On Sunday May 30^th the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Students Union (ACSSU) held its third lecture in its 2009-2010 lecture series at St Barsaumo Syriac Orthodox Church hall. Professor Philippa Carter, the Assistant professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University gave the lecture on “Assyrians in the Bible.” Professor Carter started the presentation by giving an account of the rise of the Assyrian Empire and the encounters between them and the Israelites.  She focused the talk on the role of the prophets in the Bible, particularly the uniqueness of the book of Jonah who was never really referred to as a prophet she argues. 

Professor Carter outlined several characteristics of the “real prophets” and discussed how the similarities and differences between Jonah and previous prophets. These hallmarks were:

1.       The call of the prophet and his reluctance. In this instance Jonah actively seeks to evade God

2.     The prophet’s eloquence. Usually real prophets display some humility

3.     The Psalm of thanksgiving

4.     The encounter between the prophet and the King.  Jonah confronts the King of Nineveh and says “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” Of particular significance is the fact that all of Nineveh repented and as a result were saved by God.

5.     The prophet’s lament

The professor posed the question of whether or not Jonah is a parody and whether the book was a critique of the prophets themselves.  Carter concluded the report by not only stating Jonah’s success as a prophet but also his failure to fit the prophetic type.

ACSSU would like to thank all those who attended the lecture as well as St. Barsaumo Church, which hosted the event.

Below are some pictures from this lecture.