Two Faiths, One Covenant?: Jewish and Christian Identity in the Presence of the OtherEugene B. Korn, John Pawlikowski Judaism and Christianity are religions bound together by their claims to the same biblical covenant initiated by God with Abraham and his descendants. Yet, despite the inseparable connection between the election of Israel and that of the church, between the "old" and the "new" covenant, this shared spiritual patrimony has been the source of a type of violent sibling rivalry competing for the same paternal love and inherited entitlement. God, it seemed, had but one blessing to bestow. It could be given to either Jacob or Esau--but not both. In the twenty-first century, however, Jews and Christians are challenged to reconsider their theological assumptions by two inescapable truths: the moral tragedy of the holocaust demands that Christian thinkers acknowledge the violent effects of theologically de-legitimizing Jews and Judaism, and the pervasive reality of cultural and religious pluralism calls both Christian and Jewish theologians to rethink the covenant in the presence of the Other. Two Faiths, One Covenant? Jewish and Christian Identity in the Presence of the Other is a breakthrough work that embraces this contemporary challenge and charts a path toward fruitful interfaith dialogue. The Christian and Jewish theologians in this book explore the ways that both religions have understood the covenant in biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern religious writings and reflect on how the covenant can serve as a reservoir for a positive theological relationship between Christianity and Judaism--not merely one of non-belligerent tolerance, but of respect and theological pluralism, however limited. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 44
... Scripture is in counterpoint to each other : Jewish commentaries read the narrative as the pro- totype of the devotion that God required of the Jewish people and as the di- vine rejection of human sacrifice ; Christian sources saw it as ...
... Scriptures as mere " stunted versions of the real thing . " This entails reconsideration of major topics such as prefiguration on the Christian side and martyrdom on the Jewish side . Perhaps the most im- portant meaning of the Akedah ...
... Scriptures a more developed notion of covenant . Here the relationship of Jew- ish and Christian Scriptures is more prominent , where the Church acknowl- edges that " the Jewish reading of the Bible is a possible one , " and " far from ...
... Scriptures that give human beings ( partial ) access to God . Although Jews and Christians worship the same God and seek authority from the same Bible ( at least partially ) , the two traditions have taken radically different approaches ...
... Scriptures insist that the covenant is " not in heaven " ( Deut . 30:12 ) , but is reachable by continuous human striving . Above all , covenantal partnership requires empathy , compassion , and a window to life rather than to death ...
Contents
Bound by the Bible Jews Christians and the Binding of Isaac | 11 |
The Binding of Isaac Hermeneutical Reflections | 29 |
The Akedah and Covenant Today | 35 |
THE COVENANT IN HISTORY | 43 |
The Covenant in Patristic and Medieval Christian Theology | 45 |
The Covenant in Rabbinic Thought | 65 |
The Covenant in Contemporary Ecclesial Documents | 81 |
The Covenant in Recent Theological Statements | 111 |