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10 Episodes 1996 - 1996
Episode 1
Mon, Jan 1, 1996
Episode 2
Wed, Oct 16, 1996
Episode 3
Tue, Oct 22, 1996
Episode 4
Sun, Nov 3, 199656 mins
Profoundly disappointed in his creation, God destroys it and starts over with Noah and his family. What does the story reveal about the character of God--and of the survivors? Participants: Theologians Karen Armstrong, Alexander A. Di Lella, Samuel D. Proctor, and Burton L. Visotzky; journalist Byron E. Calame; psychologist Carol Gilligan; and poet Blu Greenberg.
Episode 5
Sun, Nov 10, 199656 mins
When God chooses Abraham to found a dynasty, how does Abraham react? What does divine sanction mean, both for the chosen and for the "non-chosen"? Participants: Scholar Robert Alter; law professor Azizah Y. al-Hibri; novelist Bharati Mukherjee; community activist Eugene Rivers III; theologians Lewis B. Smedes and Burton L. Visotzky; and playwright-composer Elizabeth Swados.
Episode 6
Sun, Nov 17, 199656 mins
Seeking a descendant, Abraham takes Hagar as a wife, who conceives Ishmael--engendering jealousy, division, and pain for everyone involved. Participants: Scholar Robert Alter; law professor Azizah Y. al-Hibri; novelist Bharati Mukherjee; community activist Eugene Rivers III; theologians Lewis B. Smedes and Burton L. Visotzky; and playwright-composer Elizabeth Swados.
Episode 7
Sun, Nov 24, 199656 mins
God's command to Abraham to sacrifice Isaac raises profoundly disturbing questions. What kind of God would make such a demand? And what kind of parent would consider obeying it? Participants: Theologians Dianne Bergant, Norman J. Cohen, Francisco O. Garcia-Treto, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Phyllis Trible, and Burton L. Visotzky and journalist P.K. McCary.
Episode 8
Sun, Dec 1, 199656 mins
By engineering Isaac's blessing on Jacob, does Rebecca become the heroine of the story, or simply a schemer? And what of Esau, her passed-over son? Participants: Biochemist Leon R. Kass; writer Stephen Mitchell; theologians Elaine H. Pagels, Jean-Pierre M. Ruiz, Marianne Meye Thompson, and Robin Darling Young; and psychotherapist Naomi H. Rosenblatt.
Episode 9
Sun, Dec 8, 199656 mins
Apparently headed for his final comeuppance, the fugitive Jacob meets God in a dream and ultimately finds himself. Participants: Theologians Walter Brueggemann, John S. Kselman, Burton L. Visotzky, and Renita J. Weems; educator Roberta Hestenes; visual artist Hugh O'Donnell; and scholar Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg.
Episode 10
Sun, Dec 15, 1996
The story of Joseph: he is precocious, blessed with the gift of reading dreams, physical beauty, and his father's love. But these very gifts cause his downfall, and he winds up in slavery and exile. Far from home, he is never far from his roots-- a familiar refrain in Genesis right from the beginning.