Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion Will Host “Christmas from the Wise Men’s Point of View: The Apocryphal Revelation of the Magi” on Nov. 29
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WACO, Texas (Nov. 28, 2017) –The Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) will host Brent Landau, Th.D., lecturer in the department of religious studies at the University of Texas at Austin for a lecture at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29, in Cox Lecture Hall, Armstrong Browning Library.
Landau’s lecture, “Christmas from the Wise Men’s Point of View: The Apocryphal Revelation of the Magi,” will discuss the apocryphal early Christian writing on the events surrounding the coming of Christ, The Revelation of the Magi. Landau will discuss the differences between this text and the biblical account of Christ’s birth.
“Even people who know a lot about the New Testament are usually amazed to find just how many ancient alternative writings there are on the early Christian story, and what great tales these writings tell,” said Philip Jenkins, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of history at Baylor University. “In the early centuries, people were so in love with the story of Jesus that they let their imaginations run riot. In many cases, those writings were lost for centuries, or at best they just survived in obscure languages. It’s only in modern times that a cutting-edge scholar like Brent Landau has been able to reconstruct them to let them speak for themselves.”
Landau’s research focus is ancient Christian apocryphal writings, particularly traditions about Jesus’ birth and childhood and fragments of Christian Apocrypha preserved on papyri. His first book, “Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem,” was published in 2010, and Landau has since worked on completing the full critical edition of this text, as well as the 2016 anthology of the Christian Apocrypha, “New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures”
The event is free and open to the public, but registration must be done in advance through the ISR website. Cox Lecture Hall is on the first floor of Armstrong Browning Library, 710 Speight Ave. Waco, Texas. For more information and to register, visit the Institute for Studies of Religion website.
by Brooke Battersby, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDIES OF RELIGION
Launched in August 2004, the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) exists to initiate, support and conduct research on religion, involving scholars and projects spanning the intellectual spectrum: history, psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, epidemiology, theology and religious studies. The institute’s mandate extends to all religions, everywhere, and throughout history, and embraces the study of religious effects on prosocial behavior, family life, population health, economic development and social conflict. For more information, visit www.baylorisr.org
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.