Emphasizes the radical difference between how Jews and Christians perceived themselves and each other in medieval Europe, focusing on the Franco-German region. The Jews considered themselves the true heirs to God's promises to Abraham. Christians insisted that because Jews had rejected the Messiah, God had rejected them, and therefore they were eternally damned. Jews were acceptable only if they were economically useful to the powerful, and as exemplars of what it meant to be not-Christian. That role, in good times and bad, shaped the Jewish experience and molded the Jewish consciousness. Inter alia, quotes Christian documents to indicate a prevalence of antisemitic Christian myths, stereotypes, and fantasies about Jews. The inequality of Christian-Jewish relations is described in terms of dependence, exploitation, terror, forced conversions, massacres, expulsions, etc., along with blood libels and Host desecration accusations, among others. Popes, lower clergymen, emperors, kings, nobles, and the lower classes were all involved, at different times and places, in persecuting Jews. Ashkenazi culture is shown as having developed in reaction to (and sometimes influenced by) Christian culture.

Today's popular champions of atheism are often called New Atheists, because they don't just deny God's existence, they consider it their duty to scorn and ridicule religious belief. In Answering Atheism, Trent Horn responds with a fresh and useful resource, combining a thorough refutation of atheist claims with a skillfully constructed case for theism based on reason and common sense. Uniquely, he advocates a charitable approach that respects atheists' sincerity and good will--making this book suitable not just for believers but for skeptics and seekers too. Meticulously researched, and street-tested in Horn's work as a pro-God apologist, he tackles all the major issues, including: Reconciling human evil and suffering with the existence of a loving, all-powerful God- Does the empirical sciences eliminate the need for God- How atheists deny moral laws in theory but seldom in practice- Why the atheist symbol of the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" is flawed- History's best arguments for the existence of God and more! The secularistic modern world is turning increasingly more hostile to religious believers. Be ready to defend the basic reasonableness of theism.

An overview of the history of antisemitism throughout the ages, with emphasis on the modern period. Ch. 3 (pp. 39-70) deals with ancient and medieval anti-Judaism, and the rest of the book describes antisemitism from the Enlightenment to the present day. The 19th century saw the development of racialism and theories of a Jewish conspiracy. The dramatic rise of antisemitism after World War I ended with the Holocaust. Afterwards antisemitism appeared in the guise of anti-Zionism, Holocaust denial, neo-fascism and other forms. Subsequently, antisemitism was adopted by the Left and by the Muslim world. Nowadays the radical Left, radical Right, and radical Muslim antisemitisms are undistinguishable and form all kinds of alliances with one another. It is difficult to differentiate between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. At present, antisemitism, by whatever name, is still much more than a mere historical memory.

Not long ago, everyone knew that Judaism came before Christianity. More recently, scholars have begun to recognize that the historical picture is quite a bit more complicated than that. In the Jewish world of the first century, many sects competed for the name of the true Israel and the true interpreter of the Torah—the Talmud itself speaks of seventy—and the form of Judaism that was to be the seedbed of what eventually became the Christian Church was but one of these many sects. Scholars have come to realize that we can and need to speak of a twin birth of Christianity and Judaism, not a genealogy in which one is parent to the other. In this book, the author develops a revised understanding of the interactions between nascent Christianity and nascent Judaism in late antiquity, interpreting the two "new" religions as intensely and complexly intertwined throughout this period. Although the "officials" of the eventual winners in both communities—the Rabbis in Judaism and the orthodox leaders in Christianity—sought to deny it, until the end of late antiquity many people remained both Christians and Jews. This resulted, among other things, in much shared religious innovation that affected the respective orthodoxies as well. Dying for God aims to establish this model as a realistic one through close and comparative readings of contemporary Christian texts and Talmudic narratives that thematize the connections and differences between Christians and Jews as these emerged around the issue of martyrdom. The author argues that, in the end, the developing discourse of martyrology involved the circulation and exchange of cultural and religious innovations between the two communities as they moved toward sharper self-definition.

The Interior Castle is considered St. Teresa of Avila’s masterpiece. She wrote this last work in just a few months in 1577, five years before her death. At this point in her life she had been granted the highest mystical graces; this book is the fruit of her lived experience and a deep-felt praise of God for it. More than a book, The Interior Castle is a powerful image of the mystery of the human person. It is, in a very real sense, Teresa’s soul. Using the image of a castle, Teresa describes the soul’s progressive inner journey through seven dwelling places, until finally reaching the center where, now transformed, it is united with God. Reading the works of Teresa herself is indispensable. This second, revised study edition has been completely redesigned as a springboard to reading and understanding Teresa’s text. The book presents a chapter of The Interior Castle itself, followed by a review of the development of her thought and the principal ideas in each chapter. Interpretive notes after each chapter cover doctrine, history, and sociology. Expanded questions for reflection and/or discussion conclude each chapter. A glossary of terms offers definitions as well as their specific and sometimes unique meaning in Teresa’s writings. Comprehensive indexes of key themes and figures, castle imagery, and biblical references make this volume an indispensable reference resource. Then, because Teresa always wanted her writings to be in harmony with Scripture, the study edition offers a biblical index that lists by page number scriptural texts or allusions to them found in Teresa's writings. With its combination of Teresa's text and modern commentary and notes, The Interior Castle Study Edition demonstrates how contemporary church teachings are reflected in Teresa's basic concepts and principles of the spiritual life, and how modern readers can apply these perennially rich teachings to our lives today.

"From one of the leading historians of the Jewish past comes a stunning look into a previously unexamined dimension of Jewish life and culture: the calendar. In the late sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII instituted a momentous reform of Western timekeeping, and with it a period of great instability. Jews, like all minority cultures in Europe, had to realign their time-keeping to accord with the new Christian calendar. Elisheva Carlebach shows that the calendar is a complex and living system, constantly modified as new preoccupations emerge and old priorities fade. Calendars serve to structure time and activities and thus become mirrors of experience. Through this seemingly mundane and all-but-overlooked document, we can reimagine the quotidian world of early modern Jewry, of market days and sacred days, of times to avoid Christian gatherings and times to secure communal treasures. In calendars, we see one of the central paradoxes of Jewish existence: the need to encompass the culture of the other while retaining one#x19;s own unique culture. Carlebach reveals that Jews have always lived in multiple time scales, and demonstrates how their accounting for time, as much as any cultural monument, has shaped Jewish life. After a decade exploring Judaica collections around the world, Carlebach brings to light these textually rich and beautifully designed repositories of Jewish life. With color illustrations throughout, this is an evocative illumination of how early modern Jewry marked the rhythms and realities of time and filled it with anxieties and achievements."--Jacket.

This work takes up two related questions with regard to Jesus: his intention and his relationship to his contemporaries in Judaism. These questions immediately lead to two others: the reason for his death (did his intention involve an opposition to Judaism which led to death?) and the motivating force behind the rise of Christianity (did the split between the Christian movement and Judaism originate in opposition during Jesus' lifetime?).

"Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are usually treated as autonomous religions, but in fact across the long course of their histories the three religions have developed in interaction with one another. In Neighboring Faiths, David Nirenberg examines how Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived with and thought about each other during the Middle Ages and what the medieval past can tell us about how they do so today. There have been countless scripture-based studies of the three "religions of the book," but Nirenberg goes beyond those to pay close attention to how the three religious neighbors loved, tolerated, massacred, and expelled each other--all in the name of God--in periods and places both long ago and far away. Nirenberg argues that the three religions need to be studied in terms of how each affected the development of the others over time, their proximity of religious and philosophical thought as well as their overlapping geographies, and how the three "neighbors" define--and continue to define--themselves and their place in terms of one another. From dangerous attractions leading to interfaith marriage; to interreligious conflicts leading to segregation, violence, and sometimes extermination; to strategies for bridging the interfaith gap through language, vocabulary, and poetry, Nirenberg aims to understand the intertwined past of the three faiths as a way for their heirs to produce the future--together." -- Publisher's description.

Why the meaning of sin changed radically during the first centuries of Christianity Ancient Christians invoked sin to account for an astonishing range of things, from the death of God's son to the politics of the Roman Empire that worshipped him. In this book, award-winning historian of religion Paula Fredriksen tells the surprising story of early Christian concepts of sin, exploring the ways that sin came to shape ideas about God no less than about humanity. Long before Christianity, of course, cultures had articulated the idea that human wrongdoing violated relations with the divine. But Sin tells how, in the fevered atmosphere of the four centuries between Jesus and Augustine, singular new Christian ideas about sin emerged in rapid and vigorous variety, including the momentous shift from the belief that sin is something one does to something that one is born into. As the original defining circumstances of their movement quickly collapsed, early Christians were left to debate the causes, manifestations, and remedies of sin. This is a powerful and original account of the early history of an idea that has centrally shaped Christianity and left a deep impression on the secular world as well.

The creation of the Christian Church is one of the most important stories in the development of the world's history, but also one of the most enigmatic and little understood, shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding. With a forensic, brilliant re-examination of all the key surviving texts of early Christianity, Geza Vermes illuminates the origins of a faith and traces the evolution of the figure of Jesus from the man he was - a prophet fully recognisable as the successor to other Jewish holy men of the Old Testament - to what he came to represent: a mysterious, otherworldly being at the heart of a major new religion.

The creation of the Christian Church is one of the most important stories in the development of the world's history, but also one of the most enigmatic and little understood, shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding. With a forensic, brilliant re-examination of all the key surviving texts of early Christianity, Geza Vermes illuminates the origins of a faith and traces the evolution of the figure of Jesus from the man he was - a prophet fully recognisable as the successor to other Jewish holy men of the Old Testament - to what he came to represent: a mysterious, otherworldly being at the heart of a major new religion.--

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The historical separation between Judaism and Christianity is often figured as a clearly defined break of a single entity into two separate religions. Following this model, there would have been one religion known as Judaism before the birth of Christ, which then took on a hybrid identity. Even before its subsequent division, certain beliefs and practices of this composite would have been identifiable as Christian or Jewish.In Border Lines , however, Daniel Boyarin makes a striking case for a very different way of thinking about the historical development that is the partition of Judaeo-Christianity. There were no characteristics or features that could be described as uniquely Jewish or Christian in late antiquity, Boyarin argues. Rather, Jesus-following Jews and Jews who did not follow Jesus lived on a cultural map in which beliefs, such as that in a second divine being, and practices, such as keeping kosher or maintaining the Sabbath, were widely and variably distributed. The ultimate distinctions between Judaism and Christianity were imposed from above by "border-makers," heresiologists anxious to construct a discrete identity for Christianity. By defining some beliefs and practices as Christian and others as Jewish or heretical, they moved ideas, behaviors, and people to one side or another of an artificial border--and, Boyarin significantly contends, invented the very notion of religion.

"The pages of church history are marked by countless horrors committed against the Jewish people. From the first persecutions of the Jews in the fourth century to the horrors of the Holocaust, from Israel-bashing in today's press to anti-Semitism spouted from the pulpit, this painful book tells the tragic story that every Christian must read. In a freshly updated and expanded edition of this pivotal work, Dr. Michael Brown exposes the faulty theological roots that opened the door to anti-Semitism in Church history, explaining why well-meaning believers so often fall into the trap of hate... and showing how you can bring an end to the cycle of violence. This generation can make a difference. Now is the time for change! Discover the important role you play in helping to shape a Church that will bless Israel rather than curse Israel." -- From back cover.

Angels have appeared universally throughout history in folklore, art, and in many religions. They bring messages from heaven to us mortals here on earth. This book celebrates the human angels - all around us - who inspire us by bringing us peace and tranquility, innocence and joy, hope and love.

Hasidism Incarnate contends that much of modern Judaism in the West developed in reaction to Christianity and in defense of Judaism as a unique tradition. Ironically enough, this occurred even as modern Judaism increasingly dovetailed with Christianity with regard to its ethos, aesthetics, and attitude toward ritual and faith. Shaul Magid argues that the Hasidic movement in Eastern Europe constitutes an alternative "modernity," one that opens a new window on Jewish theological history. Unlike Judaism in German lands, Hasidism did not develop under a "Christian gaze" and had no need to be apologetic of its positions. Unburdened by an apologetic agenda (at least toward Christianity), it offered a particular reading of medieval Jewish Kabbalah filtered through a focus on the charismatic leader that resulted in a religious worldview that has much in common with Christianity. It is not that Hasidic masters knew about Christianity; rather, the basic tenets of Christianity remained present, albeit often in veiled form, in much kabbalistic teaching that Hasidism took up in its portrayal of the charismatic figure of the zaddik, whom it often described in supernatural terms.

In this enduring classic, Alfred Edersheim explores the broad sweep of Old Testament history. He brings to his work his immense learning and familiarity with Judaism, as well as his love for Scripture and his desire for every Christian to know and understand the story of God's redemptive work in history. This new edition of Edersheim's classic features the following improvements: - Entirely reset in a modern and easy-to-read typeface - Complete and unabridged in one volume - Arabic numbers replace roman numerals - New maps to provide for richer understanding "In writing it " Bible History: Old Testament]" I have primarily had in view those who teach and those who learn, whether in the school or in the family. But my scope has also been wider. I have wished to furnish, what may be useful for reading in the family, --what indeed may, in some measure, serve the place of a popular exposition of the sacred history. More than this, I hope it may likewise prove a book to put in the hands of students, to show them what the Bible really teaches." --Alfred Edersheim

This wide-ranging book is an intellectual history of how informed readers read their Bibles over the past four hundred years, from the first translations in the sixteenth century to the emergence of fundamentalism in the twentieth century. In an astonishing display of erudition, David Katz recreates the response of readers from different eras by examining the 'horizon of expectations' that provided the lens through which they read. In the Renaissance, says Katz, learned men rushed to apply the tools of textual analysis to the Testaments, fully confident that God's Word would open up and reveal shades of further truth. During the English Civil War, there was a symbiotic relationship between politics and religion, as the practical application of the biblical message was hammered out. Science - Newtonian and Darwinian, as well as the emerging disciplines of anthropology, archaeology and geology - also had great impact on how the Bible was received. The rise of the novel and the development of a concept of authorial copyright were other factors that alerted readers' experience. Katz discusses all of these and more, concluding with the growth of fundamentalism in America, which brought biblical interpretation back to the Lutheran certainty of a demonstrable authority. 'This is a wonderfully learned, very clever, artfully constructed and engagingly written book.' Peter Lake, Princeton University David S. Katz holds the Abraham Horodisch Chair for the History of Books at Tel Aviv University. He is the author of 'The Jews in the History of England, 1485-1850' and, with Richard H. Popkin, 'Messianic Revolution: Radical Religious Politics to the End of the Second Millennium'.

In this illuminating study Rabbi Cohn-Sherbok traces the fascinating story of the finding, losing and finding again of the Promised Land.