How Christianity and Islam Challenge Each Other

Distinguished Finnish biblical scholar Heikki Raisanen is known internationally for his work on the New Testament and early Christianity, and is widely known for his study of the the epistles of Paul and his analysis of Paul’s views regarding the Jewish tradition and the status of the Law. He has also been an important critic of conventional understandings of New Testament theology. Working from a comparative and historical standpoint, he has moved in recent years to a study of non-Christian religions as well, particularly Islam.

Professor Raisanen is the author of many books including Paul and the Law (1983), Beyond New Testament Theology (1990), Marcion, Muhammad and the Mahatma: Exegetical Perspectives on the Encounter of Cultures and Faiths (1997), and Challenges to Biblical Interpretation (2001).

Raisanen was Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Helsinki from 1975 to his retirement in 2006. In spring 2006, he received the Gad Rausing Prize of Sweden’s Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities in recognition of his outstanding research on early Christian ideology.

Admission is free.