Avi and Stephen are joined by biblical scholars Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Brettler to talk about how Jews can benefit from reading the New Testament.

Find out more about the guests:
https://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/people/bio/amy-jill-levine
https://scholars.duke.edu/person/marc.brettler

For some of their recent work see
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-misunderstood-jew-amy-jill-levine
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-bible-with-and-without-jesus-amy-jill-levinemarc-zvi-brettler?variant=32117339717666

With Easter and Passover fast approaching Stephen and Avi discuss how they prepare for each holiday, the solemnity of Lent, the dark history of blood libels and how religions appropriate rituals from each other.

What does it take to convert to Judaism or to Christianity? What are the rituals and what do you have to know? Dr. Backhouse and Rabbi Finegold are on the case as they explore how it all works. Plus: Avi has some questions about holy water and vampires much to Stephen's surprise and delight.

Anglicans, Calvinists, Baptists and all the others: if you’ve ever wanted to know what are the differences then this episode is for you as Avi asks Stephen to help him unpack how all the different denominations work, where they all came from and what makes each one unique. Plus: the hosts spend an inordinate amount of time exploring the Evangelical movement!

On a new episode hosts Rabbi Avi Finegold and Dr. Stephen Backhouse explore how early reform Judaism developed and how denominations relate to each other and live today.

Plus: how baptisms work and a preview on an upcoming discussion exploring contemporary Christian denominations!

Avi explains to Stephen how Jews went from the world of the talmud to spread through the world. The primary streams of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews are discussed along with the development of legal literature and scholarship and an equally important but separate mystical tradition.

Stephen and Avi get into the holiday spirit and discuss their respective winter traditions. Gift giving, European cultural imperialism (on both sides!!!) and what advent calendars are enter the conversation, along with other reasons for the season.

On this episode Rabbi Avi Finegold delves into the evolution of Judaism from the Second Temple all the way to the Scholars who wrote The Talmud and shaped the Judaism that looks so familiar to us today.
Other topics of discussion in this conversation include:

* the rise of the sects and the Sadducees & Pharisees
* the Septuagint and what happens when you open a religion to other languages
* Rabbi Yochanan’s daring escape and the shift to ritual life outside the temple
* what the Mishna is and how it evolved to become the Talmud

....and much more!

Avi and Stephen discuss the early history of Christianity, from Jews Who Believe In Jesus, to the Council of Nicea, with stops in Marcionism, Arianism and Roman life.

Stephen explains to Avi the steps that lead to Martin Luther taking issue with the Church and leading what we now refer to as the Reformation. Also discussed: how the Reformation affected the Jewish community and how it reverberates in today’s Christianity, plus the surprising connection between Luther’s thought and that of Adolf Hitler.