The Book of Genesis—History, Tradition, and Myth
Tuesdays: April 8, 15, 22, and 29, 9:30 a.m. – 12 noon
Valle Verde Theater 900 Calle De Los Amigos, Santa Barbara
VISTAS member price: $50; non-member price: $75
Presented by Norm Cohen
The stories told in the book of Genesis have had a lasting impact on three of the world’s great religions. The characters presented—Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and his two wives, 12 sons, and one daughter—are among the best-known in Western literature and have influenced story-tellers, poets, theologians, and philosophers for over two millennia. The events described—the Creation of the World, and so-called Fall from Grace, the Tower of Babel, the Great Flood of Noah—are a fundamental part of our cultural inheritance. Where did these stories originate? Who put them in the form that we now have? What did they mean to their original audiences more than 25 centuries ago? This series of presentations will examine—and, hopefully, answer—these questions and more.