Dr. Jesper Svartvik
15 teaching hours, equivalent to 2 ECTS
For the last decade, Jesper Svartvik held the Krister Stendahl Chair of Theology of Religions at Lund University (2009-2018). His teaching and research include interreligious studies, especially Jewish-Christian relations, and biblical studies, especially the New Testament in its contemporary Jewish contexts. He has authored ten books, among them: Mark and Mission (2000); a commentary in Swedish on the Gospel of Thomas (2002); Skriftens ansikten (“The Visages of Scripture,” 2001); Ordet (“The Word”, 2004); Bibeltolkningens bakgator (“The Back Alleys of Biblical Interpretation,” 2006). From 2005 to 2009, Dr. Svartvik served as the President of the Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism.
It is often said that the twentieth century contained both the worst and the best moments in Jewish-Christian relations. On the one hand, the Shoah besmirches not only the European Continent and Modernity, but also Christendom. On the other hand, the post-war European dialogue between Jews and Christians characterized by an unsurpassed mutual respect and candor belongs to the most promising phases ever in European religious history. The course From Sour Grapes to Sacrament (an expression coined by Rev. Dr. Peter Pettit) surveys the most important phases of Jewish-Christian encounters in history (Antiquity, Middle Ages, Reformation, Modernity, the Shoah and Postmodernity), seeks to identify stumbling blocks in the past and present, and also presents how a growing number of Jews and Christians define and describe their religions no longer over against each other but as two authentic expressions of faith.
