Jacob Neusner on Religion

Jacob Neusner on Religion PDF

Author: Aaron W Hughes

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-11-19

Total Pages: 122

ISBN-13: 1317363086

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Jacob Neusner was a prolific and innovative contributor to the study of religion for over fifty years. A scholar of rabbinic Judaism, Neusner regarded Jewish texts as data to address larger questions in the academic study of religion that he helped to formulate. Jacob Neusner on Religion offers the first full critical assessment of his thought on the subject of religion. Aaron W. Hughes delineates the stages of Neusner’s career and provides an overview of Neusner’s personal biography and critical reception. This book is essential reading for students and scholars interested in Neusner specifically, or in the history of Religious Studies, Jewish Studies, and philosophy of religion more broadly.

Jacob Neusner

Jacob Neusner PDF

Author: Aaron W. Hughes

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 1479885851

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Biography: Neusner is a social commentator, a post-Holocaust theologian, and an outspoken political figure. Jacob Neusner (born 1932) is one of the most important figures in the shaping of modern American Judaism. He was pivotal in transforming the study of Judaism from an insular project only conducted by--and of interest to--religious adherents to one which now flourishes in the secular setting of the university. He is also one of the most colorful, creative, and difficult figures in the American academy. But even those who disagree with Neusner's academic approach to ancient rabbinic texts have to engage with his pioneering methods. In this comprehensive biography, Aaron Hughes shows Neusner to be much more than a scholar of rabbinics. He is a social commentator, a post-Holocaust theologian, and was an outspoken political figure during the height of the cultural wars of the 1980s. Neusner's life reflects the story of what happened as Jews migrated to the suburbs in the late 1940s, daring to imagine new lives for themselves as they successfully integrated into the fabric of American society. It is also the story of how American Jews tried to make sense of the world in the aftermath of the extermination of European Jewry and the subsequent creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and how they sought to define what it meant to be an American Jew. Unlike other great American Jewish thinkers, Neusner was born in the U.S., and his Judaism was informed by an American ethos. His Judaism is open, informed by and informing the world. It is an American Judaism, one that has enabled American Jews--the freest in history--to be fully American and fully Jewish.

Introduction to World Religions

Introduction to World Religions PDF

Author: Jacob Neusner

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 0687660009

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With an emphaisis on communities of faith, this accessible book will introduce students to the classic texts, important events, key figures, defining rituals, essential creeds and symbols of world religions. Contents: Introduction by William Scott Green Judaism A. Judaism: Beginnings: Religion of Ancient Israel by Baruch A. Levine B. Judaism: The Formation by Jacob Neusner C. Judaism in Modern Times: Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative Judaism, Zionism by Jacob Neusner 2. Christianity A. Christianity: Beginnings by Bruce Chilton B. Christianity: Roman Catholicism by Lawrence S. Cunningham C. Orthodox Christianity by J. A. McGuckin D. Christianity: Protestantism by Martin E. Marty 3. Islam A. Islam: Beginnings by Th. Emil Homerin B. Islam: The Shiite Tradition by Liyakat Takim C. Islam: The Sunni Tradition by Th. Emil Homerin 4. Hinduism by Douglas Brooks 5. Buddhism A. Buddhism: Beginnings by Mario Poceski B. Buddhism: The Theravada Tradition by Kristen Scheible C. Buddhism: The Mahayana Tradition by Mark L. Blum 6. Daoism by Mark Meulenbled 7. Confucianism by Mark A. Csikszentmihalyi 8. Shinto by James L. Ford 9. Indigenous Religions A. Indigenous Religious Tradition by Jualynne E. Dodson and Soyna Maria Johnson B. African Indigenous Religions by Jacob Olupona 10. New 19th Century American Religions by Danny L. Jorgensen 11. New 20th Century American Religions by Dell deChant

God's Rule

God's Rule PDF

Author: Suzanne Neusner

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Published: 2003-05-06

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9781589013315

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Resisting the tendency to separate the study of religion and politics, editor Jacob Neusner pulls together a collection of ten essays in which various authors explain and explore the relationship between the world's major religions and political power. As William Scott Green writes in the introduction, "Because religion is so comprehensive, it is fundamentally about power; it therefore cannot avoid politics." Beginning with the classical sources and texts of Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism and Hinduism, God's Rule begins to explore the complex nature of how each religion shapes political power, and how religion shapes itself in relation to that power. The corresponding attention to differing theories of politics and views towards non-believers are important not only to studies in comparative religion, but to foreign policy, history and governance as well. From early Christianity's relationship to the Roman Empire to Hinduism's relationship to Gandhi and the caste system, God's Rule provides a basis of understanding from which undergraduates, seminarians and others can begin asking questions of relationships "both unavoidable and systematically uneasy."

Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine

Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine PDF

Author: Jacob Neusner

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-09-15

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0226576477

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With the conversion of Constantine in 312, Christianity began a period of political and cultural dominance that it would enjoy until the twentieth century. Jacob Neusner contradicts the prevailing view that following Christianity's ascendancy, Judaism continued to evolve in isolation. He argues that because of the political need to defend its claims to religious authenticity, Judaism was forced to review itself in the context of a triumphant Christianity. The definition of issues long discussed in Judaism—the meaning of history, the coming of the Messiah, and the political identity of Israel—became of immediate and urgent concern to both parties. What emerged was a polemical dialogue between Christian and Jewish teachers that was unprecedented. In a close analysis of texts by the Christian theologians Eusebius, Aphrahat, and Chrysostom on one hand, and of the central Jewish works the Talmud of the Land of Israel, the Genesis Rabbah, and the Leviticus Rabbah on the other, Neusner finds that both religious groups turned to the same corpus of Hebrew scripture to examine the same fundamental issues. Eusebius and Genesis Rabbah both address the issue of history, Chrysostom and the Talmud the issue of the Messiah, and Aphrahat and Leviticus Rabbah the issue of Israel. As Neusner demonstrates, the conclusions drawn shaped the dialogue between the two religions for the rest of their shared history in the West.

The Incarnation of God

The Incarnation of God PDF

Author: Jacob Neusner

Publisher: Global Academic Publishing

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9781586841096

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Examines the notion of divine incarnations as a central element of the portrait of God that came into focus through the Judaism of the dual Torah.

A Rabbi Talks with Jesus

A Rabbi Talks with Jesus PDF

Author: Jacob Neusner

Publisher: Doubleday Books

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13:

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Straightforward terms concerning why, while Christians believe in Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven, Jews believe in the Torah of Moses and a kingdom of priests and holy people on earth.

Three Faiths, One God

Three Faiths, One God PDF

Author: Jacob Neusner

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-11-08

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 9004496475

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If Moses, Jesus, and the Prophet Muhammad were to meet, what would they tell one another about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? Three of today’s leading scholars explore the topics such a conversation might entail in this comparative study of the three monotheistic faiths. In systematic, side-by-side descriptions, they detail the classical theologies of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the authoritative writings that convey those theologies—Torah, Bible, and Qur’ān. They then compare and contrast the three faiths, which, though distinct and autonomous, address a common set of issues. While asserting that this book is by no means a background source for issues and conflicts among contemporary followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the authors nevertheless aspire to reveal among the three a common potential for mutual understanding. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.

Altruism in World Religions

Altruism in World Religions PDF

Author: Suzanne Neusner

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Published: 2005-11-08

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9781589012356

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In 1830 philosopher Auguste Comte coined the term altruism to provide a general definition for the act of selflessly caring for others. But does this modern conception of sacrificing one's own interests for the well-being of others apply to the charitable behaviors encouraged by all world religions? In Altruism in World Religions prominent scholars from an array of religious perspectives probe the definition of altruism to determine whether it is a category that serves to advance the study of religion. Exploring a range of philosophical and religious thought from Greco-Roman philia to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, from Hinduism in India to Buddhism and the religions of China and Japan, the authors find that altruism becomes problematic when applied to religious studies because it is, in fact, a concept absent from religion. Chapters on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam reveal that followers of these religions cannot genuinely perform self-sacrificing acts because God has promised to reward every good deed. Moreover, the separation between the self and the other that self-sacrifice necessarily implies, runs counter to Buddhist thought, which makes no such distinction. By challenging our assumptions about the act of self-sacrifice as it relates to religious teachings, the authors have shown altruism to be more of a secular than religious notion. At the same time, their findings highlight how charitable acts operate with the values and structures of the religions studied.