Review: Brothers Estranged: Heresy, Christianity, and Jewish Identity in Late Antiquity (original) (raw)
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Adiel Schremer. Brothers Estranged: Heresy, Christianity, and Jewish Identity in Late Antiquity
Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, 2011
Antiquity represents the latest contribution to academic discourse about rabbinic attitudes to early Christianity, the identity of the minim, and the construction of separate Jewish and Christian identities. The uniqueness of Schremer"s volume derives from the set of well-defined methodological guidelines that he limns for himself. He applies sociological theories about identity formation to the late antique rabbinic construction of social boundaries. He carefully applies these only to the earliest rabbinic texts, which he reads critically in order to identify later accretions and to avoid drawing conclusions based on these additions. He also deeply questions the presuppositions by which other scholars read the rabbinic traditions, suggesting that their questions have been shaped by Christian culture, thus generating gratuitous interpretations of the texts as responses to Christianity instead of considering other alternatives. Schremer seeks to read his carefully selected texts through internal Jewish lenses and thus to come to a sharper analysis of the degree to which early rabbinic Judaism was indeed constructed in dialectic with Christianity.
Brothers Estranged: Heresy, Christianity, and Jewish Identity in Late Antiquity, 2010
brothers estr anged dramatic shift. "According to conventional wisdom," writes Alan F. Segal at the opening passage of his book Rebecca's Children, "the first century witnessed the beginning of only one religion, Christianity. Judaism is generally thought to have begun in the more distant past, at the time of Abraham, Moses, or even Ezra." 3 In contrast to this traditional view, a whole new outlook has emerged in the writings of various scholars in the last twenty years. As Segal puts it: "The time of Jesus marks the beginning of not one but two great religions of the West, Judaism and Christianity." 4 As a result, instead of looking at Judaism and Christianity as "mother" and "daughter," as the relations between the two great religions are traditionally looked at, scholars have come more and more to agree that, in fact, "Judaism and Christianity can essentially claim a twin birth." 5 The abandonment of the "older" view has resulted in greater willingness, on the part of these scholars, to discuss the relationships between rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, that is, between the classical rabbinic literature and early Christian literature, in a more open manner than previous generations of scholars would allow themselves. Possible similarities and mutual connections between these two late ancient religions are now more willingly acknowledged. Furthermore, the apologetic tendency shared by both Jewish and Christian scholars to presuppose the priority-both chronologically and (at least for Jews) theologically-of Jewish sources over similar Christian materials, which rests on, and is justified by, an unconscious (but at times even conscious) employment of the "mother-daughter" model, is now giving way to other explanations for the similarities and connections existing between rabbinic and early Christian texts. Some scholars argue for the opposite altogether, that is, for the chronological priority, in some cases, of the Christian materials, which were then borrowed and internalized by rabbinic sources mostly for the sake of rejection and polemic. The works of the Israeli historian Israel J. Yuval are perhaps the most representative of this approach. In several provocative papers published in the last two decades, Yuval argued that not only was Christianity influenced by Judaism but also Judaism was influenced by Christianity. Indeed, according to Yuval, the entire rabbinic project should be seen as a response to Christianity. The rabbis, according to this view, were responding to Christian ideas and shaped Judaism in such a manner as to reject them. 6 For this reason, Yuval argues, one can detect in rabbinic literature numerous themes that parallel early Christian sources. Other scholars attempted to explain this state of affairs by suggesting a model that sees early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism as two parallel transmission lines of one and the same reservoir of Jewish tradition that goes back
Reimagined Boundaries: Jewish and Christian in Late Antiquity: Chapter 1
Reimagined Boundaries: Jewish and Christian in Late Antiquity, 2021
This is the first draft chapter of Reimagined Boundaries: Jewish and Christian in Late Antiquity. The first chapter begins this discourse in a manner that may surprise many readers. The academic study of Judaism and Christianity at universities has primarily occurred under distinct and seemingly ex-clusive departments or disciplines. While the study of Christianity in the context of the Second Temple Period is accepted today, the path towards a genu-inely multi-disciplinary approach to both religious traditions is still evolving. With that in mind, a his-torical conference on a completely unrelated field of study brought to mind several connections to Juda-ism and Christianity. This chapter briefly discusses the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and the development of Spanish and Mexican identity con-cerning each other. This model is applied to Jewish and Christian identities, hopefully providing a unique and helpful method for consideration.
For those who seek the origins of our modern conceptions of Judaism and Christianity as ultimately related yet essentially distinct religions, the idea of the "Parting of the Ways" proves powerfully attractive, offering a reassuringly ecumenical etiology of the religious differences between present-day Christians and Jews. 1 In this model Judaism and Christianity are likened to two paths that branched off from a single road, never to cross or converge again. 2 Even as their common origin is affirmed, the allegedly fundamental distinction between the two is explained as a result of a mutual decision, long ago, to part their fates and go their separate ways.
For those who seek the origins of our modern conceptions of Judaism and Christianity as ultimately related yet essentially distinct religions, the idea of the "Parting of the Ways" proves powerfully attractive, offering a reassuringly ecumenical etiology of the religious differences between present-day Christians and Jews. 1 In this model Judaism and Christianity are likened to two paths that branched off from a single road, never to cross or converge again. 2 Even as their common origin is affirmed, the allegedly fundamental distinction between the two is explained as a result of a mutual decision, long ago, to part their fates and go their separate ways.
With some regularity one encounters the claim that early Christian and rabbinic constructions of and responses to “heresy” exhibit striking similarities. These commonalities have been variously explained in terms of influence by Judaism upon Christianity (or vice versa) or as evidence of an undifferentiated Judeo-Christianity. This essay problematizes the idea that rabbinic and patristic discourses about heresy were remarkably similar. It argues, first, that this notion is to a significant extent based on statements in early Christian literature that should not be taken as reliable accounts of contemporary Jewish discourse and, second, that substantial differences between rabbinic and patristic responses to deviance have been insufficiently appreciated.
Review of Biblical Literature, 2010
The Ways That Never Parted is a collection of essays originally presented at a 2002 conference hosted by Oxford and Princeton Universities. Originally published as a hardcover by Mohr Siebeck in 2003, the 2007 Fortress paperback version includes the seventeen original essays plus a new preface that highlights the relevant subsequent publications by the contributors. The conference and ensuing book developed from a desire to shift the discussion of Jewish-Christian relations in the centuries following the early Jesus movement and the destruction of the Second Temple in the first century of the Common Era. Whereas in the past it has typically been argued that Judaism and Christianity decisively parted ways and emerged as independent religions in the first or second century (4), this volume furthers recent scholarly interest in complicating the historical situation. With a provocative title that suggests that Judaism and Christianity never parted, the editors are hoping to break free from the old model. Not only did the old model begin with a limiting and guiding question-when was the single parting of the ways?-but it prevented scholars from dealing seriously with archaeological and literary evidence that conflicted with the prevailing scholarly consensus (16-22). By rethinking our assumptions about Judaism and Christianity in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, the editors and contributors to this volume use the diversity of primary evidence to