THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510310468
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Regent University's Divinity School and the local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith are jointly sponsoring a four-day seminar in November that will explore the Jewish foundations of Christianity as part of an ongoing effort to foster dialogue between Jews and Christians in the region.
The seminar, ``Understanding the Faith of Our Fathers,'' is open to the public. It will be taught by J. Lyle Story, the associate dean of Regent's divinity school, and Rabbi Leon Klenicki, the national director of interfaith affairs for the league. Klenicki has traveled the world to promote dialogue between religious groups, and he recently conducted an interfaith seminar at the Vatican.
The goals of the course are education, mutual understanding and respect, Story said. A brochure about the course spells out that ``it is in no way intended to proselytize for either faith.''
``There is a commonality that Christians and Jews have in terms of the whole belief system,'' though both groups sometimes fail to appreciate the connections, Story said. ``There is a tendency in a lot of religious belief systems to make your system a private belief system, your church the center of the universe, and you fail to look at the broader belief community.''
The seminar fits into ongoing efforts by Regent University and the league's North Carolina-Virginia chapter to foster dialogue between Jews and conservative Christians - two groups whose national leaders sometimes clash on issues where religion and politics overlap.
More than a year ago, religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Regent's founder, exchanged vehement, public letters with the league's president, Abraham H. Foxman, about whether statements by Robertson and other religious conservatives could be interpreted as religious bigotry. This spring, Ralph Reed, director of Robertson's Christian Coalition, took a strong step toward conciliation with a speech to Jewish leaders.
In April, the local chapter of the league sponsored a Jewish Passover meal as an opportunity for interfaith education, attended by about 30 professors and students from Regent. The university also has previously sponsored a course co-taught by Klenicki.
``We are one community, and the only way different groups in the community are going to co-exist is if they communicate,'' said Sam Kaplan, director of the league's regional office. ``It's important not just for the Jewish community and the Christian conservative community . . . but for all diverse ethnic groups in our community.''
The seminar focuses on early Christianity, with Story lecturing on the Christology of Jesus' apostles, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul. Klenicki will speak about early Christianity's outgrowth from rabbinic Judaism, Jewish views of Jesus and the role of Jews in the Gospels.
The course will conclude with optional participation in a Jewish Sabbath service on Friday night, either at a synagogue or at participants' homes. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
FAITH SEMINAR
The seminar will be held on four consecutive evenings, Nov. 13 to
Nov. 16, from 7 to 10 p.m. in Robertson Hall on the Regent campus.
There is a $25 registration fee. Regent students can earn two
graduate credits, at a cost of $526. For more information, call the
university at 579-4520 or the league at 455-9002. by CNB