His name rings in churches and religious texts throughout the world, and Jesus was the topic Friday as University professors gathered to share their research on one of the world’s most well-known figures.Professors from disciplines including history, religious studies and English came together for a symposium of Jesus and the changing aspects of his role in religion, art and history.History professor Suzanne Marchand, who organized the event, said many aspects of Jesus are ripe for exploring.”The image of Christ has changed greatly over time and space, and there are lots of discussions both in the scholarly world and the popular world over what this figure looks like and how he can be read,” Marchand said.There are several dueling perceptions of Jesus which historians are interested in addressing, Marchand said.”He can be read as a social revolutionary who champions the poor or as a founder of a religion, which has an established set of traditions and clerical duties,” she said. “Is he someone very much rooted in Jewish tradition or someone who has nothing to do with Judaism?”Marchand began organizing the symposium when she got Susannah Heschel, a Jewish studies professor from Dartmouth College, to speak at the University.Heschel’s presentation dealt with the idea of a “purified” Aryan Jesus created by European scholars as a way to separate Christianity from Judaism, Marchand said.”Independently, we’re all working on things that overlap, but there never seems to be an opportunity to talk to each other about them,” she said.History professor Meredith Veldman gave a presentation on the changing visual image of Jesus in Britain during the 19th century. Veldman said the important role of painters during that time contributed to changes in the widespread image of Jesus.”Painting had much more power in the 19th century because you didn’t have movies yet, so art was more popular than it is now,” Veldman said. Religious studies professor Delbert Burkett’s presentation examined the evolving conceptions of Jesus — “a mental image of who Jesus was and what he did.”Ideas of Jesus vary even in the Bible, Burkett said. The Gospel of Mark does not mention Jesus being any more than a human with power bestowed on Him by God. But the Gospel of John represents him as a divine being, Burkett said.Burkett said his presentation explored why people have re-imagined Jesus is many ways. “It reflects on why Jesus has been such a popular figure and why so many people have thought it necessary to think of Jesus is so many different ways,” he said. 
 
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