Seeing Judaism Anew: Christianity's Sacred Obligation [Paperback]

In September 2002, twenty-one prominent Catholic and Protestant scholars released the groundbreaking document 'A Sacred Obligation,' which includes ten statements about Jewish-Christian dialogue focused around a guiding claim: 'Revising Christian teaching about Judaism and the Jewish people is a central and indispensable obligation of theology in our time.' Following the worldwide reception of their document, the authors have expanded their themes into Seeing Judaism Anew. The essays in this volume offer a conceptual framework by which Christians can rethink their understanding of the church's relationship to Judaism and show how essential it is that Christians represent Judaism accurately, not only as a matter of justice for the Jewish people, but also for the integrity of Christian faith. By linking New Testament scholarship to the Shoah, Christian liturgical life, and developments in the church, this volume addresses the important questions at the heart of Christian identity, such as: Are only Christians saved? Why did Jesus die? Why is Israel so important to Jews, and what should we think about the conflict in the Middle East? How is Christianity complicit in the Holocaust? What is important about Jesus being a Jew?Mary C. Boys holds the chair in Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is a member of the Advisory Committee on Catholic-Jewish Relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and her past publication include Jewish-Christian Dialogue: One Woman's Experience, and Has God Only One Blessing? Judaism as a Source of Christian Self-Understanding.

This book is written with spare understatement and great restraint, yet it makes a major statement and packs real theological power. The various essays systematically redress the past excesses and cruel distortions in Christian treatments of Judaism and articulate a respectful, honorable relationship between the two faiths. This book should be read by every ChrlCu