Invention and convention: Jewish and Christian critique of the Jewish fixed calendar

The institution of the Jewish fixed calendar has provoked muchcontroversial discussion not only among Jewish, but also Christian scholars. The significant contributions to the subject by two of the great sixteenth-century polymaths, the Jew Azariah de' Rossi and the Christian Sebastian Münster, pinpoint the delicate nature of calendrical investigation. Münster's frequent use of one particular piyyut (a religious poem) to undermine the basis of the Jewish fixed calendar is intended to defend the contradictory calendrical data in the Gospels. De' Rossi implicitly attacks Muenster for his recourse to this unhistorical text. Yet de' Rossi himself is intent on proving that the Jewish fixed calendar is a late post-talmudic convention, an iconoclastic approach which was not welcome in certain rabbinic circles. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Patristic and Early Christian Biblical Exegesis: A New Tool for Historians,Theologians, and Philosophers

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation (2019) should be viewed as a definitive new tool for understanding the contextual concerns, literary genres, and shifting ideological principles that generated Early Christian biblical exegesis. This review essay explains why the new Handbook is distinct among tools of its kind, and highlights some of its major benefits for encountering and engaging the ancient resources of Christian theologies on their own terms. This collection of essays may be fruitfully used to nuance and expand contemporary trends in hermeneutical and analytic theology (This research is made possible by Research Foundation – Flanders [F.W.O.]).     

Divine Self-Invention: Leontius of Jerusalem'S Reinterpretation of the Patristic Model of the Christian God

This article analyses the Trinitarian theology of the seventh-centurytheologian Leontius of Jerusalem. Leontius’ overridingconcern was to demonstrate that the concept of composition,which seemed to entail change in the component parts, couldbe applied to the incarnation of the Word. However, in developinghis argument he radically reinterpreted traditional Trinitariantheology. He not only reorganized the Trinity according to thechristological model so that the relation between Father andSon mirrors the relation between Word and flesh but also turnedit from a timeless framework, within which the event of theincarnation takes place, into the result of a previous act ofdivine self-constitution. Such reasoning became possible becauseLeontius conceived of God not in terms of being but in termsof action and will: God must act in order to be God in the truesense but at the same time he is not constrained by his ownnature and can therefore reinvent himself whenever he wishes.Leontius’ model of God is not a complete innovation: theconceptual framework had existed for a long time. However, onlyafter the radical deconstruction of the Patristic understandingof God with its careful balance between voluntaristic and ontologicalelements could it become the basis of Christian belief.     

Using REBT in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Couples Counseling in the United States

This article addresses how marriage functions within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Case studies of couples within these three religions are used to demonstrate how rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) can help address marital issues within couples counseling of religious individuals in a manner that supports the couples’ religious values but decreases disturbance associated with religious issues within marriage.     

Bridging the Void: New Interpretations of Christian Mysticism and Mystical Theology

There is currently a welcome intensification of interest in the contemporary theological significance of both historical traditions of mystical theology and twentieth‐century theories of mysticism. This review article surveys and evaluates the stimulating range of approaches to these two issues contained in the essays in these volumes. It suggests that the volumes make evident the difficulty of attempting to uncover an underlying conceptual unity in these two historically entangled but deeply different forms of thought. The historical and philosophical sophistication with which many of these essays reflect on these tensions, however, points towards fruitful lines of future enquiry.     

Revising Jewish History: The Effect of the First Two Centuries of Christian Rule

Book reviewed in this article:
Gunter Stemberger, Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the Fourth Century     

Sacred practices in highly religious families: Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim perspectives

Quantitative research examining linkages between family relationships and religious experience has increased substantially in recent years. However, related qualitative research, including research that examines the processes and meanings behind recurring religion-family correlations, remains scant. To address this paucity, a racially diverse sample (N = 24) of married, highly religious Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and Muslim parents of school-aged children were interviewed regarding the importance of religious family interactions, rituals, and practices in their families. Mothers and fathers discussed several religious practices that were meaningful to them and explained why these practices were meaningful. Parents also identified costs and challenges associated with these practices. Interview data are presented in connection with three themes: (1) "practicing [and parenting] what you preach," (2) religious practices, family connection, and family communion, and (3) costs of family religious practices. The importance of family clinicians and researchers attending to the influence of religious practice in the lives of highly religious individuals and families is discussed.     

基督教神秘主义起源探索

本文以历史的眼光,通过对基督教起源的追溯,意图发现形成神秘主义的诸种因素,并进一步探讨早期的基督教神秘主义思想.     

A Conversation About the Intersection of Faith,Sexual Orientation,and Gender: Jewish,Christian, and Muslim Perspectives

Recent challenges to counselor education and the ACA Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association, 2005 ) provided impetus for this article, which is focused on how 3 major Western religions address counseling and counselor training with diverse clients. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives are highlighted as related to counseling and training issues across faith, sexual orientation, and gender issues.     

Jews,Economic Metaphors,and the Healthy Body Politic: The Jewish Role in Christian Economic Narratives and the Birth of Modern Economics

Jewish History - The linguistic structure of the Western Christian discourse about economics as resembling and symbolizing the entire logic of earthly government and order was closely connected to...