Children of the Flesh, Children of the Promise

In this provocative follow-up to his enormously influential ' A Rabbi Talks with Jesus', Jacob Neusner challenges the apostle Paul to debate the true meaning and significance of Judaism. Drawing new boundaries for Jewish-Christian dialogue, Neusner contends that Paul's misinterpretation of Judaism – a misinterpretation perpetuated today by many Christians and Jews – has resulted in the widespread perception of Judaism as ethnic and particular, and Christianity as universal. Yet as Neusner clearly demonstrates, just as Christianity presents an option to all of God's faithful, so too does Judaism's mediation of the voice of God at Sinai echo across the entire world. Rabbi Neusner challenges not only St. Paul but all of those who mistakenly think that Judaism is an ethnic religion, that is to say, a religion for a specific people without any universality of concern. The Rabbi demonstrates very clearly that this assumption is incorrect. I think St. Paul would be delighted and I know Isaiah would. – Andrew M. Greeley, Professor of Social Science, University of Chicago, and coauthor of 'The Bible and Us: A Priest and a Rabbi Read Scripture Together' More than a contribution to interfaith understanding, …a powerful mediation on religion and ethnicity carried through to the present day. In an age of ethnic conflict, this is a book as timely as it is generous and profound. – Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain Jacob Neusner is Research Professor of Religion and Theology at Bard College and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Theology at Bard. He has published more than 900 books and unnumbered articles, both scholarly and academic, popular and journalistic, and is the most published humanities scholar in the world. He has been awarded nine honorary degrees, including seven US and European honorary doctorates. He received his A.B. from Harvard College in 1953, his Ph.D. from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in 1961, and Rabbinical Ordination and the degree of Master of Hebrew Letters from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1960. Neusner is editor of the 'Encyclopedia of Judaism' (Brill, 1999. I-III) and its Supplements; Chair of the Editorial Board of 'The Review of Rabbinic Judaism, ' and Editor in Chief of 'The Brill Reference Library of Judaism', both published by E. J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands. He is editor of 'Studies in Judaism', University Press of America. Neusner resides with his wife in Rhinebeck, New York. They have a daughter, three sons and three daughters-in-law, six granddaughters and two grandsons.