Synopses & Reviews
Persecution, Polemic, and Dialogue follows the interaction between Jews and Christians through the ages in all its richness, complexity, and diversity. This collection of essays analyzes anti-Semitism, perceptions of the Other, and religious debates in the Middle Ages and proceeds to consider modern and contemporary interactions, which are marked by both striking continuity and profound difference. These include controversies among historians, the promise and challenge of interfaith dialogue, and the explosive exchanges surrounding Mel Gibson's film on the passion. This volume will engage scholars, students, and any reader intrigued by one of the longest and most fraught inter-group relationships in history.
Synopsis
Friendship and hatred, tolerance and persecution, intimacy and estrangement, dialogue and debate, routine interaction and explosive crisis-all these mark the complex and fascinating relationship between Christians and Jews over a period of two millennia. This volume addresses that relationship in all its intriguing variety ranging from Jewish views of Jesus to medieval persecutions of Jews to the impact of the State of Israel to the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's film on the passion. The essays in this collection are essential reading for anyone involved or interested in a tense and creative interchange that transformed the world -- and continues to transform it.