Minding Scripture

Moses serves as a model to the prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an, represents the tribe of Israel in the Hebrew Bible and prefigures Jesus in the New Testament. With no external, historical sources to rely on, how do the three Abrahamic religions read Moses, a figure whose meaning is discerned by faith?

Robert Alter, translator of the Hebrew Bible, and David Bentley Hart, translator of the New Testament, are our guests in this episode, where they answer questions on staying faithful to the original Hebrew and Greek texts, on words which have accumulated layers of meanings over the course of centuries, as well as on translating ambiguities and connotations which are no longer accessible to us today. Remember to leave a review if you have enjoyed listening to this episode!

Jesus is a figure of great importance in the holy scripture of Islam, in the Qur’an. Can belief in Jesus join together Christians and Muslims, then? In an interview with Mun'im Sirry, Francesca Murphy and Gabriel Said Reynolds explore the commonalities between qur'anic and biblical account of Jesus, while also shedding light on the differences: the miracles which are not mentioned in the Bible, why Jesus' is not considered divine, and why the Qur'an is ambiguous regarding Jesus' death.

Together with John Meier, the hosts explore the figure of the historical Jesus. Read more in the show notes to this episode.

The inaugural episode of Minding Scripture explores the figure of the first human, Adam, in the Bible and in the Qur’an. >>View this episode's Show Notes

Learn about the questions that animate Minding Scripture, a new podcast from the World Religions World Church program at the University of Notre Dame.