Polin Seminar “The Law of Moses and Its Reception”

Welcome to our first Polin Seminar this semester on September 23rd, 2025! The topic is “The Law of Moses and Its Reception”. The seminar is organized by the Minority Research Profile and the Polin Institute.

The Law of Moses and Its Reception

Time: Tue 23/09/2025, 10.00–16.00

Place: Auditorium Theologicum, Teologiska Annexet, Biskopsgatan 16, 20500 Åbo. Possibility to join via Zoom (see Registration and Participation Info).

The Law of Moses or Torah is the constitutive text for early Judaism and stays central in rabbinical and modern Judaism. Naturally, the same corpus was important in Christianity, which originally emerged as a minority inside Judaism, later became a minority religion in the Roman empire, and, further, became the majority in power in the Christianized Rome in the West but remained as a minority in the Sassanid Persia and Muslim dynasties in the East. All this time, the question of the Law of Moses, and the common heritage between Judaism and Christianity remained important point of discussion and confrontation.

This seminar day, organized by Minority Research Profile and Polin Institute, asks how the Christians received and interpreted the role of the Law of Moses, including the legal (halakic), theological, and narrative (haggadic) components, in different contexts and positions in dialogue and confrontation with Judaism and/or texts constitutive also in Judaism. An additional perspective to the question is given as the reception of the Law of Moses is discussed in the Christendom and post-Christendom contexts of 18th Century Sweden and 21th Century video games. The speakers are experts from different disciplines, including exegetical studies, early Jewish and Christian studies, Classical Studies, Patristics, Syriac Studies, Church History and Game Studies.

The seminar is held in English with optional usage of Swedish.

Program

10:00-10:10 Topias Tanskanen: Opening of The Seminar Day

10:10-10:45 Samuli Laato: The Binding of Isaac and Gamification of Biblical Stories

10:45-11.20 Antti Laato: Torah in the Book of Isaiah and in Its Reception History

11.20-11:55 Erkki Koskenniemi: Useful Lies and Natural Law? Paul, Gods and νόμος in Galatians 4:8–9

11:55-13.00 Lunch (Grädda)

13.00-13.35 Anni Maria Laato: Tertullian’s Argumentation against Marcion on How the Books of Moses Should Be Interpreted

13.35-14.10 Topias Tanskanen: Aphrahat and the Law of Moses

14.10-14.40 Coffee Break

14.40-15.15 Elisa Kössi: Ishodad of Merv’s View on the Law of Moses

15.15-15:50 Niklas Antonsson: Mose lag i luthersk 1700-talspredikan (in Swedish)

15.50-16:00 End Discussion

Speakers:

Niklas Antonsson, Dr., Lecturer in Church History (FFG Göteborg, Sweden)

Erkki Koskenniemi, Adj. Prof. of New Testament Exegetics (ÅAU)

Elisa Kössi, PhD Candidate, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin in “Heternorme Texte” (Jena, Germany)

Antti Laato, Professor of Old Testament Exegetics with Judaic Studies (ÅAU)

Anni Maria Laato, Adj. Prof., Senior University Lecturer in Systematic Theology (ÅAU)

Samuli Laato, Adj. Prof., University Teacher in Information Systems Sciences (UTU)

Topias Tanskanen, Postdoctoral Fellow in Exegetics (ÅAU, Polin)

Registration and Participation Info:

Please register by emailing tove.hoglund@abo.fi, including possible allergies for lunch and coffee, before 18.9.2025. The meal is graciously offered by Minority Research Profile and Polin Institute. You can also participate in the seminar day in distance via the zoom link 

https://aboakademi.zoom.us/j/69650079465, Meeting ID: 696 5007 9465.