John Hick,A Christian Theology of Religions: The Rainbow of Faiths

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

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.     

Beggars of God: The Christian Ideal of Mendicancy

In contemporary Western societies, public begging is associated with economic failure and social opprobrium—the lot of street people. So Christians may be puzzled by the fact that an interpretation of the imitation of Christ in the late Middle Ages elevated religious mendicancy into an ideal form of life. Although voluntary religious begging cannot easily be resurrected as a Christian ideal today, the author argues that a radical attitude and practice of trust, self-abandonment, and acknowledgment of dependence on God can be a Christian ideal in any time and place. To follow this way of life, which the author calls mendicancy in attitude, is to become a beggar of God.     

Muhammad in Christian and Jewish apocalyptic expectations

After the destruction of the Temple by the Romans, Jews continued to look for the coming of the Messiah and the re‐establishment of the kingdom. In this they differed sharply from Christians, for whom the Messiah had already come. The rise of Islam and the Muslim defeat of the Roman‐Byzantine empire was interpreted by some Jews as a sign of the coming of the Messiah. Some of the earliest Christian writings to mention Islam were produced as part of the ongoing Jewish‐Christian polemic, and only with time does the emphasis move into a Christian‐Muslim polemic.     

God, The Mind's Desire: Reference, Reason and Christian Thinking

Book reviewed:
God, The Mind's Desire: Reference, Reason and Christian Thinking by Paul D. Janz (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004) xi + 232 pp. Reviewed by Michael Hanby Baylor University One Bear Place #97144 Waco, TX 76798-7144 USA     

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     

Scripture as the Voice of God: The Continuing Importance of Autopistia

This article argues that the concept of autopistia offers a helpful perspective for theological reflection on the authority of Scripture in the present context. It explains the concept by eliminating some misunderstandings and offering a definition of the autopistia of Scripture from its theological sources. It faces the objections that the idea is inutile because it is too specifically Protestant and outdated because it rests on pre‐modern presuppositions. Finally it draws some implications of this perspective for the role of the church, for the communication of the authority of Scripture in the postmodern context, and for the proper place of the doctrine of Scripture in systematic theology.     

In God We Distrust: Christian Nationalism and Anti-Atheist Attitude

Prior research found that Christian nationalism, a belief that integrates Christian identity with American national identity, was associated with more negative views toward marginalized groups, such as religious minorities. Relatively less known is the relationship between Christian nationalism and attitudes toward atheists. Specifically, even less is known about whether or not Christian nationalism that is above individuals at the macro, geographic level may influence individual views of atheists. Using nationally representative multilevel data, this study found that higher individual Christian nationalism was associated with more negative views toward atheists. No robust state-level Christian nationalism influence was found for anti-atheist attitude. However, Blacks, relative to Whites, were less likely to view atheists negatively in states where Christian nationalism was higher. Meanwhile, in states where Christian nationalism was higher, Black Protestants were less prejudiced against atheists compared to Evangelical Protestants.