What was the Holy Land like in the time of Jesus? What is the relationship between the archaeological remains and the biblical accounts? These are some of the questions that will be addressed by the new course promoted by the School of Theology of the University of Navarra, which seeks to bring participants closer to the origins of Christianity through history, geography and archeology.
The program is offered in collaboration with Cretio Foundation (USA) and Saxum Visitor Center (Israel). It will be taught entirely online, in Spanish or English, starting on September 29th. With a duration of ten weeks and a course load of 2 ECTS, it will allow each student to progress at his or her own pace and with full flexibility.
Why learn about archaeology
Diego Pérez Gondar, professor of the Faculty of Theology and academic director of the course, stresses the importance of this training: "If you don't know who you are and where you come from, you are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. If only to understand the problems of today's world, I think it is essential to have a minimum knowledge of the origin of civilization and the contributions of Judeo-Christian monotheism, Greek thought and Roman law"..
The course will also highlight the role of biblical archaeology as a key to reading ancient texts. According to Pérez Gondar, "Faith is not pure fideism or fundamentalism; faith needs a logic. A good part of that history has left its remains, which are studied by archaeology, and which help to understand how to read the texts that arose in that ancient context.". He adds that these questions are of interest to both believers and non-believers, because "what human beings really need is to resolve the meaning of existence"..
Conceived as a "academic pilgrimage" In the Holy Land, the course will cover its geography, its history and the main biblical texts, with special attention to the New Testament. "We would like it to be the first of other similar courses, as there is a lot of material to pass on."The academic director points out.
