christians. But while Francis and his predecessors claim an unbroken line extending all the way back to St. Peter, Jesus’ leading apostle, the bishops of Rome have not always enjoyed unchallenged control of Christendom. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore the development of the institution of the Papacy, how the bishops of Rome extended their authority over their fellow bishops through ideology and political savvy, and how the Papacy ultimately defeated alternatives heads of the church: Emperors, ecumenical councils, and ultimately the political leaders of modern nation states.

At the end of the 12th century, a wealthy merchant named Peter Waldo from the city of Lyon in the Kingdom of Burgundy, commissioned local monks to translate the Bible into the vernacular Franco-Provencal language --- the first time the Bible had been translated from Latin into a common tongue spoken in the West. Waldo became fascinated with the ideas of purity and perfection and decided to follow the example of Jesus by selling his possessions to give to the poor. He then travelled around the countryside begging and preaching about the value of poverty. By 1170, Waldo had gathered a large following that became known as the “Poor of Lyon.” Waldo’s focus on Biblical examples put him at odds with ecclesiastical tradition. Waldo rejected doctrines including transubstantiation and purgatory as non-Biblical and promoted a universal priesthood instead of specialized clergy. The church reacted by condemning Waldo’s ideas at church councils, and when he refused to recant, he was excommunicated and declared a heretic. In a lecture presented from Lyon, which is now in the Republic of France, John Hamer of Centre Place will look at the life of Peter Waldo in context, and consider the Waldensians as a precursor of the later Protestant Reformation.

Philo of Alexandria was a Hellenistic Jewish theologian and a contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth. Building on the works of Heraclitus and Plato, Philo interpreted the Bible allegorically and proposed that God’s Word (“Logos” in Greek) existed as an independent being—the demiurge. His writings share much in common with the Gospel of John’s portrayal of the Messiah or Christ as the Logos, an idea that prefigured the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. Philo’s Alexandria—home to the great Museum and Library—was the center of Hellenistic philosophy in the Greco-Roman world. The city housed a large Jewish diaspora community, where the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, and Hellenism and Judaism were synthesized. In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place examines the works of Philo of Alexandria in the broader context of Alexandria’s history, the Jewish diaspora, and the Greek philosophical developments of his time, as well as his possible influence on early Christianity.

How compatible is the Hebrew Bible with Greek philosophy? As interpreted by the 1st century CE Jewish Egyptian author Philo of Alexandria, the two are one and the same. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at how Philo recast Moses as a philosopher king work how his allegorical interpretations presaged and influenced later Christian understandings of scripture.

Many Christians view the Bible as the source of their religion. But to interpret any text, it has always been necessary to have an intellectual framework. While Christianity was founded many centuries after Plato, Christian thinkers built upon Plato and Neoplatonism to craft their theology.

In recounting his version of the story of Jesus’ birth, the author of the gospel of Matthew tells readers “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.” But how well do the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke align with prophecies about the coming Messiah in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament)? In this live streamed lecture John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline the prophecies cited by the evangelists and the insight they give into the creative and non-literalistic way the earliest Christians understood scripture. A Q&A will follow the lecture. Participants are encouraged to ask questions about this topic on the live chat. Tuesday, December 14, at 7 pm EST.

Can philosophy or theology prove that God exists? Anselm of Bec, a leading Medieval thinker believed he could Can philosophy or theology prove that God exists? Anselm of Bec, a leading Medieval thinker believed he could using what's known as the "ontological argument." We'll examine the ontological argument and look at its critiques contemporary and present-day.

Among the philosophers who most influenced Medieval Christian theology whose work provided the inspiration for stained glass windows in churches is an ancient thinker who was not the person he pretended to be. Dionysius the Areopagite was a minor character in the Book of Acts. In the 5th century, a Christian Neoplatonist impersonated Dionysius as a way to give his philosophical writings the aura of apostolic authority. He was further confused with the patron saint of Paris, a completely different Dionysius or “Denis,” who had been bishop of Paris in the 3rd century. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will untangle the histories of the different Dionysiuses and explain the scope and influence of Pseudo-Dionysius’ works.

For 2,000 years prior to Copernicus, astronomers believed that the Earth was at the center of a cosmos, surrounded by a series of celestial spheres. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline how the Ptolemaic system worked (and did not work), why it proved so durable, and why the Catholic Church remained invested in the system even after scientists like Galileo began to argue in favor of heliocentrism.

Aristotle is the most influential philosopher in the Western intellectual tradition. Our guest lecturer, Dr. Michael Adam Ferguson of Harvard Medical School unfolds the prescience of Aristotle's genius as illuminated by contemporary neural imaging. Attendees are invited to consider seriously the reanimation of soul by science.

Although the Fourth Gospel of the Christian New Testament is traditionally attributed to John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, the text was actually composed by multiple authors. There is no indication that any of these were named John nor that John is the name of the anonymous “beloved disciple” described in the text. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place examines the evidence that a document that some scholars call the "Signs Gospel" is at the heart of the present-day canonical Gospel of John.

The world’s religions have complex and often troubling relationships with the institution of slavery. Although some Christians fought for abolition of the slave trade based on their faith, others used the Bible to justify keeping other humans as property. The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arose in an era of slave societies. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at their long, complex, and often unfortunate relationships with the institution.

During the Reformation, Martin Luther and Protestant Christians argued that everyone should be able to read the Bible in his or her own language. When they went back to the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament, they realized that the Latin Christian Bible included a number of books that Jews did not consider scripture. The Reformers stripped these books from the canon, calling them the “Apocrypha” or hidden books. We'll take a look at these books that the Reformers hid away and consider why they made it into the early Christian canon and not the Jewish canon.

How did faith healing and reported miracles work in Antiquity and the Middle Ages? Modern Western medicine has become very effective at healing injury and curing illness, but its history of effectiveness is very recent. Previously, those with chronic conditions had little alternative than hope of miracles (and physical magic). John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at the history of belief in miracle healing in Ancient and Medieval times, the role it played in society, and its legacies today.

The Hebrew Bible is made up of books drawn from many competing traditions: the priests with their focus on the Law of Moses, the prophets who felt the call to channel the Divine word directly, and the sages, whose teachings looked to divine Wisdom for authority. Although the traditions were separate when these books were composed in the First and Second Temple Periods of Judaism, bringing them together into the Biblical library has led to a sense that they share the same perspective, when in fact they are often expressing opinions that are diametrically opposed. In this presentation, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will examine the Bible’s Wisdom tradition (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, and other texts) to explore how the sages saw themselves in relation to the priests and prophets in ancient Judea.

Mapping the differences and history of the major expressions of the Latter Day Saint movement. There are over 80 expressions of the Latter Day Saint movement large enough to have at least one viable congregation. All of these trace their origin to Joseph Smith Jr’s original “Church of Christ” organized in 1830. Through original maps, we’ll chart the history and differences between the major branches.

Ron Lafferty was a self-proclaimed prophet and murderer whose story is included in the new TV series “Under the Banner of Heaven.” How does the fundamentalist Mormon church connected to the Lafferty brothers relate to the large Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline and map the history of schism within the Latter-Day Saint Movement, illustrating how the different sects within Mormonism derive from their common point of origin in 1830.

The emergence of Sikhism in 15th Century India as an alternative path to Hinduism & Islam. FREE OPEN LECTURE with Brian Carwana, director of the Encounter World Religions Centre. Let's explore the emergence of Sikhism in 15th Century India as an alternative path to Hinduism & Islam. We'll consider how the new tradition drew from and rejected elements from the two older religions.

In the Biblical story, when Moses returns from Mt Sinai to find the Israelites worshiping a golden calf, he smashes the original tablets of the Ten Commandments. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will smash several misconceptions about these famous legal precepts, beginning with the actual list (there are actually three versions preserved in the Bible) and how they are numbered. The Apostle Paul taught that Christians should not follow Mosaic Law because Christ had fulfilled the Old Covenant and established a New Covenant. Nevertheless, Christian focus on the Ten Commandments continues to provoke confusion about the status of Old Testament law in Christianity.

The Romans believed their ancestor Aeneas fled the doomed city of Troy after the Trojan War. The Emperor Augustus’ great poet Virgil retold the tale in his epic, The Aeneid. What does the myth of Aeneas’ flight say about how the Romans viewed their character and identity and what is their true origin?

The Cynics were an ancient Greek philosophical school that rejected all conventions and proclaimed the pursuit of virtue in accordance with a simple and idealistic way of life. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will also discuss how and when the term "cynic" accrued the negative connotation that it carries today (i.e., disbelief in the sincerity of human motives and actions).

Between 140 and 37 BCE, the Hellenistic kingdoms led by the successors of Alexander the Great declined, a Jewish dynasty known as the Hasmoneans (also sometimes called the Maccabees) led a revolution and successfully ruled an autonomous and later independent Kingdom of Judea from their capital of Jerusalem. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history of the Hasmonean revolt and Kingdom and review how it is portrayed in the Bible by two Apocryphal books, 1st and 2nd Maccabees.

The New Testament’s fourth gospel, attributed to John, differs in themes, tone, theology, and essential details from the other three synoptic gospels. However, many of its themes are found in the Bible’s three epistles of John and the Book of Revelation (which was composed by an author named John). Together these books are called “Johannine literature” because of their association with the name John. While modern scholars have rejected the traditional idea that all these texts were written by the same figure, the historical apostle John, many propose that they emerged out of an early Christian “Johannine community.” John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at what is known about the historical John, survey the Johannine literature, and sketch out what the Johannine community might have looked like.

The fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 587 bce ended the First Temple Period of ancient Israelite religion. The prophet Jeremiah and remnants of the army fled to Egypt, while the royal family and members of the nobility were taken captive in Babylon. That enforced exile continued until the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians in 539 bce and allowed the exiles to return to rebuild Jerusalem (under Persian rule). John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore this period, which saw the beginnings of diaspora Judaism and its many lasting legacies including its impact on the development of the Bible.

Jericho's Wall - From Rubble to Epic: Reading the violent conquest of Canaan described in the Bible not as a historical account but as Ancient Israel's national epic. Combining different traditions, this story gave meaning to the difficult circumstances Israel faced from the last decades before the exile to Babylon to the resettling of the Holy Land under Persian rule.

How was the Bible viewed and used before the invention of the printing press changed history? Five billion copies of the Bible have been printed, making it the best-selling and most influential book of all time. Today the Bible is seen as the backbone of Christian practice. Christians own Bibles and often read and study the text in their own language. And for Protestants, the Bible is the “sole source” of religious authority. But this wasn’t always the case. How did Christians use and view the Bible before the invention of the printing press, when it was read primarily by clerics in languages like Latin that only the educated knew? We’ll explore how the changes of modernity and how Protestant lenses have distorted the way Christians viewed scripture in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Of books included in the canon of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, the Book of Daniel was the last to be written. By putting visions into the words of characters who lived centuries earlier, the book's authors were able to "predict" events that had already occurred in order to give credibility to additional predictions about the immediate future. Will look at the consequences of the inclusion of this kind of literary prophecy for adherents of Abrahamic faiths who have read such predictions literally.

The Book of Daniel is the source of some of the Old Testament’s most lasting prophetic visions: A statue with a head made of gold, breast and arms made of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay that is toppled by a stone cut without hands. A vision of successive beasts that appear from the sea. The vision of one like a “son of man” appearing in the clouds. The book’s protagonist Daniel, a Jewish noble living in exile at the royal court at Babylon in the 6th century bce, interprets the visions to predict the future. These predictions are uncannily accurate up until the year 167 bce, when they suddenly become wildly inaccurate. As scholars have now show, this is because the text was not written by Daniel or anyone who knew him, but by an apocalyptic prophet writing between 167 and 164 bce, whose accurate “predictions” recount events of the past and whose proved a complete failure at predicting the actual future. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the Book of Daniel as a textbook example of what happens in religion when prophecy fails.

“Is this not written in the Book of Jasher?” asks the author of the Biblical Book of Joshua. And in another reference in 2 Samuel, the author assures us that further details are “written in the Book of Jasher.” This intriguing book that pre-dates the Bible has been lost since ancient times. However, the name has inspired numerous forgeries. One such “Book of Jasher” was translated and published in English in 1840. Soon after it made its way to Nauvoo, Illinois, where it was accepted by the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith Jr. The book was reprinted in 1886 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and continues to circulate among Mormons to this day. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will trace the surprising origin of this obscure Book of Jasher.

How could an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent God allow Job to endure unspeakable suffering? The authors of the Book of Job were troubled by the question: Why do the righteous suffer when the wicked prosper? We’ll consider and evaluate their proposed answers.

An ancient expansion and revision of the book of Genesis, the Book of Jubilees divides the world’s primordial mythic history into a series of eras (49 years long each) known as “Jubilees.” Multiple manuscript fragments were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the popular book was viewed as scripture by many ancient Jews and Christians. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the date, authorship, content, and legacy of this lost Bible text.

While the Book of Mormon narrative today seems outlandish, the story was very familiar to Americans in 1830 The central plot of the Book of Mormon –the idea that Native Americans are descendants of ancient Jews who came to the Western Hemisphere– seems bizarre in the 21st century. However, the idea was commonplace when the book was published in 1830. We’ll look at the Book of Mormon’s 19th century context in order to make sense of this book of Latter Day

A look at the portrait of Socrates and the critical stereotype of ancient philosophers presented in Aristophanes' comic masterpiece, The Clouds. First staged in 423 bc in Socrates' own lifetime, the play is regarded as the first extant "comedy of ideas." It's critique of philosophers is scathing and best of all, the play remains funny today.

Did powerful female deities rule prehistoric Greece before the rise of Zeus? Powerful female deities exist in the mythologies of almost every ancient society, including that of Greece. Gaia, Rhea, Demeter, Aphrodite and other powerful Greek goddesses may offer us a window to look into the Divine Feminine before the Iliad and the Odyssey. Are all these goddesses aspects of a forgotten prehistoric motherly deity? Did their prominence decline with the establishment of the patriarchal Zeus-centered Olympian pantheon? We'll look at the evidence for this hypothesis and also consider whether the presence of strong female divinities necessarily equates with social status of women in society.

In this live lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will extract and evaluate the ethical teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as distinct from his overtly religious teachings and the Christian understanding of Jesus as the Christ. While prophets in the Biblical tradition attempted to persuade by invoking divine authority, “thus says the Lord,” Jesus more frequently taught by analogy and example, similar to the methods of contemporary sages and philosophers. As we distill Jesus’ ethics, we will compare them with other ethical systems of the era.

The Bible of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes a number of books not found in the Catholic or Protestant canons. The Book of Enoch was considered scripture to many early Christians and Jews, including the author of the New Testament Book of Jude. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at this interesting apocalypse with its vision of angels and devils and consider its context within the apocalyptic tradition.

Why did paganism lose out to Christianity in ancient Rome and what pagan practices survived? Only a tiny fraction of Romans were Christian when the Emperor Constantine converted. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at why the old religions failed to meet the challenge of the new faith.

Who were the Gnostics? What secret knowledge did they keep? Why did they die out? In Christianity’s first centuries, a powerful challenge to leaders of the emerging orthodoxy came from the Gnostics. “Gnostic” means “having knowledge” and these groups believed they had secret, esoteric information about life’s meaning. What were the secrets kept by the Gnostics and why did their sect eventually die out?

Many religious fundamentalists read the Bible literally, insisting that its stories occurred historically as written. While some take this to the logical extreme forcing them to reject science in favor of alternative theories like young Earth creationism others look for naturalistic explanations to preserve a literalistic historicist reading of the text. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the modern development of these interpretative lenses and will consider how such readings radically distort the original stories and rob them of any meaning.

Noah’s Ark is one of the best known stories of the Bible and many other cultures have flood stories that predate Genesis by centuries and millennia. While some people still read the story literally and imagine it is history, others look for a kernel of historic truth around which these legends grew. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will examine some of these theories and the likelihood that the idea of a universal Flood is entirely mythic.

Many early Christians believed that all matter is evil, and the spirit-realm is good. There was no “sin” just “ignorance”, and the key to eternal life was found through “gnosis” — knowledge that was kept hidden from the masses. We’ll look at their many gospels and other texts that combine ideas Christian, Jewish, and Greek ideas which Orthodox Christians left out of the Bible.

An early Christian group believed that Jesus had revealed secret knowledge about the meaning of life, the nature of God, and the universe. They became known as the Gnostics (meaning "having knowledge.) Gnosticism posed a powerful challenge to what would eventually become Christian orthodoxy. In this lecture, we will explore how the Gnostics imagined Jesus and what set their beliefs apart.

In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores how Mary Magdalene was portrayed by Gnostic and other early Christian communities outside the emerging orthodoxy. In texts like the Gospel of Mary, the Dialogue of the Savior, and the Gospel of Thomas, Mary is depicted as a bearer of secret knowledge and a spiritual interlocutor who challenges the authority of male apostles. These writings reflect alternative theological frameworks in which salvation came through inner revelation rather than institutional authority.

Of all the gospels left out of the New Testament canon, the Gospel of Thomas may be the most important. Some scholars argue that this collection of the sayings of Jesus preserves an independent witness of the historical Jesus. Others believe the text is dependent on the New Testament and contaminated by the ideas of Gnostic Christianity. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place gives an overview of Thomas and compares the text’s sayings with those in the four canonical gospels.

Scholars had long argued that the authors of Matthew and Luke used a lost gospel of Jesus’ sayings known as “Q,” in addition to using Mark’s gospel as a source. One argument against the existence of Q was that no such “sayings gospels” were known. That changed with the rediscovery of the sayings Gospel of Thomas at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945. The Gospel of Thomas, like the hypothetical Q, contains few narrative elements and consists almost entirely of a list of teachings attributed to Jesus. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will compare Thomas and Q to consider overlaps and relationships of the sayings each text preserves.

After the nativity stories in Matthew and Luke, the canonical gospels have precious little to say about the life of Jesus between his birth and the beginning of his public ministry as an adult. The infancy gospel of James and the infancy gospel of Thomas (not to be confused with the more important sayings gospel of Thomas) attempted to fill in some of the details with mixed results. Although both texts were left out of the New Testament, their narratives have had a significant influence on Christian tradition and doctrine and episodes from these apocryphal sources even found their way into the Quran. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review both texts in light of our sources for these “lost years” of Jesus’ life.

The Great Schism: Greek East vs Latin West. A look at the breakdown in the relationship between the churches of Rome and Constantinople, which included petty personality conflicts, diverging political interests, and a few fundamental disagreements. We'll also look at how and why the rift has never been healed despite repeated attempts for the past 1,000 years.

What can we know about the historical apostles? How have historians separated Christian traditions about Jesus’ apostles from the actual historical figures? For example, what actual evidence exists to back up the tradition that Simon Peter eventually moved to Rome where he became the city’s first bishop (and first pope)? What is an “apostle”? If there were only Twelve apostles, why is Paul called an apostle, when he was never one of the Twelve? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the legends and traditions later Christians shared about the apostles and will outline what can be known about the actual historical figures.

What can we know about the historical Jesus of Nazareth? How and why does the life of the historic figure differ from competing (and contradictory) accounts in the New Testament? What can other sources tell us, including non-Christian accounts as well as gospels left out of the canon? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline an overview of what can and cannot be known about the historical Jesus and will talk about the difference between the portrait painted by academic history, the portraits painted by scripture, and the experience of the divine Christ as understood by Christians.

Do we really make choices or our behaviour is predetermined? The debate from antiquity to our days. From the ancient Greeks to the present-day, philosophers have debated whether we have the capacity to freely choose between possible alternatives paths or whether our apparent choices have already been determined long ago by our nature and upbringing. We’ll trace the long history of the debate and outline its present state today.

Every generation has believed that the Book of Revelation is speaking to their times. Why have they all been wrong? We'll look at the long history of failed predictions that the Apocalypse was imminent, from the many precursors to the Book of Revelation to its readers who continue to misinterpret the text to the present day.

A guide for westerners to make sense of the overwhelming visual iconography and rituals of Hinduism. The overwhelming visual iconography and confusing ritual practices of Hinduism defy our expectation that religion is all about Books & Belief. Let's step outside traditional Protestant-biased perspectives and explore Hinduism as a banquet to the eyes served in a thousand forms. Let's consider how spirituality is experienced through a celebration of the visual.

Hell looms large in many Christians' beliefs about the afterlife, but the idea isn't found in the Old Testament. God doesn't warn Adam and Eve that the consequences of sin include confinement to hell. Moses and the prophets don't threaten the children of Israel with hellfire. Why not? Because the idea of hell had not yet been invented or brought into Judaism. We'll look at the origins of the idea.

What is history and how should we approach ancient stories written before its invention? What are the circumstances that led Herodotus and Thucydides to develop the discipline of history in the Western tradition? What made their accounts of events different from previous ancient stories like those found in the Iliad or the Odyssey? Many stories in the Bible and other ancient works may look like history to us, but they were composed before history existed as a discipline. How should modern readers approach these stories and what value, if any, can we find in non-historical narratives?

John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores how modern nationalism contrasts with ancient kin group and homeland traditional identities. He traces the origins of nationalism in the modern era and considers how this ideology — artificially constructed group identity based on language, religion, ethnicity, and race — led to the devastating wars and genocides of the 20th centuries.

Christianity’s rise to become the world’s most populous religion largely hinges on a pivotal moment in history: the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Had Constantine’s imperial heirs not patronized the church, co-opting it as Rome’s state religion, history would have been very different. One last pagan Emperor did attempt to reverse the trend, stripping the church of imperial patronage, while promoting the worship of the old gods: Julian, the nephew of Constantine. In this live lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the reign of Julian (remembered by Christians as “the Apostate”) and the reasons why he failed in his attempt to defeat Christianity.

The “Life of Adam and Eve” is an ancient expansion of the Genesis story after the first man and woman were driven out of Eden. Although the original (likely written in Hebrew) is lost, variations of the text survive in Latin, Greek, Armenian, and Slavonic --- showing its wide popularity. The biblical story of the Fall of the first humans and its effect has intrigued Jews, Christians, and Muslims from Antiquity to the present. Although it was not included in the Bible, the “Life of Adam and Eve” added biographical details and influenced later literary works as diverse as the Quran and Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will give an overview of the text, consider its provenance and date, and look at its role in literature and theology related to the Adam and Eve story.

Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian” is an irreverent, hilarious spoof of the life of Jesus. Nevertheless, in some ways the movie better understands the historical context of Roman-occupied Jerusalem in the 30s AD than some Christian apologetic films. As a light-hearted lecture for our Christmas season, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at what Monty Python got right and wrong about the historical Jesus.

A look at the lost text many scholars believe is our earliest witness of the historical Jesus. Live video will start a few minutes before the hour listed for this event. Please note you may have to refresh the page several times until the live video appears. Like and follow our page to get notified when we go live. Zoom discussion will follow (please ask for link) The content shared between the synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) means that they share a direct literary relationship. The most commonly accepted hypothesis states that Mark was written first and the authors of Matthew and Luke used Mark to write their own accounts. However, for this to be true, they must have also shared an additional gospel, now lost, which scholars call “Q”. What’s the evidence for Q? If it existed, who wrote it and what can it tell us about the historical Jesus?

When the Western Roman Empire fell in the 5th century, war chiefs of various Germanic tribal confederations carved up its territory into successor kingdoms. The kingdoms of the Ostrogoths in Italy and the Vandals in North Africa were subdued a century later by the Eastern Romans, while the Visigoths of Spain fell to the armies of Islam in the early 8th century. By the end of the 8th century, the Franks were the last great surviving power and their king, Charles the Great (Charlemagne) had incorporated most of the remnants of the west from Rome to the North Sea and from Catalonia to Austria into his realm when the pope crowned him Emperor of a revived Western Empire in the year 800. However, Frankish tradition operated differently from Roman law. Rather than passing the imperial to a single successor, Frankish royal families divided their territories among able members of the royal family. When Charlemagne died in 814, his sole surviving son Louis the Pious succeeded to his entire realm, but after Louis died the Empire was partitioned into three parts which were given to his three sons. Charles II “the Bald” was given West Francia --- the realm that would eventually become France. East Francia, which included lands that became Germany, was given to Louis II “the German.” The eldest son, Lothair, inherited the imperial crown and Middle Francia: a string of realms that included Rome and Italy, the Kingdoms of Provence and Burgundy, and the territory between France and Germany (which took their name from Lothar “Lothringia”/ “Lorraine”), including Charlemagne’s capital of Aachen. While the Middle Kingdom was short-lived, the partition changed the course of European history. Broadcasting from the city of Lyon, in the heart of what was once Middle Francia, John Hamer of Centre Place will consider the Middle Kingdom and its legacy.

According to the Bible, as of the 8th century bc, the twelve tribes of Israel were divided into two, unequal kingdoms: the southern Kingdom of Judah, consisting of just two tribes (Judah and Benjamin), and the much more powerful, northern Kingdom of Israel, consisting of ten tribes (Ephraim, Manasseh, Reuben, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and most of Levi). When the northern kingdom was conquered around the year 722 bc by the Assyrian Empire, much of its nobility and propertied classes were deported to the Assyrian heartland, never to return. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history of the so-called “Lost Ten Tribes” as well as many of the claims, legends, and fantasies about their whereabouts today.

In 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by knights of King Henry II of England. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at this famous martyrdom within the broader context of the battle of church vs. state in Medieval England and beyond.

While Muhammed is not considered a true prophet in the Christian religion, Muslims have a very positive view of Jesus. In the Quran, Jesus is described as the Messiah, is miraculously born of a virgin, performs miracles, and calls disciples. But the Muslim picture of Jesus diverges in key ways: he is not crucified or resurrected and he is not considered God incarnate or the Son of God. Instead, he is the penultimate prophet, preceded by John the Baptist and succeeded by Muhammed (God’s ultimate prophet). John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at how Jesus is understood in Islam, connecting the origins of these traditions within early Christianity’s diverse communities.

The Biblical account describes David ruling over a united Israelite kingdom that included not only his native Judah, but also the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel. The Bible further claims that David and his successor Solomon built a vast empire stretching from the Sinai to the Euphrates. Archaeological research since the 20th century has shown that this empire’s capital, Jerusalem, was merely a small hill village at the time these events purportedly occurred. Nevertheless, discoveries like the Tel Dan Stele provide extra-Biblical evidence for the historical existence of a “House of David” dynasty shortly after this period.

The 19th century myth that continues to claim the heritage of pre-Columbian North Americans today. The centuries following the renewed 1492 contact between the world's eastern and western hemispheres were devastating for the indigenous peoples of the Americas whose population was continually decimated by imported diseases for which they lacked immunity. By the early 19th century, so few indigenous people remained that European Americans doubted they could have ever built the massive number of earthworks that covered the North American landscape. Instead they created a myth that the mounds must have been built by a lost civilized race that was ultimately exterminated by the American Indians. The most successful telling of this myth is found in Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon. We will look at how the myth of the mound builders evolved and its continuing consequences.

When Anglo-Saxon poets translated Genesis into the Old Saxon language, the reworked the text to include themes common to warrior epics like Beowulf. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place gives an overview of the text and discusses whether it was the inspiration for John Milton's great English epic, "Paradise Lost."

For centuries people have looked for King Arthur and his knights of the round table in history. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at the origin of the legend, which was an almost instantaneous blockbuster sensation after the publication of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “History of the Kings of Britain” in 1136.

The Papal monarchy is an institution with ancient roots. Presently the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican City State, prior to the Protestant Reformation, the Papacy was previously the head of the entire Western (Latin) church and ruled directly over a much larger Papal State. Prior to the Eastern Orthodox schism, the Papacy often made good its claim to be the head of the entire Christian world — claims with historic precedents dating back to at least the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The Papacy claims roots that go back even further to authority given by the historic Jesus to the historic Peter. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the basis for these claims and the historical evidence for the earliest Christian communities in Rome.

What do decorated trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, mistletoe, and eggnog have do with the birth of Jesus? Nowhere in the Bible is Jesus’ birthday given as December 25th. However, the Romans did celebrate that date, not as the birthday of the Son of God, but as the birthday of their sun god. We’ll look at the pagan origins of common Christmas traditions. The Pagan Roots of Christmas.

Popularized by the Medieval philosopher and theologian William of Occam, the idea that simplest solution is better than more complex explanations (the principle of parsimony) has become an important tool in the scientific method, leading to great advances in the physical sciences. However, the simplest explanation is not always the most accurate explanation in fields like the humanities and history. In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place considers the philosophical basis for Occam's Razor as well as some of its consequences in the development of Western philosophy and theology.

Daoism - Eastern Philosophy Series. Daoism is one of the great philosophical and religious traditions of China. Emphasizing balance, spontaneity, and action without intention, it is often contrasted with the rigid rituals and social order proposed by Confucianism. We'll explore the philosophical concept of the Dao and how it interacted with South Asian Buddhist ideas to give rise to a new and distinctive Buddhism in China.

Can two objects be the same color? Is it possible for both a t-shirt and a car to be red? If you agree that both objects can share the same redness, then this color red has an existence that is repeatable, it is what philosophers call a “universal.” But in what way can “redness” be said to exist other than in the particular objects that seem to be the same color? Isn’t the red of the t-shirt actually a different red than that of the car? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline the philosophical problem of universals, how it was understood in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and why the question remains open today.

Stephen M. Veazey, the 8th prophet and president of Community of Christ, announced a date for his retirement and subsequently has been placed on an extended medical leave of absence. The church has been engaged in a worldwide discernment process to determine who will be called as his successor. For the John Whitmer Historical Association’s “Wallace B. Smith Lecture,” in April of 2023, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place traced the historical background of the “prophetic monarchy” in the Latter Day Saint movement, considered the present state of affairs, and called for future reforms. Hamer looks at the 1844 succession crisis following the death of church founder, Joseph Smith Jr., through the lens of monarchy, arguing that Brigham Young and Joseph Smith III can best be understood as a “usurper” and a “pretender,” respectively, to the prophetic throne. In this November lecture, Hamer will update his analysis in light of changes to the succession process announced due to President Veazey’s medical leave and also after the death of Prophet Emeritus Wallace B. Smith. The lecture will be livestreamed free to the public with donations for the John Whitmer Historical Association welcome.

In this lecture we explore the history of Venice and the evolution of its elaborate republican system. How did a lagoon village become the commercial centre that helped revive Europe and build the modern world? How influential this idiosyncratic form of government continues to be and what are its pros and cons?

The history of a religion that spread across the world from the Middle East to Europe and China before going extinct. Founded by the Iranian prophet Mani in the 3rd century AD, Manichaeism was a successful world religion for over a millennia and was briefly (before the founding of Islam) Christianity’s chief rival in the West. We’ll look at the teachings of Mani and the spread of his religion from Europe to China, along with its eventual decline and extermination.

The United States is often compared with ancient Rome. Washington DC's monumental architecture was modeled on Rome's and the architects of the US Constitution looked to the constitution of the Roman Republic for inspiration. How did ancient Rome's constitution work and why did the Republic ultimately fall under the sway of Roman Emperors?

The origins, activities, tragedies, myths, and legacies of this infamous institution. "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" is a hilarious Monty Python sketch that proves the adage that comedy = tragedy + time. In its time in early modern Spain, the Inquisition was infamous for its activities against Spanish Jews, Muslims, Christian converts from both groups, as well as heretics, Protestants, and other perceived enemies of the Spanish crown. There is no doubt the the persecution, expulsions, torture, trial and execution of members of these groups resulted in horrific tragedy and suffering. But we will also look at the extent to which some of the reported atrocities of the Inquisition may have been exaggerated by Protestants as part of a program of anti-Catholic polemics.

In the Roman Empire, Stoicism was more than philosophy—it was a way of life embraced by emperors, slaves, and sages alike. At the same time, the teachings of Jesus offered a radically different vision of justice, humility, and spiritual integrity. Yet in some respects, Stoic and Christian moral teachings converged. In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place explores the possible influence of Stoicism on early Christianity and considers how the figure of Jesus might be understood as a teacher of Stoic virtue within the framework of Second Temple Judaism.

"Messiah" is arguably the most iconic work of sacred music in English language. Handel compiled the biblical story of Jesus from birth to resurrection, including passages from Isaiah, the Gospels, the Book of Revelation, and more. As we approach the Christmas season, Leandro Palacios and Michael Karpowicz of Toronto Centre Place look into the music, the libretto, and the composer, to fully appreciate this masterpiece which continues to be recorded and performed all over the world today. Be ready to sing along!

The story of Galileo’s trial and the banning of his work by the Pope has become a staple of the “History of Science” narrative. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review at the actual history of the trial and trace the way a Protestant polemic against Catholicism came to be repurposed as a secular myth.

Christmas carols tell the story of the one almighty God of the universe born as a human infant. “Silent Night” proclaims Jesus “Lord at thy birth” and the third verse of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” intones “All hail, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning, O Jesus, to thee be all glory given.” For the Christmas season, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will consider the theological implications of the idea of God incarnate as a human baby.

The Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars fought between 1455 and 1487 by English nobles seeking to control the crown, was one of the inspirations for the fictional wars in the source novels for HBO’s popular “Game of Thrones” series. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will recount a brief history of the actual Wars of the Roses and draw lessons they may yet have for our own time.

The myth of Pope Joan and the real scandals of the medieval Church that led to the Gregorian Reform. According to a popular tale, a clever woman once secretly ascended St. Peter's throne and ruled as "Pope Joan." While this tale is a myth, the Medieval papacy devolved into even more interesting scandals which set the stage for the Gregorian Reform movement. We will look at the low point of Europe's oldest monarchy and its amazing rebound in the later Middle Ages.

In 1204, crusaders on route to the Holy Land sacked the city of Constantinople. The great capital of the Byzantine Empire was weakened and set on a path which led to its eventual fall to the Ottoman Turks while the schism between Eastern and Western Christianity was solidified. What went wrong? The Crusades are generally seen as a misguided outcome of Medieval Western Christian religious enthusiasm with few positive, lasting results. But even within the context of the times, the Fourth Crusade has stood out as a particularly dark chapter. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the context of Fourth Crusade, its events, and its legacies.

During the later 14th Century, Western Christianity was divided on the question of who was the legitimate successor to St. Peter: the Pope in Rome or the Pope in Avignon? An ecumenical council was called in Pisa to settle the question, which deposed both rivals and appointed a new Pope. However, neither pope recognized the council's authority and thus from 1378 onward, Western Christianity had three Popes: one in Rome, one in Avignon, and one in Pisa. We'll look at this interesting history but also talk about the background ideas of authority, divine monarchy vs. representative councils, and the division of church and state.

Transubstantiation is the doctrine of the Catholic Church which teaches that the substance of the bread in the sacrament of communion is changed into the substance of the Body of Christ (and the substance of the wine into the substance of the Blood of Christ). Nevertheless the “outward characteristics” of the bread and the wine (the “eucharistic species”) remain unaltered --- which means that “transubstantiation” is not the same as “transmaterializion.” The theological term “substance” is also critical to the Christian idea of the Trinity, where three distinct “persons” of God are said to be “consubstantial” as the One. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the development of these theological terms and propositions and consider what Catholics and other Christians mean when they talk about the “Body of Christ.

The development of the gods and legends of Ancient Rome before and after the incorporation of Greek myths. The traditional pagan religion of ancient Rome is often equated with its Greek counterpart, leading us to think of Jupiter and Zeus as the same god with the same attributes and associated myths. However, the native Roman practices and myths were not abandoned, but incorporated into the elaborate stories of Greek mythology which are more familiar to us. In this presentation we will attempt to untangle the two pantheons: gods and goddesses, stories, and cultic practices. What are the differences? What elements of each religion were later absorbed into Christianity?

The Bible is a complex library of books filled with famous protagonists and also antagonists, many of whom are sometimes equally famous. Many Biblical stories are black-and-white morality tales with villains that are almost cartoonishly evil, like Haman the official at the Persian court who plots to have every Jew in the Empire killed in revenge for a minor slight. But other villains are depicted with more complexity. After each plague against his people, it is the Lord who is said to harden the heart of the Pharoah of the Exodus. And even the first murderer and fratricide, Cain, and his descendants who go on to invent much of civilization. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will consider some of the Bible’s most famous villains in their context and also from the character’s own perspective.

Was the Gospel according to Luke actually written by a woman? The four canonical gospels of the New Testament, called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are all anonymous works whose authors are unknown. Although the 3rd gospel is traditionally ascribed to "Luke," a physician companion of the apostle Paul, many modern scholars have pointed to a number of clues within the text that imply that the actual author had a different perspective. We'll look at the evidence behind the thesis that the author of Luke was actually an early Christian woman.

Humanist politician and philosopher Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli has been called the first modern man and the father of political science. His book The Prince, is among the most influential books in the Western canon and has given rise to our adjective “Machiavellian” to describe unscrupulous politicians. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place look closely at The Prince and Machiavelli’s other writings to consider his political philosophy and to ask whether the author himself was “Machiavellian”.

The evidence suggesting Paul's anti-gay writings might be based on his own same-sex attraction. Paul's enemies questioned his practice of working with male missionary companions and made veiled charges that these relationships were sexual. Meanwhile, in his own writings, Paul spent more time contemplating the idea of same-sex attraction than anyone else in the Bible.

The Protestant Reformation is arguably the most important event in the history of the West. The upheaval affected not only religion but rather reshaped how people conceived of everything from politics to ordinary life. In this talk, Brian Carwana, from Encounter World Religions, explores the far-reaching impact of this tectonic shift and why today, all of us living in the West are to greater or lesser degrees, children of the Reformation.

Surveys find that nearly 7 in 10 adults in the US believe in angels. But what are angels supposed to be? What is the difference between angels, demons, genies, and ghosts? Why do cherubs look like the Roman pagan god Cupid? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore early Biblical understandings of angels, evolution and elaboration of the idea in extra-Biblical apocalypses like the Book of Enoch, and later theological formulations by Christian philosophers including Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

The term "saint" carries varied meanings across Christian traditions, from martyrs and miracle workers formally canonized by the Catholic Church to ordinary believers living holy lives in Protestant contexts. But where did the idea of saints originate, and how has it evolved? Saints are not unique to Christianity—Jewish traditions celebrate tzaddikim (righteous ones), Greco-Roman cultures honored heroic figures, and Buddhism envisions Bodhisattvas, enlightened beings who guide others on the spiritual path. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore the concept of sainthood in Christian tradition, its relationship to these broader religious and cultural frameworks, and its enduring significance in the modern world. In this lecture, we’ll consider what it means to be a saint and how these figures continue to inspire faith and devotion across cultures.

Why did Medieval Christian knights at the end of the 11th century march some 2,500 miles from France (and elsewhere in the Latin West) to Jerusalem and how were they able to conquer and create viable states in the Middle East? John Hamer of Toronto Centre place will look at the historical context of the First Crusade and its logistics and consider how Christian religious practices including the Peace of God, Truce of God, and pilgrimage resulted in indiscriminate massacres. How did the First Crusade succeed and why did the Crusades ultimately fail?

Although he could not define the term “pornography,” US Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart famously declared “I know it when I see it.” Likewise, many of us think we know what religion is, but it turns out that we are not working from a meaningful definition. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will show how Western ideas about “religion” are fully rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition and have little relation to the experiences of non-Western cultures.

When the earliest Biblical texts were being composed at the end of the First Temple Period, the Ark of the Covenant was a sacred relic housed in the sanctuary of the Jerusalem Temple. The Ark played a central role in the Biblical narrative beginning with the Exodus story where it was housed in the tent, or tabernacle, that functioned as a mobile temple that the Israelites carried with them as they wandered in the wilderness. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BCE, nothing more is heard about the Ark. The exiles returned and built the Second Temple in the Persian Period, but the new structure had no Ark. What happened to the Ark and why was it important? Is there any chance it still exists? If the stories of the Exodus and of David and Solomon are myths, what is the actual history of the Ark? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore these questions and more.