Showing papers in "Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations in 2011"
TL;DR: On May 14, 1948, on the eve of the expiration of the British Mandate, Jewish leaders in Mandatory Palestine gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and issued a Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: On May 14, 1948, on the eve of the expiration of the British Mandate, Jewish leaders in Mandatory Palestine gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and issued a Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. Like the American Declaration of Independence, this document sets forth their rationale for the formation of the state and the ideals that these leaders hoped it would embody. The founding of the state, mandated by the United Nations, was greeted with widespread joy in the Jewish world and with universal belligerence in the Arab world. Many parts of the Christian world, in many ways caught between the two and embedded in the legacy of its own antiJudaism, were dismayed over this resumption of Jewish sovereignty over the Holy Land.
11 citations
TL;DR: Christians and Jews agree that the Apostle Paul did not observe Torah as a matter of faith, or in his daily life, except when he sought to evangelize among Jews who observed Torah.
Abstract: Christians and Jews agree that the Apostle Paul did not observe Torah as a matter of faith, or in his daily life, except when he sought to evangelize among Jews who observed Torah. This perspective and the reasoning provided to explain it conceptualize the essential difference between Christianity and Judaism as revolving around Paul and his supposedly "Law-free Gospel," more so than around Jesus and his teachings. This understanding derives from the perception that Paul did not observe Jewish dietary norms, and that, moreover, he taught other Christ-followers not to observe them. This essay engages the primary texts on which this is based (Gal 2:11-15; 1 Cor 8—10; Rom 14—15) and finds that, contrary to the prevailing view, they show that Paul implicitly and even explicitly supported Jewish dietary norms among Christ-followers. The results challenge centuries of interpretation, with broad implications for Christian and Jewish portrayals of Paul and of the supposed foundations for differences that require and provide strategies of "othering" that continue to pose obstacles to progress in Christian-Jewish relations.
10 citations
10 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how the interests of the Dutch ruling class, the regents, dovetailed with those of the governing elite of the Portuguese-Jewish community of Amsterdam to create structures of Jewish governance that were agreeable to both governing parties.
Abstract: In the popular imagination, seventeenth-century Amsterdam was an oasis of religious toleration in a conflict-ridden Europe and a city that welcomed Jews with open arms. This image is exaggerated and misleading, as scholars have long since shown. In this essay, I will examine how the interests of the Dutch ruling class, the regents, dovetailed with the interests of the governing elite of the Portuguese-Jewish community of Amsterdam to create structures of Jewish governance that were agreeable to both governing parties. While maintaining peace was one of the common interests between them, so was maintaining discipline. Neither the Dutch nor the Jewish authorities sought “liberty of conscience” in the modern sense of the term, that is, individual religious and philosophical freedom. For most, though not all, members of the Portuguese-Jewish community, this arrangement was natural and fully acceptable.
10 citations
TL;DR: A close reading of British weekly newspaper The Jewish Chronicle over the last 160 years suggests that popular Jewish attitudes towards the Apostle Paul, which are by no means pronounced, are best explained by his association with a series of controversies that resonate within the wider Jewish community.
Abstract: A close reading of British weekly newspaper The Jewish Chronicle over the last 160 years suggests that popular Jewish attitudes towards the Apostle Paul, which are by no means pronounced, are best explained by his association with a series of controversies that resonate within the wider Jewish community. Somewhat unsurprisingly, Paul has been associated frequently with apostates and converts, with those who would abrogate the Torah, with those who would confuse the distinction between Jew and Christian, with missionary activities, and, arguably, with the phenomenon of Jewish self-hatred.
9 citations
9 citations
TL;DR: In the religious debate between Jews and Christians, the biblical dietary laws come to illustrate important assumptions concerning the “other.” Early medieval Christians asserted that Christians were not bound by the dietary laws and tended to explicate them allegorically or figuratively.
Abstract: In the religious debate between Jews and Christians, the biblical dietary laws come to illustrate important assumptions concerning the “other.” Early medieval Christians asserted that Christians were not bound by the dietary laws and tended to explicate them allegorically or figuratively. Although the biblical dietary laws prohibit many foods to Jews, as pork became a more important part of the medieval diet, the prohibition against swine’s flesh became central to the debate. Christians will assert not only that the consumption of pork proclaims a correct messianic theology, but also that the Lord, like a good physician, ordained a special diet for the Jews because they—and not Christians—have a corrupt bodily nature that is subject to deleterious influences from pork that incline Jews to gluttony and wantonness. Therefore, when a Jew converted to Christianity, the consumption of pork became a sign of his transfer from one religious community to another, as well as a sign of a physical, intellectual, and moral transformation.
8 citations
TL;DR: Christ Killers as discussed by the authors traces the myth of the Jew as Christ killer from its origins in the context of the Gospel writers through its development into the early modern period and examines its various present-day manifestations.
Abstract: Originating in a course that Cohen has taught for twenty years, Christ Killers traces the myth of the Jew as Christ killer from its origins in the context of the Gospel writers through its development into the early modern period and examines its various present-day manifestations. Cohen pays particular attention to what the myth reveals about the myth-makers and aims to communicate the pervasive effect that this myth has had on Western culture into the present day (3).
8 citations
TL;DR: Bonhoeffer played a marginal role in the German church struggle against the Nazi regime as discussed by the authors, due to many factors, including his young age, his liberal-democratic politics, his absence from Germany from October 1933 to April 1935, his vacillating and at times contradictory positions on central issues, his radical theological critique of the Nazi state, and ultimately his willingness to risk his life to destroy Hitler's regime.
Abstract: This article traces the German church struggle form 1933 to 1945 with particular emphasis on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s role. Although Bonhoeffer’s status in the world today is that of a great theologian and courageous opponent of the Nazi regime, he did not have much of an impact on the direction of the Confessing Church during the church struggle. Bonhoeffer’s striking albeit marginal role in the German church struggle and his inability to affect significantly the direction of the Confessing Church was due to many factors, including his young age, his liberal-democratic politics, his absence from Germany from October 1933 to April 1935, his vacillating and at times contradictory positions on central issues, his radical theological critique of the Nazi state, his friendship with and family ties to Christians of Jewish descent, and ultimately his willingness to risk his life to destroy Hitler’s regime.
7 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors lay down the rule that each man should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him, and each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.
Abstract: 17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to (1 Cor 7:17-24).
7 citations
TL;DR: On the 60th anniversary of the 1947 International Emergency Conference on Anti-Semitism in Seelisberg, Switzerland, the authors provides an overview and analysis of: historical events leading up to this conference; the working process and results of the conference with a focus on the specific work of its various commissions, especially that of Commission III on the Role of the Churches and the Ten Points (Theses) of Segelisberg.
Abstract: On the 60th Anniversary of the 1947 International Emergency Conference on Anti-Semitism in Seelisberg, Switzerland, this article provides an overview and analysis of: historical events leading up to this conference; the working process and results of the conference with a focus on the specific work of its various commissions, especially that of Commission III on the Role of the Churches and the Ten Points (Theses) of Seelisberg. Looking back from the present-day vantage point, it comments on the effects of its work over the past several decades, and closes with a brief summary of the 60th Anniversary Jewish-Christian scholarly conference hosted at Lasalle-Haus in Bad Schonbrunn, Switzerland -including the 2007 joint declaration by the Swiss Bishops Conference, the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities. An Addendum to the article provides a photograph and a list of the 1947 conference officers and commission participants.
TL;DR: The old narrative of the Jewish critique of Christianity was simple: Jews criticized Christianity as a reaction to the Christian mission to the Jews; if Christians had not attempted to convince Jews to convert to Christianity, there would have been no reason for Jews to say anything negative about the majority religion as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The old narrative of the Jewish critique of Christianity was simple: Jews criticized Christianity as a reaction to the Christian mission to the Jews; if Christians had not attempted to convince Jews to convert to Christianity, there would have been no reason for Jews to say anything negative about the majority religion. Judaism is a religion of tolerance, at least towards members of other religions, and, therefore, it was not a Jewish concern how Gentiles worshipped. But as medieval Christians tried more and more to convince Jews to convert, Jewish thinkers answered this challenge by developing arguments to be used against Christian doctrines. In light of recent research, this narrative, as comfortable as it might be to Jews, is no longer tenable. Jews criticized Christianity even in the absence of a Christian missionary threat, such as in Muslim countries. Furthermore, not all Christian anti-Jewish polemic should be understood as part of a conversionary campaign. Thus, there is a need for a new narrative to explain the proliferation of Jewish critiques of Christianity. This article discusses the various considerations at play in the search for that new narrative.
TL;DR: A movement of interfaith dialogue stands at the center of the developments, serving as a catalyst that helped to bring about reconciliation and improvement in the attitudes of Christians towards Jews as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Since the 1960s, remarkable changes have taken place in the relationship between the Christian and Jewish communities in the West. A movement of interfaith dialogue stood at the center of the developments, serving as a catalyst that helped to bring about reconciliation and improvement in the attitudes of Christians towards Jews. Beginning in the English-speaking world at the turn of the twentieth century, the dialogue between Jews and non-Jews gained more ground in the decades between the two world wars. The movement of interfaith reconciliation advanced considerably in the years after World War II and reached a "golden age" in the late 1960s and 1970s, when an unprecedented momentum for reconciliation and dialogue between the faiths flourished in Europe, America, Israel, and other countries. Despite occasional set-backs and while involving mostly members of liberal or mainstream groups, this movement helped to improve the relationship between Christians and Jews in an unprecedented manner and on a worldwide scale.
TL;DR: Although Marcion is usually thought of as the arch-antisemite of the early church, the authors argues that his opponents were no less anti-Jewish than he, and the proto-orthodox leaders also rejected a literal interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures and sought to find an underlying unity between them and the Christian story.
Abstract: Although Marcion is usually thought of as the arch-antisemite of the early church, this paper argues that his opponents were no less anti-Jewish than he. The proto-orthodox victory over Marcionite Christianity meant that the Hebrew Scriptures would continue to be a major part of the Christian canon and that Christians and might be encouraged to view the story of Jesus and their own faith as part of the history of ancient Israel. Marcion, by contrast, did not regard the Hebrew Scriptures as part of the Christian canon but nevertheless judged them to be accurate historical records that should be interpreted literally. In their rejection of Marcion, the proto-orthodox leaders also rejected a literal interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures and sought to find an underlying unity between them and the Christian story. Despite the high status attributed to these Scriptures, Marcion’s opponents employed a variety of non-literal methods of interpretation, which generally carried with them a high degree of anti-Judaism. These tendencies may be observed both in the Acts of the Apostles, which is to be dated about 120 C.E., and Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho (c. 160 C.E.).
TL;DR: In this article, the significance of the Land of Israel in the Scriptures as land given, retained, and holy to Christians is explored, and a re-imaging of our relationship to the Holy Land in terms of a post-Vatican II expansion of our understanding of Catholic sacramental theology is suggested.
Abstract: One of the principal issues confronting Christians in the dialogue is the significance of the land in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. This article explores the significance of the Land of Israel in the Scriptures as land given, retained and holy – especially to Christians. The history of the significant Christian religious relationship to the land is reviewed and finally a re-imaging of our relationship to the Holy Land in terms of a post-Vatican II expansion of our understanding of Catholic sacramental theology is suggested: that as Christ is the sacrament of encounter with God, so the Holy Land is a sacrament of our encounter with Christ.
TL;DR: Jospe as mentioned in this paper argued that Jewish theology is compatible with religious pluralism, based on the paradigm of the Jewish obligation to live in accordance with the commandments of the Torah while accepting the legitimacy of other ways of life.
Abstract: Jewish theology is compatible with religious pluralism, based on the paradigm of the Jewish obligation to live in accordance with the commandments of the Torah while accepting the legitimacy of other ways of life in accordance with the paradigm of the universal “seven commandments of the children of Noah.” Jospe here answers two challenges to this thesis, one, voiced by Christian theologians, that pluralism equals relativism, and a second, voiced by the Jewish scholar, Menachem Kellner, that there are no sources for pluralism in Jewish tradition and that pluralism itself makes no sense. In presenting his arguments, Jospe invokes a wide range of ancient, medieval and modern thinkers, probing the theological possibilities for pluralism within Jewish tradition and its boundaries with relativism. In doing so, he argues that one should differentiate between moral relativism, a non-negotiable category, and epistemological relativism, where there is room for compromise.
TL;DR: The authors compare Arendt and Bonhoeffer on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of their birth, and present an unusual depiction of arendt's work, namely, its religious dimension and interests.
Abstract: This article compares Arendt and Bonhoeffer on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of their births. The paper presents an unusual depiction of Arendt's work, namely, its religious dimension and interests. The thought of the two intersects in three general areas. First, both embrace a fundamental worldliness that affirms the worth of life in the world and the faith that responds to it. Secondly, both recognize history as a territory of sin and evil and both claim the importance of acknowledging such sin and evil in a life of worldly action. Indeed, such recognition may be the key to successful political activism today. Thirdly, both thinkers develop precise, personal understandings of Jesus as a worldly presence. Indeed, an effective political struggle, especially in a society like the United States, may be unable to avoid delineating an image of and attitude to Jesus.
TL;DR: Two of Krister Stendahl's major scholarly interests were the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament and Pauline theology as discussed by the authors. And, of course, this conference is devoted to assessing and celebrating his contributions to Pauline scholarship and carrying forward the new perspectives on Paul that his work has brought to the biblical field.
Abstract: Two of Krister Stendahl’s major scholarly interests were the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament and Pauline theology. In his doctoral dissertation on The School of St. Matthew, Krister was one of the first biblical scholars to use the newly discovered Dead Sea scrolls as a help toward clarifying how some early Christians interpreted the Old Testament. And, of course, this conference is devoted to assessing and celebrating his contributions to Pauline scholarship and carrying forward the new perspectives on Paul that his work has brought to the biblical field. Against this background, I want to discuss Paul’s use of the Old Testament, with reference especially to the letter to the Romans.
TL;DR: The Jewish People, the Holy Land, and the State of Israel: A Catholic View is a book long overdue as mentioned in this paper by Richard Lux, who is an experienced participant in Christian-Jewish dialogue whose primary interest is theology.
Abstract: Richard Lux’s The Jewish People, the Holy Land, and the State of Israel: A Catholic View is a book long overdue. The author is an experienced participant in Christian-Jewish dialogue whose primary interest is theology, and the book covers a wide swath of complex topics, primarily from the Roman Catholic perspective. He has chapters on “Church Teaching on Jews and Judaism,” “The Jewish People,” “The Holy Land,” and “The State of Israel.” Lux also offers a brief synopsis of Palestinian (Christian) perspectives on Israel.
TL;DR: The authors reviewed and assessed the various theological perspectives with regard to the mission of the Catholic Church in relationship to the Jewish people, and concluded that "many scholars have interpreted the church's mission as one "with" Jews in furthering the Reign of God".
Abstract: Over the course of developments since Vatican II, Catholics scholars engaged in dialogue with Jews have interpreted the church's mission as one "with" Jews in furthering the Reign of God. Yet it is evident that others advocate a mission "to" Jews, that is, seek to convert Jews. This essay reviews and assesses the various theological perspectives with regard to the mission of the Catholic Church in relationship to the Jewish people.
TL;DR: Reinhold Niebuhr's support for the foundation of the state of Israel is argued to be an expression of his Christian realism, and as such is based on his ethics but not his theology as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Reinhold Niebuhr’s support for the foundation of the state of Israel is argued to be an expression of his Christian realism, and as such is based on his ethics but not his theology. The first section assesses Niebuhr’s support for Jewish return to the Land of Israel in relation to modern protestant and Jewish support for relocation of the Promised Land back from America to British Mandate Palestine. The second section demonstrates that Niebuhr’s support for Zionism grew out of his threefold moral, political and theological realism. This meant taking into account Israel’s relation to the United States, and increasingly evidenced a national supersessionist outlook. The third section argues that this shift was undertaken via the role of the temporarily messianic nation, whereby the USA replaced Israel as a nation with a mission. In the fourth section, it is argued that the natural theology that underlies Niebuhr's ethics constitutes a 'Hebraic' turn which is ironic given that he does not ground his Zionism in the covenant with Abraham. The last section argues that Niebuhr’s support for Israel’s foundation needs to be understood within his reconstruction of natural law, along with his critique of the fusion of nationalism and religion in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Niebuhr’s approach to Israel was based on ethics not dogmatic theology and exegesis, and as it became part of a notion of America as messianic, it failed to be passed on adequately to the mainline protestant churches.
TL;DR: In this paper, a Christological and soteriological view of the relationship between the Triune God's covenanting with Israel and the Church is presented, with both the Church and Israel having distinct duties in this relational process before God and the world.
Abstract: One of the major theological questions confronting the post-Nostra Aetate Church is how to relate the Christian conviction in the universal saving significance of Jesus Christ with the affirmation of the permanence of Israel’s covenanting with God. The meanings of covenant, salvation, and the Christ-event are all topics that must be considered. This paper proposes that covenant, understood in a theological and relational sense as a human sharing in God’s life, provides a useful Christological and soteriological perspective. Jesus, faithful son of Israel and Son of God, is presented as covenantally unifying in himself the sharing-in-life between God and Israel and also the essential relationality of God. The Triune God’s covenanting with Israel and the Church is seen as drawing humanity into an ever-deepening relationship with God through the Logos and in the Spirit, with both Israel and the Church having distinct duties in this relational process before God and the world.
TL;DR: Fitzgerald as mentioned in this paper was appointed by Pope Bendedict XVI to be the apostolic nuncio to Egypt and the Holy See's delegate to the League of Arab States.
Abstract: Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, M.Afr. until recently served as the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in the Vatican. In February 2006 he was appointed by Pope Bendedict XVI to be the apostolic nuncio to Egypt and the Holy See's delegate to the League of Arab States. This address was delivered at the conference "In Our Time: Interreligious Relations in a Divided World," co-sponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College and Brandeis University to mark the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate . It was given at Brandeis University on March 16, 2006. In it, Archbishop Fitzgerald first discusses theological advances arising from interreligious dialogue, focusing on the interrelatedness of the Trinity as the basis and model for dialogue. He then turns to consider the necessary conditions for dialogue, the varied content of dialogue, the conduct of dialogue in its multiplicity of forms, and the structures necessary for the continuity of dialogue.
TL;DR: Chagall and Epstein this paper described themselves as having been "haunted" by the face of Christ in their early years and their several crucifixion paintings were of a Jesus who was not the Christ of Christian dogma, but a "Jewish Jesus" who summed up the suffering of the Jewish people.
Abstract: Painter Marc Chagall and sculptor Jacob Epstein, both of whom were from orthodox Jewish backgrounds, each created a number of works of Christ. Although in Epstein's case, and only later in his career, some of these works were commissioned, both Chagall's and Epstein's works of Christ were self-driven. Chagall described himself as having been "haunted" by the face of Christ in his early years and his several crucifixion paintings were of a Jesus who was not the Christ of Christian dogma, but a "Jewish Jesus" who summed up the suffering of the Jewish people. Epstein similarly created a Christ that was beyond the conventions of the time, through his predilection for using primitive forms in his work. During his life-time, many of Epstein's Christs were met with resistance, but the more visionary critics understood the importance of his work in freeing the image of Christ from the matrix of convention and opening new possibilities of theological perception and understanding. The work of both Chagall and Epstein, who were contemporaries, is examined in relation to Jewish modernism, a movement ongoing in their formative years and before, in which Jewish intellectuals, writers and artists were engaged in efforts to work-out the relationship of Judaism to Jesus and the surrounding Christian world. The atrocities of the Holocaust effectively ended this dialogue. The potential contributions of the thought and creative works of this pre-World War II interreligious interchange to contemporary Jewish-Christian dialogue are discussed.