Cahill, whose lecture is titled "The Gifts of the Jews," will speak at 8 p.m. Nov. 15 and lead a symposium, titled "Jews, Christians, and God's Word: A Common Heritage of Prayer and Action," at 3 p.m. Nov. 16. Rabbi Ephraim Rubinger of Beth Shalom Temple will be one of two respondents to Cahill's talk. Both events are free and will be held in the auditorium of USC's School of Law.

Cahill retells the story of the Western world in terms of gift-givers.

"In the business of gift-giving, no one is as important as the Jews, the originators of Western civilization," Cahill said. "Before the Jews, there was no West. Whether Jew or Christian, believer or non-believer, we are all in the debt of this tribe of desert nomads who changed the way everyone perceives the world. In my talk, I hope to illuminate some of the ways in which we have all been changed by the unique insights of ancient Judaism."

Cahill's books, which are known for making broad and complex histories accessible and engaging, are consistently ranked among the top five on the New York Times Bestseller List. His The Hinges of History series includes How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe (1995), The Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way Everyone Thinks and Feels (1998), Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus (1999) and Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (2003).

The symposium topic, "Jews, Christians, and God's Word: A Common Heritage of Prayer and Action," is particularly relevant, Cahill said.

"Despite the horrible history of Jewish-Christian relations and even despite the fact that the horrors have nearly all been perpetrated by the Christian side, it is possible to find common ground," Cahill said. "It is essential that we should do this, not only for our own mutual enrichment but because our world stands in such need of solace, healing, and repair."

Cahill will discuss the entwined religious roots of Judeo-Christian faiths and tradition, identifying a few of the starkly appalling injustices of our time.

"This will not be merely a historical view but a frank, and sometimes even uncomfortable, treatment of the politics of our own day," Cahill said.

Before Cahill's public lecture, a series of pre-lecture book discussions on Cahill's books, The Gifts of the Jews and Desire of the Everlasting Hills: The World Before and After Jesus, are planned. The Gifts of the Jews explores the contribution by Jews to Western civilization, including our sense of time, individuality, justice, and freedom. Desire of the Everlasting Hills is a fresh interpretation of the New Testament, showing how Jesus and people who wrote about him shaped Western civilization.

"To some extent, I wrote The Gifts of the Jews especially for Christian readers and Desire of the Everlasting Hills for Jewish readers because I believe it is essential that we come to understand one another better—not just for ourselves but for the sake of the dilemmas of our world today and for the sake of a more humane future for the human race itself," Cahill said.

For information about the book discussions, contact Brenda Kneece at the S.C. Christian Action Council at 786-7115, ext. 12, or bkneece@sccouncil.net.

The lecture series is funded by Melvin and Judith Solomon of Charleston and Samuel and Inez Tenenbaum of Columbia.

"To capture the attention of a mixed audience of Jews and Christians, believers and nonbelievers, is one of the main goals of my series and, really, of my life," Cahill said. "I feel incredibly honored to have been chosen to give the Solomon-Tenenbaum lecture this year."

For more information, call Carl Evans, chair of USC's Department of Religious Studies, at 7-4522 or e-mail him at evans-carl@sc.edu.

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