- This event has passed.
Heaven and Hell: Ancient Ideas about the Afterlife
February 28, 2020 @ 4:30 pm - February 29, 2020 @ 12:30 pm
SOLD OUT: EMAIL HUMAN@UNC.EDU WITH YOUR NAME & PHONE NUMBER TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITLIST
A Distinguished Scholar Seminar featuring Bart D. Ehrman
According to the most recent Pew Research Poll, 72 percent of all Americans believe in a literal heaven as a place of eternal blessing for departed souls, while 58 percent believe in a literal hell and its eternal torments. Although Christians have believed these ideas for centuries, they are not taught in the Old Testament or in the teachings of the historical Jesus. So where did they come from? Were they simply invented? In this seminar, acclaimed scholar Bart Ehrman will examine views of the afterlife from the Ancient Near East, Greek, and Roman cultures, the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the early centuries of the church, showing where the ideas of paradise and hell came from and how they became a dominant religious view in the West.
TOPICS
Death After Death in Homer and the Old Testament
Justice in the World to Come Among Greeks and Jews
Did Jesus, Paul, or the Book of Revelation Believe in Heaven and Hell?
The Birth of Heaven and Hell in the Early Christian Church
Bart D. Ehrman, James A. Gray Professor of Religious Studies, is the author or editor of more than 30 books, including the forthcoming Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife.
TIME AND TUITION
4:30pm-8:30pm on Friday, February 28 and 9:00am-12:00pm on Saturday, February 29. The tuition is $125 ($115 until September 5). Tuition for teachers is $62.50 ($57.50 until September 5). Teachers can also receive a $75 stipend after attending (click here for more information) and 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit. The optional lunch on Saturday is $15.00.
Discounts are available for UNC students, faculty, & staff. See our UNC Student, Staff, & Faculty Discounted Registration Policy here.
Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association.
For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.
Register here or call us at 919.962.1544.
Registrants will receive a packet containing background readings, a map to the seminar location, and more about 2-3 weeks before the program date.