Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I THE APOSTLE PAUL AND POPULAR JEWISH CULTURAL IDENTITY
- PART II THE APOSTLE PAUL AND JEWISH RELIGIOUS IDENTITY: NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES AND THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES
- 2 Constructions of Paul and Interfaith Relations: Building Barriers or Bridges between Judaism and Christianity
- 3 Constructions of Paul in Intra-Jewish Debate: Establishing Jewish Authenticity
- 4 Constructions of Paul as a Dialogical Partner: Transformative Approaches to Jewish Self-Understanding
- PART III THE APOSTLE PAUL AND JEWISH INTEREST IN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION: ARTISTIC AND LITERARY APPROACHES
- PART IV THE APOSTLE PAUL AND JEWISH CRITIQUES OF THE PLACE OF RELIGION IN SOCIETY: PHILOSOPHICAL AND PSYCHOANALYTICAL APPROACHES
- Conclusion
- Appendix: The Story of Abbu Gulish in The Book of Tales
- Bibliography
- Scripture and Other Ancient Writings Index
- General Index
- References
3 - Constructions of Paul in Intra-Jewish Debate: Establishing Jewish Authenticity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I THE APOSTLE PAUL AND POPULAR JEWISH CULTURAL IDENTITY
- PART II THE APOSTLE PAUL AND JEWISH RELIGIOUS IDENTITY: NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES AND THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES
- 2 Constructions of Paul and Interfaith Relations: Building Barriers or Bridges between Judaism and Christianity
- 3 Constructions of Paul in Intra-Jewish Debate: Establishing Jewish Authenticity
- 4 Constructions of Paul as a Dialogical Partner: Transformative Approaches to Jewish Self-Understanding
- PART III THE APOSTLE PAUL AND JEWISH INTEREST IN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION: ARTISTIC AND LITERARY APPROACHES
- PART IV THE APOSTLE PAUL AND JEWISH CRITIQUES OF THE PLACE OF RELIGION IN SOCIETY: PHILOSOPHICAL AND PSYCHOANALYTICAL APPROACHES
- Conclusion
- Appendix: The Story of Abbu Gulish in The Book of Tales
- Bibliography
- Scripture and Other Ancient Writings Index
- General Index
- References
Summary
As we have seen, Jewish views of the apostle Paul are often discussed in the context of Jewish–Christian relations. This is because for many Jewish writers Paul represents an opportunity to contrast Jewish and Christian worldviews, or, for a select few, Paul potentially offers a chance to build relations and emphasise commonalities with Christians. Either way, Paul is used as a means by which to define Jewish religious views in relation to Christianity. For some writers, however, often those who are keen to distance themselves from anti-Christian polemics, alternative or additional agenda are apparent. A number of mainly progressive thinkers have used their studies as platforms from which to engage in a quite different kind of apologetic: an intra-Jewish one. As a result, Jewish Pauline studies can be regarded as a kind of ideological battlefield in which some of the most contentious issues for modern religious Jews feature prominently.
PAULINE STUDIES AS A FOREIGN THEATRE OF INTRA-JEWISH WARFARE
In ‘A Jewish Ideological Perspective on the Study of Christian Scripture’ (1997), the North American Reconstructionist rabbi and scholar Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus set out to identify and account for themes and areas that generate ideological conflict within Jewish New Testament scholarship in general. He observed that a common feature of such studies was that the writers often emphasised their lack of interest in Jewish–Christian polemics and stressed their own scholarly objectivity in contrast to Jewish studies before them.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Apostle Paul in the Jewish ImaginationA Study in Modern Jewish-Christian Relations, pp. 97 - 153Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010