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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

The Hebrew Bible limits offering sacrifice to a single location: a Temple or “house for the Lord” built in Jerusalem. The original temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 bce and the second temple, built under Persian rule and greatly enlarged by Herod was destroyed by the Romans in 70 ce. The centrality of the Temple for ancient Judaism is illustrated by the names historians give to the era: “The First Temple Period” and the “Second Temple Period.” Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity developed along diverging paths in the wake of the Second Temple’s destruction. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at what we can know about the historic temples and trace the history of the contested sacred site from Antiquity, through the Middle Ages, to the present.

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.

To approach the life and teachings of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, we have four gospels in the New Testament and multiple non-canonical gospels. These competing and contradictory traditions aid historians in reconstructing portraits. Unfortunately, the same is not true for the period of the early growth of the Christian community after Jesus’ death. For this period, The Acts of the Apostles stands alone among 1st century texts attempting to present a coherent historical narrative. Nevertheless, there are reasons to doubt much of the narrative’s historicity. While the author of Acts admires Paul, many of the book’s descriptions of his activities and even his teachings contradict Paul’s own writings. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the authorship, structure, and contents of the book of Acts and consider how much of its narrative is historically accurate.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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."

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Christian theologians present God as a Trinity of three persons. However, many people associate the word “God” with the first person alone, the Father. This can lead to the heretical view of Jesus Christ as a superhuman figure separate from God, and the Spirit as some kind of ethereal, impersonal force or energy. Yet, Christianity affirms that the Spirit is a person and is God. So, who or what is the Holy Spirit?

Since the Council of Nicaea, 1700 years ago this year, the overwhelming majority of Christians have understood God through the lens of the Trinity: the doctrine that this is only One God, but that God consists of three “Persons.” And while each of the Persons is God, the persons are not the same as each other. Thus, when Jesus prays to the Heavenly Father, these are distinct Persons communicating: Jesus is not the Heavenly Father, even though the Heavenly Father is God and Jesus is also God. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the development of the concept of the Trinity, and will attempt to explain its paradox without falling into heresies like Modalism.

Many fundamentalist Christians anticipate that the world will end in their lifetime and they look for particular signs listed in the Book of Revelation. And it turns out that this has been true for almost a thousand years. As each generation’s belief has been proved false, the next generation simply updates the calculus and reads the signs in their own times. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will outline the actual context of the Book of Revelation, how it was meant to be understood by the generation for whom it was written, and how apocalypticists have come to so thoroughly misunderstand the text.

Jesus left no writings that survive. None of the gospels was written by an eyewitness. All of our earliest texts that record the sayings of Jesus do not do so in the language he spoke (Aramaic) but are instead written in Greek. Although there is a convention in red-letter Bibles to print all the sayings attributed to Jesus in red, Biblical scholars agree that many of these sayings found in the New Testament were never spoken by the historical Jesus. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will review the tools of literary criticism that scholars use to evaluate the sayings of Jesus to consider which are most likely to be authentic and which are least likely.

The northern Kingdom of Israel, centered on its capital Samaria, was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 720 bce. Many members of the nobility were deported to Mesopotamia where they eventually assimilated, the so-called “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.” However, the overwhelming majority of the northern Israelite people continued to live under Assyrian rule in the provinces of Samaria, Megiddo, and Gilead. When Assyrian rule was replaced by Babylonian and finally Persian rule, the people of Samaria (the Samaritans) continued to maintain their Israelite identity and even offered to help the returning Judean exiles (the Jews) rebuild the Jerusalem Temple. This offer was refused and over time, Jews and Samaritans became bitter rivals. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at Samaritan history from antiquity to the present.

The Bible credits the wise King Solomon with building the temple in Jerusalem, but extra-biblical sources are lacking Solomon is one of the most important figures in the Bible, credited with writing Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, as well as building the original Jerusalem temple (destroyed 587 bc). But for all his fame, why is there no contemporary mention of Solomon in historical sources outside the Bible?

In the Hebrew Bible, Baal is portrayed as the great rival of Yahweh. In the Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah famously challenges the prophets of Baal to a sacrificial offerings contest that ultimately leads to their doom. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will put these Biblical narratives in the context of what is known about Canaanite and Ancient Semitic religion, and the gods worshipped with the honorific title “Ba’al” (which means “Lord”).

After Jesus’ crucifixion, his movement in Jerusalem was led for many decades by his brother James the Just. His historicity is confirmed by the Jewish Roman historian Josephus who records a version of James’ execution at the hands of local Jewish authorities. The Apostle Paul met James (and came into conflict with him) as the two presented different visions for the emerging Christian church. Although historians largely agree that the Epistle of James was not written by the historical James, it shares the perspective of James’ community. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at what we can know about the historical brother of Jesus and the communities that looked to him for leadership.

In the gospel accounts, Jesus’ ministry begins with his baptism by a figure named John the Baptist, whose own disciples continued to revere him after his execution. Many historians have argued that the historical Jesus was originally a disciple of John the Baptist. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at what is known about the historical John, his practice of baptism, and his legacy in both Christianity and also Mandaeism (a small, ancient religion which may trace its origin to John’s disciples).

Many scholars argue that the ancient Israelite King David is the first character in the Bible who can be confirmed as a historical person. The Bible includes a wide variety of stories about David, from the young shepherd boy who defeats the giant Philistine Goliath, to a Robin-Hood-type leader of a group of righteous bandits, to the king who brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and makes the “City of David” his capital, to a king who loses his way in old age falling prey to court intrigues. Numerous poems from the “Book of Psalms” are traditionally attributed to David. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place looks at what we can know about the historical David and reviews the Biblical and legendary material about him.

According to the gospels, Jesus of Nazareth was born during the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judea. Herod was a great builder who reconstructed the Jerusalem Temple where Jesus taught as well as fortresses including Masada. Who was Herod and how did he acquire his throne? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history Herodian dynasty and its predecessor, the Hasmoneans and their short-lived, independent Jewish kingdom, placing them into the context of the larger Hellenistic and Roman worlds.

In one of the most dramatic miracles performed in the scriptures, Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead four days after his entombment. However, the story occurs only in the gospel of John (11:1-44), where Lazarus is presented as the brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany. The gospel of Luke (10:38-42) tells a famous story about Mary and Martha but does not mention their connection to Lazarus. Instead, Jesus tells a parable about a beggar named Lazarus and a rich man experiencing rewards and punishment in the afterlife (Luke 16:19-31). Indeed, nowhere else is Lazarus or his miraculous resurrection mentioned in the New Testament. Who was Lazarus? What happened to him after his resurrection? Why does such an important figure fall out of John’s narrative? Why is it not mentioned in any other source? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will survey the many theories about the Lazarus narrative.

The gospels cite Mary Magdalene as either the first of Jesus’ followers to testify of his resurrection or as part of a group of women followers who were the first. The gospel of Luke lists her among the wealthy women who provided material support to Jesus and his disciples and states that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her. In the gospel of John, she is among the women who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion. Several Christian communities, including the Gnostics, looked to Mary Magdalene as an authority greater than many of Jesus’ male apostles. She is included in several apocryphal texts including the Gospel of Thomas, the Dialogue of the Savior, and her own Gospel of Mary. Already in Antiquity, she was conflated with other gospel characters, including the unnamed “sinful woman” who anoints Jesus’ feet in Luke 7:36-50, given rise to the false tradition that she had been a prostitute. More recently, because of fictional accounts like The DaVinci Code and modern frauds like the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife, the completely baseless idea that she was Jesus’ wife has become popular. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will revisit the various accounts of Jesus’ most famous female follower, to discern what can be known about the historical Mary Magdalene and will survey her many, diverse legacies.

Jesus’ mother is present in all four of the canonical gospels and legends about her life were elaborated in apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works. Venerated as a saint, over time her cult evolved to fill the gap left by the Christian understanding of God for the divine feminine. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will consider what we can know about the historical Mary and will review the evolution of her mythology.

One of the few details of the life of the historical Jesus that nearly all historians agree on is that he was crucified during the administration of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Who was Pilate and what do we know of his administration? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will cover the sources and details of Pilate’s life within the context of contemporary Roman government and history.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that "magi" from the East brought gifts to the infant Jesus following a mysterious star. Western Christianity commemorates this event with the feast of Epiphany, on January 6. What do we know about these wise men? Where did they come? Were they kings or Zoroastrian priests? Is there any evidence of a new star? We'll look at all these and other questions to reveal the meaning of this story from a mythological and theological view point.

The Philistines serve as major foils of the Israelites in the early books of the Bible, including Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. “Philistine” has come down to us in English as a slur for someone who is uncouth and hostile to culture and the arts. Two Philistine characters Goliath and Delilah of “David & Goliath” and “Samson & Delilah” fame continue to be household names. What can we know about the historical Philistines? John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the Biblical depiction of the Philistines and will contrast that portrayal with information that can be gleaned from the rest of the historical and archeological record.

Genesis contains two creation stories, two entwined versions of the Flood story, two alternate lists of "begats", and three versions of the story of a patriarch and his wife staying with a foreign king during a time of famine. We'll look at how the "Documentary Hypothesis" seeks to explain clear seams in the Biblical text, and what we can know about the Bible's underlying authors and editors.

Scholars have concluded Moses didn't write the Five Books of Moses. Who did? The “Documentary Hypothesis” is the most widely accepted explanation of the Bible's authorship among modern scholars. Although Moses was traditionally considered the author of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Torah, or Pentateuch,) in this lecture we look at historical, archaeological, mythological, and literary evidence that suggests many different sources were compiled primarily during the Babylonian exile, many centuries after Moses would have lived, if he was a historical figure at all.

Christian tradition assigned the name of “John” to the New Testament’s fourth gospel, but the text itself does not claim to be written by him. Obvious seams in the text between the end of chapter 20 (an original ending to the gospel) and chapter 21 (which was added on) show that the text is the product of multiple authors. One of those authors claims that a source for the gospel is the testimony of one of Jesus’ beloved disciples. But although the “beloved disciple” is a significant character in the gospel, the authors deliberately do not give his name. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will explore the fourth gospel to determine what the text can tell us about its authors and the community that produced it. What else can we know about the Johannine community and how do they relate to the historical John (Jesus’ disciple) and other early Christians who share the name John?

The four canonical gospels are attributed to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. Matthew and John are among the Twelve Apostles. Mark was a companion of Peter and Luke a companion of Paul. Nevertheless, none of the texts gives any indication that these characters are their actual authors. In fact, the texts originally circulated anonymously and were only assigned their present names by later copyists. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the origins of the traditional designations, why none is likely to be an accurate identification, and what we can know from the texts themselves about the anonymous evangelists.

Although Paul of Tarsus never met the historical Jesus, his vision of the risen Christ convinced him to change his life’s course, become an apostle, and devote the rest of his life preaching the “good news” of the resurrection. Not everyone in the growing movement was pleased by this development and Paul records coming into serious conflict with Jesus’ actual disciples, Peter, James, and John. Paul’s insistence that Christians should not follow Jewish law was at the center of the argument and during the conflict, Paul’s opponents questioned whether he had authority to plant churches. At the end of his career, Paul despaired that many of his own churches in the Eastern Mediterranean seemed to have converted to follow the interpretation of his opponents, causing him to plan a retreat to Spain to start anew. Despite these setbacks, only a few decades later, Paul’s teachings on the law became doctrine for a majority of Christians and his writings were revered as scripture. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will trace the conflict among early Christians and consider why Paul’s churches ultimately won.

Christians look to Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah or the Christ, the anointed one foretold by Jewish scripture as the universal savior. Although two of the gospels tell stories of his birth in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, one of the details of his life that upon which historians agree is that Jesus was from the village of Nazareth in the district of Galilee. John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place will look at the history of Galilee and how it differed from Judea in the 1st century AD, considering how Jesus’ context as a Galilean informed his ministry and the movement he founded.

The Epic of Gilgamesh preserves some of the oldest stories in human history—and many of its themes resurface in the Bible. In this lecture, John Hamer of Toronto Centre Place examines how myths of creation, the fall, the flood, and humanity’s quest for eternal life were reimagined by the authors of the Bible. We’ll explore how these retellings differ from the original Mesopotamian accounts and why.