David Noel Freedman is a professor of History at UCSD who holds the Endowed Chair in Hebrew Biblical Studies. He is on the faculty of UCSD's Judaic Studies Program and the Program for the Study of Religion. His special areas of research and expertise are in Hebrew orthography, biblical poetry, and the editing, organization, and structure of the biblical corpus. Series: "Dig This!" [Humanities] [Show ID: 6742]

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has revolutionized our picture of the early history of Judaism and of the Jewish background of early Christianity. With the completion of the publication of the entire scrolls collection, it is now possible to draw significant conclusions from this treasure trove of ancient documents. This illustrated lecture by Professor Lawrence Schiffman will discuss the discovery of the scrolls, the archaeology of Qumran where the scrolls were unearthed, the nature of the library, and its significance for the study of Judaism, Christianity and their common destiny. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 7032]

Is the death penalty moral? How does Christianity affect views on the death penalty? If religious belief comes into conflict with democratically-arrived at decision of the community, how is that conflict to be resolved? Author and adjunct Professor of History at Northwestern University, Garry Wills, explores these questions in this lecture presented as part of the Voices series at UC Santa Barbara. Series: "Voices" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 7008]

Dr. Harold Oliver, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy of Religion at Boston University, and Dr. Thomas Carlson discuss the thesis of complementarity of science and religion and the "substantialist" bias of Western philosophy. Series: "Science, Religion and the Human Experience" [Humanities] [Show ID: 6924]

Thomas J. Curry, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, discusses his book, Farewell to Christendom: The Future of Church and State in America, which traces the history of the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Series: "Humanitas" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 6884]

Host Thomas Levy of the UCSD Anthropology Dept. welcomes Richard Elliott Friedman, one of the world's foremost Biblical scholars and an authority on the genealogy of scriptural texts. Series: "Dig This!" [Humanities] [Show ID: 6741]

Professor Bruno Latour,from the Centre de Sociologie de Paris argues that religion is not about a domain of reality, some specific entities, a certain type of morality, or a belief system—but literally a way of talking, a Verb, as the tradition says, or in a more technical vocabulary: a specific regime of enunciation.

Series: "Science, Religion and the Human Experience" [Humanities] [Show ID: 6925]

In this program from the Science, Religion and the Human Experience series, UC Santa Barbara's Tiffney Bruce speaks on The Origins of Science and Religion, focusing on the American assumption that science and religion are mortal enemies. Series: "Science, Religion and the Human Experience" [Humanities] [Show ID: 6690]

Michael Ruse of Florida State University takes a look at the relationships between evolution and Christianity, from the earliest times, through the work of Charles Darwin, and on to the present, ending with some comments on both the prominent Darwinian atheists like Richard Dawkins, as well as supporters of so-called Intelligent Design. The main theme of the lecture is that Darwinism is a child of Christianity, and that as is usual in parent-children relationships, there is both love and tension. Part of the Science, Religion and the Human Experience series sponsored by UC Santa Barbara. Series: "Science, Religion and the Human Experience" [Humanities] [Show ID: 6689]

On this edition of Conversations with History, UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler talks with Olivier Roy, senior researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris. Their discussion covers Islamic movements, the rise of fundamentalism, the failure of political Islam, and relations between the West and the Islamic world. Series: "Conversations with History" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 6604]