Examines the attitudes of Judaism toward other religions. Asserts that, in the course of its long history, Judaism became progressively more tolerant toward Christianity. It was the persecutions suffered by Jews in Christian countries - anti-Jewish accusations, pogroms, forced conversions, accusations against the Talmud, theological disputations - and the atmosphere of fear generated by them, as well as the persecution of Conversos by the Inquisition, which impeded improvement in the Jewish perception of Christianity. Ch. 8 (pp. 133-152), "Post-Holocaust Jewish Thinkers, " examines the impact of Christian theology on Jewish theologians of the Holocaust (Schoeps, Rubenstein, Fackenheim, Maybaum, A.A. Cohen).

Provides a basis for considering the claims of a wide variety of Jewish and Christian writers in the Judeo-Christian tradition, from biblical times to the present, who have wrestled with the issues of religious pluralism. In many cases these thinkers have reflected on the merits of one another's faith; alternatively, they have considered the truth-claims of their own faith in relation to the world's religions. Profiles on some 90 thinkers, such as Augustine, Helen Fry, and Baruch Spinoza, provide the type of information most commonly sought by students and general readers, including biographical details, theological position, and samples of work. The author is a professor of Judaism at the University of Wales, and visiting professor of interfaith dialog at Middlesex University. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)