Although obvious to those who knew him during his lifetime, the fact that Jesus was born, lived, and died a Jew can be somewhat disconcerting to Christians who look to him as the founder of their own religion. Jesus never renounced the religion of his birth. The Jew Yeshua (“Jesus” in Greek) can be distinguished (at least historically) from the Jesus of later creeds and doctrines. In these four classes, we will explore how consideration of the Jewish Jesus is key to understanding some teachings and rituals of Christianity.

Moderator: Don Maloney taught psychology, philosophy, and religion for Univ. of Maryland at US military bases in Europe and Asia. He has also taught at several stateside universities, most recently XU. After receiving his master’s from Gonzaga Univ., he did post-graduate study at Boston College and at universities in France and Germany. He was previously an OLLI instructor in Denver.