The Apostle Paul in the Jewish Imagination: A Study in Modern Jewish-Christian Relations

by Daniel R. Langton

• ISBN13: 9780521517409
• ISBN10: 0521517400
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-22
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The Apostle Paul in the Jewish Imagination is a pioneering multidisciplinary examination of Jewish perspectives on Paul of Tarsus. Here, the views of individual Jewish theologians, religious leaders, and biblical scholars of the last 150 years, together with artistic, literary, philosophical, and psychoanalytical approaches, are set alongside popular cultural attitudes. Few Jews, historically speaking, have engaged with the first-century Apostle to the Gentiles. The modern period has witnessed a burgeoning interest in this topic, however, with treatments reflecting profound concerns about the nature of Jewish authenticity and the developing intercourse between Jews and Christians. In exploring these issues, Jewish commentators have presented Paul in a number of apparently contradictory ways. Among other things, he is both a bridge and a barrier to interfaith harmony; both the founder of Christianity and a convert to it; both an anti-Jewish apostate and a fellow traveler on the path to Jewish self-understanding; and both the chief architect of the religious foundations of Western thought and its destroyer. The Apostle Paul in the Jewish Imagination represents an important contribution to Jewish cultural studies and to the study of Jewish-Christian relations.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The Apostle Paul and Popular Jewish Cultural Identity
Paul in the Popular Jewish Imagination	p. 23
The Apostle Paul and Jewish Identity: New Testament Studies and Theological Approaches
Constructions of Paul and Interfaith Relations: Building Barriers or Bridges between Judaism and Christianity	p. 57
Constructions of Paul in Intra-Jewish Debate: Establishing Jewish Authenticity	p. 97
Constructions of Paul as a Dialogical Partner: Transformative Approaches to Jewish Self-Understanding	p. 154
The Apostle Paul and Jewish Interest in the Judeo-Christian Tradition: Artistic and Literary Approaches	p. 175
An Oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn, a Painting by Ludwig Meidner, and a Play by Franz Werfel	p. 178
The Novels of Shalom Asch and Samuel Sandmel	p. 210
The Apostle Paul and Jewish Critiques of the Place of Religion in Society: Philosophical and Psychoanalytical Approaches	p. 231
The Philosophical Writings of Baruch Spinoza, Lev Shestov, and Jacob Taubes	p. 234
The Psychoanalytical Writings of Sigmund Freud and Hanns Sachs Conclusion	p. 279
Appendix: The Story of Abbu Gulish in The Book of Tales	p. 287
Bibliography	p. 289
Scripture and Other Ancient Writings Index	p. 303
General Index	p. 305
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