Jewish-Catholic Theological Exchange
Jewish-Catholic Theological Exchange
Our Mission
Since its founding in 1917, Providence College has actively promoted Catholic and Jewish engagement. Building on this history, the Jewish-Catholic Theological Exchange (JCTE) committee was established by the Theology Department in 2007 and has continued to extend opportunities for Jews and Christians to pursue “mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies, as well as of fraternal dialogues” (Nostra Aetate 4). Reflecting on the common spiritual heritage as well as the unique identities of Jews and Christians, our mission is to foster interreligious learning, understanding, and friendship.
The JCTE hosts major lectures, colloquia, and other initiatives on the Providence College campus. These events provide a welcoming forum where members of the college join the broader Rhode Island community, to engage with local religious leaders and nationally recognized experts to discuss themes of mutual theological interest. In continuity with Providence College’s long-standing tradition, the JCTE promotes interreligious understanding and dialogue in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate).
Dr Arthur Urbano
Professor of Theology and Chair of the JCTE
St. Catherine of Siena Hall 216
401.865.1351
March 4, 2025
Scholar-in-Residence Dialogue: “Aristotle Among the Believers: How Jews, Christians, and Muslims Made the Philosopher Their Own”
Panelists: Emann Allebban (Providence College), Fr. Philip-Neri Reese, OP (Angelicum), Rabbi Yaakov Taubes (Yeshiva University). Moderated by Benny Bar-Lavi, Scholar-in-Residence in Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations (Providence College)
For a great many Jewish, Christian, and Muslim thinkers in the medieval world, Aristotle was not just a philosopher but the philosopher—an essential reference point for understanding both nature and the divine. Yet while his authority was indispensable, it was also problematic, as his inquiries and theories often stood in tension with God’s revealed truth. This talk will explore the mutual influences, parallel developments, and points of contention that shaped the ways in which Aristotle was “Judaized,” “Christianized,” and “Islamized.”
November 18, 2024
Jewish-Christian Co-Production and the Threat of Radical Enlightenment in Eighteenth-Century Sephardic Amsterdam
Dr. Benny Bar-Lavi (Scholar-in-Residence in Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations, Providence College) discusses the work of Joseph López, a scholar from Amsterdam’s Jewish Sephardi community, who defended Judaism against what he saw as some of its most formidable contemporary threats, including atheism, deism, and the denial of an afterlife. Remarkably, his critique of what has come to be known as the “Radical Enlightenment” drew substantially from Christian sources, which López adapted for his Jewish audience. This incorporation of Christian thought into a Jewish critique of the Radical Enlightenment reflects a broader phenomenon of religious co-production rooted in shared theological concerns.
July 23, 2024
Discussion of Israel and the Nations: The Bible, the Rabbis and Jewish-Gentile Relations
Rabbi Eugene Korn and Sr. Dr. Mary Boys, SNJM discuss Rabbi Korn’s new book Israel and the Nations, which explores Jewish theological understandings of non-Jews, including how Jewish theology has conceptualized Christians and Christianity over the centuries. The book also proposes how Jews should relate to non-Jews today, especially in light of the Catholic Church’s teaching on interreligious dialogue in Nostra Aetate.
Recent Events
May 1, 2024
Mutual Representations: Judaism and Christianity in Late Antiquity
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Zuckier (Institute for Advanced Study) and Dr. Jae Han (Brown University) discuss ways in which Jews and Christians thought about, represented and imagined each other in late antiquity.
November 1, 2023
“Ungodly Statecraft: Figural Judaism and the Critique of Desacralized Politics in 16th- and 17th-Century Europe.”
Dr. Benny Bar-Lavi, Inaugural Scholar-in-Residence in Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations at Providence College, speaks about the deployment of “Jews” and “Judaism” as ideas in Catholic and Protestant political thought of the 16th and 17th centuries.
October 25, 2023
“Faith in Science: Catholic and Jewish Perspectives on Creation and the Cosmos.”
Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., Director of the Vatican Observatory, and Peter Saulson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Physics, Syracuse University, discuss the role of faith in their work as scientists, and the role of science in understanding faith. Annual Fay Rozovsky Lecture in Jewish-Catholic Dialogue.
July 20, 2023
“An Assembly for the Sake of Heaven: The New Testament and the Providential Role of Christianity in the Thought of Rabbi Jacob Emden”
Providence College Scholar-in-Residence in Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations Dr. Benny Bar-Lavi discuses the thought of Rabbi Jacob Emden (1697-1776), one of the foremost Talmudic scholars of the 18th century, who argued that Christianity’s original intent had never been to supersede Judaism or persecute its adherents. Its true aim is to propagate scriptural monotheism among non-Jews while safeguarding Torah observance among Jews. Thus, Judaism and Christianity ought to be understood as providential allies destined to play distinct yet complementary roles in redemption, not as adversaries. This talk explores Emden’s perspective on Jewish Christian relations, primarily as it emerges from his remarkable interpretation of the New Testament and his analysis of Christianity’s providential role in history. Emden’s original (and, in a sense, radical) perspective foreshadowed recent developments in Jewish Christian relations.
November 17, 2022
Confronting Antisemitism Together: An Interfaith Discussion
Panelists discuss how antisemitism manifests itself today in America, including in Rhode Island, and how Catholics and Jews can confront antisemitism as partners.
Panelists: Rabbi Ron Fish (Anti-Defamation League), Stephanie Hague (Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island), Rev. John Pawlikowski, OSM (Catholic Theological Union)
March 23, 2022
Friendship and Emotions in the Hebrew Bible
The annual spring lecture of the Jewish-Catholic Theological Exchange (JCTE) was held virtually on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:00 pm. Professor Saul Olyan (Judaic Studies, Brown University) spoke on “Friendship and the Emotions in the Hebrew Bible” with a response by Professor Stephen A. Long of the PC Theology Department.
See more about our past events.
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