Peter Keenan is an interesting, and very learned, writer on the Bible. He has recently published the second of a trilogy on the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, enititled The Death of Jesus the Jew.
It is being launched in the Unitarian Church in Cork next Saturday at 3.00pm. I will be speaking at it, and so will the very distinguished writer, Diarmuid O Murchu.
There are two main themes in Peter’s book. The first one is the major question of the historicity of the New Testament. Were the books of the NT written as historical accounts, or as statements of faith? This is a fascinating and important question, which is increasingly being studied now since Pope Francis has opened up the Church to study, discussion and debate.
The second theme is to what extent the telling of the Jesus story in the NT contributed to anti-Jewish sentiment down through the ages, culminating in the Holocaust.
If you are in Cork next Saturday, I would urge you to come along. I can assure you it will be worthwhile.
For me personally it will be a good day, since it will be the first time I have spoken publicly in Cork since my suspension eleven years ago. Before that I had over the years conducted missions and novenas in most of the churches both in the city and county of Cork.
